Guild Brawl Spurs Arrest And Internal Countercharge; Escalates Political Feud
By DAVID SIMS
A dispute during a Civil Service Technical Guild meeting that led to the arrest of a union official for allegedly striking another one and taking his camera has heated up with the bringing of internal union charges against the official who made the complaint.

FRED NEWTON: Says he was assaulted.

Fred Newton, whose summoning the police led to the arrest of George Sona, a Tech Guild sergeant at arms, on two counts of assault and one of larceny, has been accused by other union officials of disrupting the June 4 meeting where the incident took place and showing disrespect for the officials who tried to restore order.

Escalates Political Feud

The complaint against Mr. Newton, which was brought late last month, intensifies an already-bitter feud between Guild officials who have been critical of President Claude Fort's administration and those who are loyal to him. The Guild is Local 375 of District Council 37.

Mr. Newton has asked the Judicial Panel of DC 37's international union, the American Federation of State, Council and Municipal Employees, to decide the matter, contending that the political tensions within the local make it "difficult, if not impossible for a fair and unbiased" Guild hearing.

CLAUDE FORT: Local's feuding intensifies.

According to Mr. Newton, who is the Guild's labor and political activities chair, the altercation began when Mr. Fort brought a motion to remove Behrouz Fathi, the president of Local 375 Chapter 2, from his position as chapter grievance representative. As Mr. Fathi presented a case in his defense, Mr. Newton contended, he was "interrupted and heckled" by Jacqueline Odina, the second vice president of Chapter 37, which caused Mr. Fathi to say, "Sister, you need counseling."

'Feared He Would Be Assaulted'

He claimed Ms. Odina responded, "I'm not your sister," and made a move towards Mr. Fathi, after which she was restrained by several people in the vicinity. "It was pretty obvious to people that they feared Behrouz Fathi would be assaulted," said Mr. Newton.

Mr. Newton then produced his camera and began taking pictures of Ms. Odina as she was restrained. Ms. Odina attempted to lunge towards Mr. Newton as well, while trying to seize his camera, but was restrained again. Then Mr. Sona attempted to seize Mr. Newton's camera, failing to do so but striking him in the chest with an open hand, according to Mr. Newton. He said Mr. Sona was then restrained until DC 37 security arrived.

Ten minutes later Mr. Newton exited the board meeting to use the men's room. On his way, he said, Ms. Odina went after him but was again restrained by other members. Mr. Newton took out his camera to try to capture her actions, but this time, he alleged, Mr. Sona grabbed it and again struck him with an open hand.

'No One Had to Restrain Me'

Mr. Newton says that "in no case did I feel that I had to fight back. People stood between me and them, but no one was holding me to prevent me from lunging at anybody." After his demand that the camera be returned was refused, he went to the police. Mr. Sona was arrested and later charged with two misdemeanor counts of Attempted Assault in the Third Degree as well as one misdemeanor count of Petit Larceny by the Manhattan District Attorney. The case is pending.

In the aftermath of the incident, Chapter 30 president David Grant — a close ally of Mr. Fort — filed an internal complaint against Mr. Newton. The complaint, which was supported by other officials including Mr. Sona and Ms. Odina, accused Mr. Newton of failure to "adhere to established meeting procedures of order" and went on to mention "out-of-control behavior" such as "speaking without recognition, taking pictures of specific members of the Body, and the continuous disrespect for officials acting to maintain good order."

Regarding the complaint filed by Mr. Grant against Mr. Newton, Mr. Fort said that he "[hadn't] read the charges" but that he had talked to Mr. Grant. "I understand that the charges are because of Fred Newton's destructive behavior. If [Grant] believes that someone went overboard ... especially if David Grant himself is being verbally assaulted, he has a right to deal with it," he said.

Referring to Mr. Grant's position as a sergeant-at-arms, Mr. Fort added, "We need to conduct meetings in a way that's not destructive ... if it's a constant thing at every meeting, the sergeant-at-arms has a right to do what he needs to do. David maybe reached a level of frustration that he believes he requires some action to be taken in restoring order."

Mr. Fort declined to comment on the police charges against Mr. Sona, or whether there would be any action taken against Ms. Odina.

Grant, Newton Clashed Before

Mr. Grant previously clashed with Mr. Newton a year ago after he passed out copies of biblical passages that referred to homosexuality as an "abomination" and "detestable" and allegedly uttered the word "faggot" at an executive board meeting in September 2007. Mr. Newton, who chairs the Guild's gay and lesbian caucus, demanded that Mr. Fort discipline him. The Local 375 executive board later found Mr. Grant guilty and ordered him to make a formal apology and undergo sensitivity training.

Mr. Newton has asked John Seferian, the chairman of the AFSCME Judicial Panel, to dismiss the complaint, calling the charges "unsubstantiated and invalid." He contended it was brought in "retaliation against me for exercising my right as a citizen to approach law enforcement for appropriate remedial action."

Mr. Newton noted that Mr. Sona had run against him for the political action chairmanship. He went on to allege that the Guild's Sergeant-at-Arms Committee did not conduct itself fairly at executive board meetings. "We do not have an impartial sergeant-at-arms," he said. "They're supposed to be police. They're not impartial ... we're constantly being harassed to keep our conversations down ... it's beyond despicable."

Regarding the charges filed against him, Mr. Newton suggested that Mr. Grant, Mr. Sona, Ms. Odina and the others who signed the complaint were playing politics. "If they're really out gunning for me, if this is the best they could do, I sort of feel sorry for them," he said. "If they're trying to get me impeached ... that would be a five- or six-stage process."