Ex-Local 237 Head Got $54G HIP Payment;
Union Orders Probe To See If Stipend Was Improper

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The executive board of Teamsters Local 237 voted last week to launch an investigation into whether then-President Carl Haynes improperly received $54,500 last year as a board member of the union's health plan.

CARL HAYNES: HIP stipend not customary.

Many municipal unions contract with the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York (HIP) for health care and prescription coverage, and officers of Local 237, the United Federation of Teachers and District Council 37 have long served on its board of directors.

A Surprise to Floyd

Local 237 officials have hired a lawyer, Bruce Maffeo, who has handled such investigations in the past, to lead the inquiry. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters will foot half of the bill.

Former Local 237 Secretary-Treasurer and current President Gregory Floyd said he was not aware of the stipend until a phone call on June 15 brought it to his attention. "We have hired Mr. Maffeo to conduct a fair and impartial inquiry into the matter," said Mr. Floyd. "At this point we don't know if anything has been done improperly."

GREGORY FLOYD: Probe will clarify issue.

Mr. Haynes did not return messages left at the IBT's Washington, D.C. office and on his cell phone. He is still a vice president of the international and is on the executive boards of the city's AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and the Municipal Labor Committee.

The former Local 237 president, who retired in April, reported the income to the Federal government on March 30. By law, union officials must report any income that comes from an entity that does business with their union. The law is intended to flag any conflicts of interest or undue influence that could compromise a union's ability to properly serve its members.

Payment Breakdown

Mr. Haynes reported that he received quarterly retainer payments and meeting fees, two for $14,000 and two for $12,500. He received a fifth meeting fee of $1,500. The stipend is in addition to the more-than quarter-million dollars Mr. Haynes earned last year as a Teamster official.

Mr. Maffeo will attempt to discover whether Mr. Haynes's receipt of the HIP board stipend violated any internal Teamster bylaws or the union's constitution. Mr. Haynes served on the board of directors of HIP and on the HIP Foundation board of directors. The stipend came from the foundation board.

HIP did not respond to repeated requests for its policy of payments to board members.

Mr. Floyd, who also serves on the HIP New York board, said he did not receive a stipend and would not accept one.

Oliver Gray, the associate director of DC 37 who serves on HIP's board, said he does not receive a stipend.

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten also said that she did not receive a stipend for the time that she served. The current UFT representative, Ronald Jones, is retired and could not be reached to determine whether he was receiving a stipend. Ms. Weingarten noted that the UFT does not have a policy that would prohibit a stipend.

Mr. Floyd said that, on advice from counsel, he had not spoken with Mr. Haynes since he made the discovery. "We are going to wait and see if it's permissible to accept stipends," he said. "At this point we're not sure, because HIP provides health benefits to the city and does our prescriptions."