 |
 |
UGSOA wins Complaint thru the NLRB vs. CDA Inc. for Local 401 (3/23/08) UGSOA wins NLRB settlement in So. Texas, protecting Local #218 and #237 rights at work (2/28/08) UGSOA Local 401 Wins over $8K for 112 Officers in Overtime Back Pay Case (2/20/08) UGSOA Local 203 Wins vs. CIS in NLRB Training Case (12/10/07) UGSOA Wins Local 254 Member's Job Back with Back-Pay after D&Z Fails to make a Recall (10/24/07) UGSOA Wins Right to Proceed to Arbitration where AKAL states it's a Government Removal (10/12/07) UGSOA Charges Knight Protective Services for Local 224 and Obtains a Formal Complaint (10/4/07) |
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=69765&provider=top Video: http://www.wusa9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=57568&sid=69765&bw= Written by Gary Reals On Monday, 9NEWS NOW reported USProtect had locked its doors after being unable to make its payroll last week. Hundreds of employees are impacted. Many of them are out of work. Nearly 2,000 are concerned for their 401-K retirement accounts. In Washington, US Protect employed hundreds of Court Security Officers at most of the city's courthouses. The company also had contracts for several other courthouses scattered across the United States. In addition to the Department of Justice, US Protect also done business with the Dept. of Homeland Security, the US Air Force and the Social Security Administration. The security contracts at the courthouses immediately switched to another contractor. No one is out of work. There was no affect on courthouse security. Unclear, according to union officials, are paychecks for 2 pay periods as well as 401-K payroll deductions which apparently have not been deposited with the fund manager for several months. At US Protect offices in Silver Spring, several staff employees were packing up their belongings Monday morning. They were simply told not to come back to work late last week. Leaders of the International Union of United Government Security Officers of America tell 9NEWS NOW this is the second collapse of a major government security contractor in less than a year here in the Washington area. International President James Carney adds several more companies have gone under elsewhere around the country. Carney calls it a "growing epidemic" due to contractors under-bidding multi-million-dollar federal security contract proposals. He says sooner or later they find themselves unable to meet their largest expense: the payroll. Tuesday's forfeiture move came as sentencings of three former company officials approach following earlier guilty pleas to major corruption charges. According to court documents, at least $6.9 million in the USProtect bank account were government funds paid to the contractor as a result of the bribery of a government official. Michael Holiday, a former Montgomery County Police Officer, who became CEO of Holiday International Security, Inc., which became USProtect in 2003, pleaded guilty to bribery and tax evasion. Dessie Ruth Nelson, formerly a GSA contracting official, also pleaded guilty to the same charges. Richard Hudec, who took over USProtect, later pleaded guilty to charges of concealing earlier felony convictions from federal contracting officials, as well as tax evasion charges. Holiday, Nelson and Hudec are all awaiting sentencing in Federal Court, Greenbelt. When it abruptly ceased operations, failing to make its payroll last week, USProtect was owned by Hudec's wife, Lisa Hudec. Unaccounted for presently are three areas of funds: 3 weeks of payroll, about 3 months worth of 401-K deposits, and unused leave of nearly 2,000 employees. The two homes and a boat prosecutors are asking to have forfeited belong to the Hudec's. Denver Investigators Uncover Flaws with Federal Security ForceClick here to read the Labor Day Report from President James Carney. Since its founding in 1992, UGSOA has become one of the fastest growing unions representing specialized security officers. With more than 130 charted local unions in the United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam, we attribute our success to a proven record of winning improvements for security professionals and a commitment to member governance and involvement. UGSOA members are among the most skilled officers in the nation working at DOE, DOD, NRC, Homeland Security and federal and state facilities. UGSOA has built its reputation on winning some of the best contracts in the industry with major contractors such as Wackenhut, Akal, and Securitas. Click here to learn more about UGSOAJune 21, 2007Acting President, James Carney, testifies before Congress; Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management - The Responsibility of the Dept. of Homeland Security & FPS to Ensure Contract Guards Protect Federal Employees & Workplaces. Click here for all of the testimony from the hearing, and a summary of the hearings contents. |