Teamsters union official prescribes tough medicine for Local 377

YOUNGSTOWN — Charlie Byrnes sees himself as a doctor of sorts who is prescribing some tough medicine for scandal-laden Teamsters Local 377.

“This local is sick and needs to be fixed,” said Byrnes, a Pittsburgh union official who was named trustee of the Youngstown-based local, which represents 3,700 workers.

In December, a Teamsters panel threw out the results of an October election and suspended men who won the top two posts for two years.

Byrnes said the problems run much deeper than one election, however. Political fights have been so bad during the past two and a half that the local’s business agents have been filing grievances only for those members who are on “their side.”

“It was all about egos and the desire for power and authority,” Byrnes said.

He has installed new policies on how members will be represented, installed procedures to control expenses, filed a police report over missing computers and instructed business agents to do a better job representing members.

He said a new election of officers will be held later.

For more information, see Tuesday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.