May 14, 2008 - 10:21am
Alleging retaliatory harassment, Katz sues CWA officials
By Matt FriedmanUnion Leader Carla Katz has filed a lawsuit against several branches of her own union today, charging top officials with waging personal attacks and investigations against her in retaliation for her opposition to some concessions they supported.
The Katz complaint was filed against Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen, District Vice President Chris Shelton, Legislative and Political Director Robert Master, as well as the leaders of five local CWA unions that supported last year’s agreement with the state.
Katz heads up CWA Local 1034, which, according to her press release, is the largest CWA local in the country. She filed the complaint this morning at the United States District Court in Trenton.
The suit charges that the leaders violated the Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 by trying to punish Katz through retaliatory investigations and “offensive comments.”“The leadership of the union retaliated against Carla because she fought against the ratification of a contract that she believed hurt CWA members,” said Katz’s lawyer, Paul Fishman, in a press release. “This pattern of retaliatory conduct left Carla with no choice but to file this suit.”
Katz’s has had an adversarial relationship with other CWA union leaders for some time. Most recently, CWA officials disclosed that they were investigating her for an alleged unauthorized political contribution to Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Cohen, who Katz is suing, wrote an April 30th letter in which he said that the contribution could ultimately lead to Katz’s expulsion from the union.
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Someone say "thin skin?"
This is what happens when you give an idiot three years of law school. Irrational tendencies compounded for all of us to see.
Is this woman serious?
We know whey the lawyer took the suit, he knows he's gonna get paid but why instigate something within your own union? She can't get a 100k gig anywhere else with all her 'skills"? c'mon this is silly!
Where do all these
Where do all these “CRAZIES” come from with there silly talk here, and plenty of major league hate. What is it, you all just sit and wait to pounce with your slander and taunts, smart tongues and half truths. Guess when you try it at home your spouses smack you down, so I guess that's why you do it here..... What a sorry lot all the people who comment here are in general.......
What's silly is Carla
who collected 6million form the Governor, who has alienated almost everyone in her union, including her fellow local presidents, who used to be her friend, who has alienated her fellow Seton Hall students and professors with her name dropping and posturing and who isn't talking to her family members (and yes all this has been chronicled in articles many times over with Ms. Katz speking onthe record) expect to elicit sympathy and action with this silly suit. Now that's silly. she like Ms. McGreevey loves to see her name in the paper. She's crazy and narcisstic
Katz is the only fighter in CWA
This dysfunctional Union has attacked the only " true" union representative it has in New Jersey.
Katz has been out in front of every issue before these other " employee representatives " even knew there were issues!
Ask these out of touch leaders if they are aware of the consequences of fighting the early retirement issue and how their continued opposition might cause 8,500 layoffs.
Ask these out of touch " leaders" about the Bill sponsered by Greenwald and Scanlon that will violate the contract by taking away health benefits for part time workers . THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW THE BILL HAS BEEN SUBMITTED.
These Union leaders are all based in New York! They know next to nothing about New jersey and need MAPQUEST to get to Trenton.
I hope Katz continues to fight . The CWA INternational leadership only wants Union dues from the New Jersey membership.
Katz should go after those 5 other " small timers "
The 5 CWA locals who were included in the suit are completely out of touch with what is happening in New Jersey.Politically they are a paper tiger.
Itis now known that one of the Locals , CWA 1040 has a President, Carolyn Wade, who has been so inept in her handling of issues , especially Ancora, that she is now being challenged by an Executive Board member for the right to remain President of 1040.
Members are beginning to see the difference between activist leadership and complacency.
Katz is just about all CWA has going for it in New Jersey.Once the Legisaltors and the Executive Branch see just how weak CWA is in New Jersey, without Katz, they will take advantage .
This is a Union organization in serious trouble , and the reason is poor leadership.
CWA President Cohen is a good , strong Union guy. He better step in and clean up this mess and get on the right side of thsi issue.Katz is not the problem .
When is Carla Katz just
When is Carla Katz just going to go away, and take the McGreevey's with her!
CWA is not one big happy family
You think Katz and 1034 are the only areas of contention in CWA . Read www.takebackourlocal.org and you will see
another CWA Local in near revolt.
She really needs to.....
.....start sleeping with Corzine again or her career will soon be over.
Who's Carla Katz?
That is all......
What is wrong with 8,500 layoffs?
Where does the money to pay state union workers salaries and benefits come from?
Does it fall from the sky or are taxpayers forced to pay it under threat of prison?
I worked at UPS and the union people there work very hard, do a great job and have satisfied customers. Private sector union people understand the importance of customer service.
Just my opinion, but government union people are greedy money grubbers who provide crappy customer service, but want a guaranteed for life job with free medical care for life and gimme, gimme, gimme...
$100K a year NJEA money grubbers produce students whose math and science skils are inferior to many other countries. And get rewarded with $60K retirement pay for life for doing a bad job.
Fringe New York Workers Party Crowd
Some leaders of CWA District 1 are affiliated with a third Party fringe group based in New York City.
Bob Masters, who is the political Director under Shelton is not even a member of the Democratic Party . He is not even a New Jersey resident. He uses his CWA connections to promote a fringe third party organization . This is the type of person who is attacking Katz. He is the political leader of CWA and he does not even believe in the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.
This is the type of guy who is going to help Union members in New Jersey? Fringe socialism does not sell well in New Jersey.
No wonder Katz has so many problems with these New York radicals.
Read for yourself their philosophy:
Working Families Party
WFP Leadership
Co-Chairs
Bertha Lewis, Executive Director, New York ACORN
Bob Master, Political Director, CWA Region 1
Samuel Williams, CAP Director, UAW Region 9
The vast majority of us share progressive values and want more affordable health care, a higher minimum wage, and better schools - but real change is hard to come by.
We've built a party for working people and their children. Many people think that building a new party is too hard, that their only real choice is for "the lesser of two evils."
Katz is a disgusting individual.
Katz is the classic state bureaucrat who has a sense of entitlement and why not? She has that idiot governor "gifting" her millions while she was a union official, but the public is more outraged by Spitzer paying for sex!
Her relationship with this governor makes her virtually invulnerable to public scrutiny by anyone.
In other words, if you hire a an escort you get banished from office. That's an outrage.
But if you date a union president, gift her millions, pay for private tuitions and help them get into law school while negotiating generous raises for thousands of union members, that's okay.
That isn't a conflict?
Something wrong with this twisted logic?
In the private sector, a manager dating an employee could be defined as sexual harassment. In NJ government it's described a "private" matter.
No one seems to think this has a greater impact on taxes & spending than the trists of a horny NY governor who wanted to have sex with a younger woman!
If Jon Corzine get re-elected, then NJ deserves the horrible government it now seems to enable.
Vote Column - All the way!