Teamster Paid to Not Organize Company, Sentenced

Not all union organizers want to organize companies. Some would rather receive $1500 payments every 3 months from companies for NOT organizing their employees. Unfortunately for them (and the companies that pay the extorted sums) this arrangement is illegal. In the end, Detroit produce supplier LaGrasso Brothers Produce was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine for making the payments, and former Teamster business agent Michael Townsend received two years of supervised release and an $18,000 fine for accepting the payments.