A Jersey City union with more than 400 members is suing its former president, demanding that he hand over important financial documents and stop representing himself as the union’s leader.
Jersey City Public Employees Local 246, one of the city’s largest unions with members across city departments that include the departments of finance, law, administration and public safety, filed the 29-page lawsuit that also includes roughly 170 pages of exhibits as evidence, against Julio Cordero in Hudson County Superior Court last month.
The suit says Cordero is ineligible to be the president and a union member because he was fired in January 2022. But despite his termination, Cordero has continued to represent himself as the union president while the appeal of his firing is under consideration by the Office of Administrative Law.
The union is asking the court to confirm the legitimate election of Connie Bolger and to recognize her as union president; and to force all union documents, including financial records to be handed over.
Bolger did not respond to a request for comment and Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit noted that “the union had expended approximately $1,000,000 over the past four years and a request for financial documents underlying these expenditures was necessary to assure them membership that their dues were being properly expended.”
The lawsuit also claims that on the day Cordero was terminated he “attempted to pass a self-serving and unlawful bylaw which would allow him to continue as an officer within the union and which allowed him to draw upon union funds for what was tantamount to his lost salary following termination.”
Cordero attempted to illegally pass amendments and/or new bylaws that would allow him to stay in power, the lawsuit says. But Cordero claims a group of 15 union members formed a coup to take over the union and has misinterpreted the by-laws to form new leadership, which he refers to as “the fake union.” He said the claims made by the group “is the farthest from the truth.”
“I am still the president of Local 246,” Cordero said Tuesday. “Individuals that have no knowledge of the language or the union automatically assume if we get 15 people together we can take over the union. They misinterpreted the bylaws, big time.”
The lawsuit includes a letter from the city that recognizes Bolger as union president.
Cordero added that he will be filing a countersuit as he alleges the group has made slanderous claims and falsified information. He said if the group wanted a special meeting for a vote, it would need to notify the union, then it goes to the general membership but " they never did that, they just did it on their own.”
The former president said the group unlawfully obtained the records of his disciplinary action, which should have remained between him and the city.
Several public safety employees in the union still identify Cordero as their union president and have continued to go to him in addressing union issues. One employee said they are waiting for things to be settled in court to establish who is clearly in charge.
“We have been going to (Cordero) because nothing right now is set in stone,” an employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “We are kind of at a standstill with the city because no one wants to meet with (Cordero).”
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