Federal workers have filed suit against 16 officials of the American Federation of Government Employees, accusing them of perpetuating racial and sexual misconduct and covering up the incidents. The suit sheds new light on former union President Jeffrey David Cox’s abuse of power and the resulting coverup of misconduct by his successor, Dr. Everett Kelley.
Cox allegedly would use the union’s limo to travel to strip clubs where he would hire male prostitutes. The suit also claims that leadership would rehire or reassign officials accused of misconduct.
AFGE strongly backs Joe Biden for president and is closely affiliated with the Democratic Party.
The union also provided an early boost to Biden’s campaign, hosting the former vice president at an event one week before he officially announced his candidacy. AFGE will most likely endorse the vice president for the 2020 election since its internal poll showed that a majority of its members support Biden over President Donald Trump.
The government union is also a prodigious campaign donor, funneling more than $1.1 million to Democratic operations such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2018 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The group also spent $1.8 million on lobbying in 2019, advocating for pro-labor legislation.
Maybe Biden should disavow support from this union, which appears to be corrupt from top to bottom.
A prior independent investigation into Cox’s conduct—commissioned by AFGE—largely let Kelley off the hook. The lawsuit, however, contests the investigation’s conclusion, accusing Kelley of routinely covering up Cox’s troubling conduct. For example, when Cox inappropriately touched a male pool attendant at a hotel during an AFGE conference in 2017, Kelley did some “fast talking” to convince the hotel managers to allow the AFGE delegation to stay, according to a sworn statement provided by Pam Baca, an AFGE official. Cox suffered no repercussions for his sexual misconduct other than being forced to stay in his hotel room for the duration of the conference.
“Defendant Kelley did not appear to be alarmed or even surprised by the … sexual misconduct complaint,” according to the lawsuit. “In fact, Defendant Kelley’s response to Ms. Baca concerning the news was casual and even jocular.”
Kelley did more than make apologies for Cox’s abusive behavior. He also ignored charges against other subordinates, including one who pulled an Anthony Weiner on female employees.
Kelley also allegedly tolerated sexual misconduct allegations against his subordinates. In 2015, an AFGE trustee removed Jamie Dukes, vice president of a local union for a Georgia Army base, after learning that Dukes sent pictures of his genitalia to female union members. Kelley ordered Dukes’s reinstatement one month later, allowing him to continue his predatory behaviors, according to the lawsuit.
There are charges of blatant racism against some officials that was kept quiet through “a combination of cronyism and fear—rewarding his allies with bonuses and/or extravagant trips at union members’ expense while threatening to destroy anyone who challenged his authority.” Sounds like a typical labor thug to me.
Ordinarily, Biden wouldn’t be allowed to let this pass. But who’s going to call him out on it? Certainly not the media or other Democrats. Certainly not his allies in the women’s movement or the civil rights lobby.
The AFGE will continue to donate millions to Biden and the Democrats with nary a whisper against them. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
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