TRENTON, N.J. - July 16, 2008 However, U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson did agree to
postpone a hearing that national officials of the Communications
Workers of America had scheduled for July 22 so that Katz would
have more time to prepare. A new date was not set.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are investigating operations of
Local 1034, the 16,000-member local Katz has led for a decade.
A subpoena was served Tuesday on the national CWA headquarters
in Washington, according to a person familiar with the
investigation who requested anonymity because he is not authorized
to speak publicly about it.
The subpoena sought investigative materials that the national union developed in its probe of Local 1034, the source said.
The federal investigation was first reported by The Star-Ledger
of Newark.
Katz and 13 other officials from Local 1034 had sought to be
returned to their positions until their dispute with their national
union is resolved. The national CWA relieved Katz and the others of
their duties last week, then took over Local 1034.
"This is a fight worth fighting - 16,000 members of Local 1034
democratically elected an executive board," Katz said after the
hearing. "For the national union to walk in the door, change the
locks, seize the assets, seize the checking accounts with no notice
and no hearing - regardless of what was said here in court today -
is wrong on its face."
Wednesday's hearing was held in response to a federal lawsuit
Katz and the others filed last week claiming the national CWA
violated its constitution and federal labor laws by removing Katz
and the executive board of Local 1034.
"We're gratified that the court today rejected the motion for a
temporary restraining order and affirmed that CWA executive board
acting in accordance with the CWA constitution and federal law when
it decided that in order to protect the dues and the democratic
rights of the members a temporary administratorship was
necessary," said Bob Master, spokesman for CWA District 1.
The national union charged that Katz and Local 1034's board
engaged in fiscal malpractice and suppression of dissent.
Katz, who dated Gov. Jon S. Corzine from 2002 to 2004 when he
was a U.S. senator, is also embroiled in a fight in state courts to
stop e-mails between her and Corzine and his staff from being
disclosed. The e-mails were exchanged during state worker contracts
talks.
A July 3 report by Larry Cohen, national CWA president, stated
that the national found evidence of "a clear and ongoing pattern"
of fiscal wrongdoing by Katz.
The report said the local spent money to send people to an April
CWA conference in Washington, D.C., and to a June convention in Las
Vegas, largely to support Katz's candidacy to be national vice
president. Katz lost the campaign.
But Katz, in the lawsuit, contended it wasn't unusual for Local
1034, as the nation's largest CWA local, to send many members to a
conference. The lawsuit also maintains there was more interest this
year because presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary
Rodham Clinton were speaking.
Cohen's report said Katz worked only part-time as a local
president while accepting a full-time salary. It said she had
worked only two to five hours per week since September 2004 while
she attended law school. She recently graduated.
In her lawsuit, Katz responded that school did not interfere
with her ability to fulfill her responsibilities.
Cohen also said that Katz improperly gave more than $700,000 in
political contributions without approval from the executive board,
including $20,800 to Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker's 2006 campaign,
even though only 36 Newark residents are members of Local 1034.
Katz responded in the lawsuit that she complied with all CWA
obligations on political donations.
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Associated Press reporter Jeffrey Gold in Newark contributed to
this story.
