By David Weese
Staff writer
In the battle between ousted Teamsters Local 743 President Richard Berg and the Teamsters Joint Council 25, it appears Berg may have won a round.
After appealing his and Local 743 secretary/treasurer Eugenia Alvarez’ case to Teamsters International President James P. Hoffa, a stay of effectiveness has been granted, so Berg and Alvarez will be allowed to stay in their posts until the International Teamsters Board can review their case.
Berg and his slate of reformers were elected in 2007 after a number of Local 743’s officers were imprisoned for stealing the 2004 election. One of the former officers was also charged with trafficking in cocaine, allegedly out of the union hall. After charges were filed against the old guard officers for election rigging, the Department of Labor stepped in to oversee the 2007 election.
But now Berg and Alvarez are out, pending appeal. Berg is charged with improperly signing off on a $21,000 check that went to settle a claim filed by Anthony Caldera, who had threatened to sue after Berg terminated him. Berg was also charged with failing to allow several business agents hired on at the union to actually join the union right away. Berg did not allow them to join until they completed the 18-month waiting period he said was called for in the Local 743 bylaws. But the agents contended that because they had been members of the union 5 and 10 years ago and were out on withdrawal cards, they were not required to meet the waiting period requirements.
Alvarez was terminated for actually cutting and co-signing the check to Caldera.
In a statement, Joe Sexauer, Local 743 union representative who helped organize Berg’s successful election said, “They couldn’t steal our election and they couldn’t defeat us at the polls, so they used trumped up charges to oust Richard and Gina and hijack Local 743. But the union is about more than any one leader—it’s about the members. We’ve defeated corrupt officials before, and we’ll do it again.”
Joint Council 25 released the following statement on Jan. 11 outlining the charges and findings against Berg and Alvarez.

“Findings and Discipline:
“1. President Berg violated Section 14(A)(5) of the Local 743 Bylaws by failing to get Executive Board approval for the Severance Agreement he entered into on behalf of the Local agreeing to pay, and paying, Anthony Caldera $21,000. Berg offered shifting defenses that ranged from his assertion that the Executive Board did approve the Agreement to he did not need approval because it was within his power as President.
“Berg obviously knew that he did not have approval for the Severance Agreement, not only at the time he executed such agreement, but at every point thereafter. Berg’s own testimony establishes nothing more than he told the Executive Board February’s meeting about Caldera’s termination and that he told them at the March meeting the details of his settlement with Caldera. Berg incorrectly attempts to equate notification as Executive Board approval for significant expenditure of the Local’s funds. Additionally, Berg’s refusal to accept responsibility for his actions coupled with the lack of any attempted remedial measures is of a serious concern.
“President Berg also violated Article XVIII of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) International Constitution by incorrectly interpreting the Local Union’s Bylaws in a way that prohibited newly hired Business Agents on withdrawal cards to immediately deposit their withdrawal cards and convert back to active membership. Berg’s actions precluded the membership of such Business Agents for 18 months from the commencement of their employment with Local 743. The evidence establishes that Berg was aware that this prohibition should not apply with respect to newly hired Business Agents on withdrawal cards.
“Accordingly, Berg shall be removed from office immediately. Berg is disqualified from holding any office or employment (including as an independent contractor or consultant) with Local 743, the IBT or any other affiliate of the IBT for three years. Berg is also suspended from membership in Local 743 or any IBT-affiliated entity for a period of five (5) years, which includes in any manner participating in the affairs of Local 743. Berg shall receive no payments, salary, gratuities, gifts, severance payments, allowances, fees, benefit payments, or contributions or any other compensation of any kind from Local 743 or other IBT affiliate entities, except that he may receive any pension, vacation or other benefits from existing benefit plans or programs maintained by Local 743 or other IBT affiliated entities that have vested or accrued prior to his removal from office. Berg may receive compensation during this three year period in connection with any service he may perform as an employee covered under a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by Local 743 or any other IBT affiliate.
