Powerful Leader of Mexican Teachers’ Union Is Arrested - $160 million embezzeled

The leader of Mexico’s powerful teachers’ union, the largest labor syndicate in Latin America, has been arrested on accusations that she embezzled millions of dollars in union funds for personal expenses, including California residences, cosmetic surgery and artwork, the country’s attorney general announced Tuesday night.

In the current case, the prosecutor, Jesús Murillo Karam, said in a televised statement that the arrest had stemmed from the suspicious transfer of $200 million from the National Union of Education Workers, which has 1.5 million members, into the private accounts of three individuals. He said Ms. Gordillo had then used the accounts, in American and Swiss banks, to pay for credit cards; two houses in Coronado, Calif., near San Diego; unspecified art; plastic surgery; and other personal expenses.

He said that the transactions occurred between 2008 and 2012, including the transfer of about $2.1 million to an account at a Neiman Marcus department store in San Diego between March 2009 and January 2012, and that as many as 80 union accounts were being examined for irregularities.

Her career began humbly as a teenage schoolteacher in the impoverished Chiapas state before she rose to power and became a maker of presidents.

She was heading the union's fight with President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration over the country's most sweeping educational reform in more than 70 years.

Mexico's new government has denied that politics was the motivation behind her arrest.

Why not just say "another fine example of Mexicans?"

You'd be stereotyping just as much.

Can you give us two or more examples of good union leadership?

Easily. You know what else I can give you examples of? Corrupt CEOs that are all on the boards of each other's companies. You know, the ones who get essentially fired for incompetence, but walk away with 10's of millions in exit bonuses. Then get voted into another of the Good Ole Boys companies, rinse and repeat. I would post em, but I figure since you Republicants lost another election and are still angry about, you probably wouldn't care anyway.

Can you give us two or more examples of good union leadership?

I don't see any examples in there. I wouldn't defend the CEOs of the world, some are good some are bad, just like any other individual in the world. There are plenty of bad ones you can point out. And plenty of "Good Ole Boys" issues like you say. I'm no republican and damn sure no democrat.

I honestly have never seen a union without a good deal of corruption. I was a member of the teamsters about 10 years ago, they are corrupt. Many companies are corrupt. Most polititians are corrupt.

At some point maybe we should tackle this issue of corruption, wait, we can't, because they are all corrupt, republican, democrat, all corrupt pieces of shit.

Yes.

Do they make the national/international news?

No.


You must have some powers of cognitive dissonance to be happy with the glaring contradiction in that post.

I actually want to look at them. I'm interested to see what a good union looks like. Please give me the names.

Most union leaders.

I actually want to look at them. I'm interested to see what a good union looks like. Please give me the names.

If that is so, pick two that you think are good, please.

No, how about you go through the thousands of union leader members and say what's wrong with all of them.

michael weiner, head of the mlbpa players union.

there aren't too many famous union leaders, because, well, the u.s. is at like the lowest numbers for union membership in like 80 years. but as for good unions? just in relation to this thread, most teacher's unions. frankly, even a corrupt head in one union, doesn't make that union bad. it just means they had one corrupt person at the top.