Asbestos, Lead & Hazardous Waste Laborers Union
11-17 43rd Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
Tel: (212) 227-4803
Fax: (212 406-1800
June 29, 2020
Dear Brother Collaguazo:
I write in response to your resignation letter dated February 25, 2020 but not emailed until June 22, 2020.
In your letter, you suggest that the reason you are resigning is because I and the Local 78 Executive Board will not allow you to do your job as Recording Secretary because the Local retained the services of the law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP to assist in the preparation of the minutes of Executive Board and general membership meetings.
Your letter, however, fails to acknowledge three, very important facts.
First, you ignore the fact that in October 2019 the International’s audit concluded that your performance as Recording Secretary since June 2018 was inadequate. Specifically, the audit found “that the minutes maintained by the Local Union do not appear to contain sufficient detail to server as an accurate and complete historical record of the business transacted at the meetings recorded.”
Second, you ignore the fact that, consistent with the audit’s recommendation to improve the minuets, on November 22, 2019, you, along with the entire Executive Board, specifically authorized the retention of Cohen, Weiss and Simon to assist you in the preparation of minutes.
Third, you ignore the fact that since November 2019, Cohen, Weiss and Simon has provided you a draft of minutes for you to review and finalize. At no point did you ever object to this process. At no point did you ever ask to prepare the initial draft. And at no point did you ever suggest any substantive change to the draft minutes as prepared by Cohen, Weiss and Simon.
In short, it is simply inaccurate for you to contend that somehow, I or the Local 78 Executive Board prevented you from doing your job. The fact that your June resignation letter is dated February 25 and misspells my last name simply confirms that you were either unwilling or incapable of performing your duties as Recording Secretary.
Fraternally,
Pawel Gruchacz
Deputy Supervisor
Local 78
cc: Raymond Pocino, Supervisor and Regional Manager
Robert Bonanza, Deputy Supervisor
David Bolger, Deputy Supervisor
