BATH — The president of Bath Iron Works’ largest union has accused two fellow union officers of misconduct, officially filing charges with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Grand Lodge.
In letters dated March 7, Local S6 President Michael Keenan charged secretary/treasurer Jason Perry and Chief Steward Raymond Gauthier of incompetence, negligence and insubordination, among other things. In both letters, published by the Bangor Daily News, Keenan claims that the two officers have failed to execute their duties and have refused to follow his orders.
Neither Perry nor Gauthier responded to requests for comment on Wednesday, though both denied Keenan’s allegations in statements made to the Bangor Daily News.
Keenan’s accusations against Perry range from failing to collect or file various tax forms to closing the office early to refusing to turn over documents to the union president.
Meanwhile, Gauthier is accused of not showing up for mandatory meetings, refusing to comply with directives and failing to properly review and account for lost time reimbursements for union representatives under his supervision.
Keenan’s accusations come shortly after the Grand Lodge sent a representative to supervise the Bath union at the behest of the Local S6’s executive board. Jay Wadleigh, the business representative of the Lodge 4 union in Lisbon, began serving as the supervisor of the Local S6 on Feb. 25. Wadleigh previously served as the Local S6 president.
On Tuesday, Keenan declined to comment on the letters the executive board wrote to IAMAW asking for supervision, saying that there are more important things to focus on than the union’s internal affairs.
“We’ve got bigger issues, with upcoming negotiations, upcoming elections, you know, hiring 1,000 more shipbuilders. We have some pretty big issues, and we need to focus on building things up, not ripping things down,” Keenan said. “Internally, you’ll always have conflicts, whether you’re a union or a business. It happens.”
According to John Carr, a spokesman for the Grand Lodge, assigning someone to supervise the Local S6 allows the Grand Lodge to investigate potential problems and resolve conflicts without taking the more drastic step of suspending leadership and having the Grand Lodge run the union. Still, Carr noted that it was rare for the Grand Lodge to assign a supervisor to a local or put one into trusteeship.
“You can go forever without ever having to deal with one,” Carr said. “I can only remember just a handful all across the USA that have had supervision.”
The charges of misconduct levied by Keenan come two years after the Local S6 discovered that then-secretary/treasurer Ryan Jones was accused of embezzling $280,865 between May 2012 and November 2016. Jones’ embezzlement came to light after new officers were elected to lead the union, including the trio of Keenan, Perry and Gauthier.
According to Keenan, one of his first acts after taking office in January was to have an audit conducted, which revealed irregularities. Jones was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The union was ultimately able to recoup the embezzled funds from a bond company and Jones was sentenced to pay restitution.
nstrout@timesrecord.com
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