“In addition to the penalty outlined above, the Business Agents who were improperly precluded from becoming members for 18 months shall be allowed to retroactively pay back dues for such period. The Local shall take all necessary steps to properly reflect their corrected membership status and dates. Nothing in this decision shall be construed as prohibiting any such individual from requesting that the Local waive their back dues.
“2. Secretary Treasurer Alvarez violated Section 8 (C) by signing a check to disburse $21,000 to Anthony Caldera when she knew such payment had not been duly authorized by the Executive Board and failing to take any remedial measures to cure the improperly disbursed monies.
“Accordingly, Alvarez shall be removed from office immediately. Alvarez is disqualified from holding any office or employment (including as an independent contractor or consultant) with Local 743, the IBT or any other affiliate of the IBT for three years. Alvarez is also suspended from membership in Local 743 or any IBT-affiliated entity for a period of three (3) years. Additionally, Alvarez shall receive no payments, salary, gratuities, gifts, severance payments, allowances, fees, benefit payments, or contributions or any other compensation of any kind from Local 743 or other IBT affiliate entities, except that she may receive any pension, vacation or other benefits from existing benefit plans or programs maintained by Local 743 or other IBT affiliated entities that have vested or accrued prior to her removal from office. Alvarez may receive compensation during this three year period in connection with any service she may perform as an employee covered under a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by Local 743 or any other IBT affiliate.”

A Question of Timing
The timing of the charges is somewhat in question. The union says Caldera was fired in January, and Berg informed the executive council about the dismissal in February. It also says that the board was informed in March about the settlement agreement, but charges were not brought against Berg and Alvarez until August.
A source quite familiar with Joint Council 25 said, “This union has a long history of corruption, and now that the reformers have won, they’ve decided to attack them.”
The source said that in the past, J.C. 25 never took action against officials who were later removed by the Independent Review Board (IRB) or convicted of corruption, so it makes no sense why such a heavy penalty was levied against Berg. He said the move was not justified, and was simply “an attack on dissidents. … He reported to the executive board what he was going to do, and nobody objected.”
“Suppose he did do this wrong. Let’s suppose they’re right,’ the source said. “Suppose he didn’t get approval. That’s kind of a rookie mistake, isn’t it? He was trying to protect the union. There’s no hint that he benefitted [personally] or anything.” There was also no allegations that Berg took a kickback on the settlement either, the source said. “He made a mistake. …If that mistake got you kicked out of office, there wouldn’t be any Teamsters officers. … A priest would call that a venial sin. You just have to say a few Hail Mary’s for that. You don’t get sent straight to hell.”
The source said that as far as the business agents being made to wait the mandatory, it was Berg’s job to interpret the bylaws. “He made a reasonable interpretation of the bylaws, and the executive board was free to overrule his interpretation. That’s a teamster rule. Rather than simply saying ‘I move to overrule your interpretation, they bring charges against him.’ It would be like a majority of the U.S. Congress whining about a law when they could just pass it by raising their hands.”
“The Joint Council’s [position] was completely idiotic. They said ‘he should have known that years ago there already was an interpretation of this,’” the source said. “Well, first of all, he didn’t know, and secondly, it doesn’t matter if he knew. This isn’t the Supreme Court, and even the Supreme Court changes it precedents. Teamster officers don’t have to follow the bylaw interpretations of their predecessors, and Hoffa had dramatically changed the interpretations of his predecessor of the Teamster Constitution because he didn’t like them. That was his power. So Berg made his interpretation, which was reasonable. He made it publicly and he made it fairly. Nobody ever challenged it. Then he gets punished for that. They could have punished him for making the opposite interpretation.”
The Fox Valley Labor News made an attempt to get a copy of Local 743’s bylaws, but they are not posted on the Local’s website. A source who is a member of the local asked for a copy at their place of business, but was told a copy was not kept on the premises, and the approval would be needed from the local headquarters to release a copy.
Numerous messages were left with a spokesman for J.C. 25 asking for comment on this story, but those phone calls were not returned.