A federal monitor has found that shop stewards in the New York City carpenters' union have been taking payoffs by Boom Construction Enterprises so that the company can hire workers at salaries well below the union rate. Derek McKenna, owner of Boom Construction, contends that the shop stewards pushed for such an agreement. This case echoes that of last year, where Michael Forde, the president of the District Council of Carpenters, was convicted of taking payoffs to allow the use of nonunion labor.
See "Queens Construction Firm Accused of Bribery", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, May 5, 2005