FELA & Railroad Injury Attorney in St Paul, Minnesota

What is a Union Designation?

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Different rail unions over the years to enable their members to know of lawyers who had experience in railroad law would list lawyers as designated legal counsel. And for many, many years that was a very good system because members would have no way of checking out any lawyer who says I’m a good lawyer. So the system was good but there was some problems that occurred. Over the last 20 years or so there have been some corruption trials where lawyers have been accused of paying money to union officers including top union officers in order to get cases referred to them or for designations.

In Untied Transportation Union, the president and first vice president were convicted of taking bribes from union designated legal counsel. And also in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainman a president went to federal prison for soliciting bribes. Bribes are problem and that’s the biggest thing that union designations have to get rid of is the bribery system or the ability to bribe or pay for recommendations. Union local chairmen or general chairmen should be willing to recommend anyone who is qualified to their members not someone who pays money. And the best way to find out if someone is paying money or not is to ask whether or not the lawyer fills out the required government forms each year called LM10 Reports to the government and whether the union officers fill out LM30 Reports as required if they receive more than $250.00 in a year from any lawyer or law firm or person affiliated with the firm.

Saint Paul railroad employee injury attorney William Jungbauer defines union designation.

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