Could Dougherty probe affect Kenney?

The FBI investigation of a powerful union leader has led to speculation about his political influence in Philadelphia.

Last week, FBI and IRS agents raided the South Philadelphia home of John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, the head of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 and the offices of Councilman Bobby Henon — a union official and Dougherty protégé.

Authorities searched seven properties in connection with the investigation including the electrician union’s headquarters, including a nearby union bar named Doc’s Union Pub.

Dougherty, 56, is considered a powerful political force in the city. He also heads the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group of the city’s major trade unions.

The FBI has not released official details about the nature of the investigation, however according to published reports investigators are looking into the union’s finances and involvement in political campaigns such as the election of Mayor Jim Kenney and Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, John’s brother.

David Thornburgh, president and CEO of the political watchdog Committee of Seventy said it’s too early to tell what the political implications of the FBI investigation will be.

“This is a developing story,” Thornburgh said. “I think obviously it is of great interest to anybody that’s watching politics and government in Philadelphia because you are looking at probably one of the most influential political supporters in Johnny Doc and the implication that this may have something to do with the Council majority leader and some have suggested the mayor’s office.”

“There are high stakes and major figures involved. Some folks have pointed out the fact that even the investigation creates some uncertainty and anxiety in the mayor’s office and in Dougherty’s political influence,” Thornburgh added.

Kenney’s spokesperson Lauren Hitt reiterated the FBI investigation is not related to the mayor’s office.

“No member of the administration has been questioned by the FBI, and no requests have been made for documents,” Hitt said. “We have no reason to believe the investigation is in anyway related to Mayor Kenney.”

Jay McCalla, a deputy managing director under the administration of former mayors John Street and Ed Rendell said Dougherty is an integral part of Philadelphia’s political system.

“John Dougherty’s sole power in this city, in this commonwealth, is based on his ability to reach into union treasuries and give to politicians,” McCalla said.“With the FBI putting a very hot microscope on him he’s going to slow his roll and that’s where the rubber will meet the road if he can’t afford to continue to pay all of the loyal politicians on his payroll.”

Dougherty uses the union’s money and electoral sway to help candidates win legislative, judicial and executive offices in Philadelphia and in Harrisburg.

Henon, the City Council majority leader, is a longtime union official. McCalla says Henon should probably step down temporarily as majority leader until he is cleared by the FBI.

In a recent column on Philly.com, radio talk show host Solomon Jones highlighted the conflicts of interest between Dougherty and Henon and addressed the racial bias that exists in the city’s building trades.

“For decades, skilled building trade unions such as the electricians and carpenters have largely excluded Blacks and others from union membership. And since city construction contracts require union labor, the lack of minority union members means fewer skilled workers of color on city-funded work sites,” Jones wrote.

Jones cited a study by Econsult, which found during fiscal year white men made up more than 73 percent of the skilled workers on city-funded projects with contracts over $250,000.

According to the study, nearly 41 percent of qualified skilled minorities in Philadelphia were available for the work in fiscal year 2015, but only 26.8 percent were used.

“People of color make up more than half of the city’s population, but we are systematically excluded from doing skilled work on big-money contracts funded by our tax dollars,” Jones wrote. “Even as this problem persists, the majority leader of City Council is on a union payroll and he reports directly to the man who runs the entire Building Trades Council.

“That’s wrong and it doesn’t take an FBI investigation to figure that out. If the unions are blocking job opportunities for people of color, City Council’s majority leader should not be working for them. He should be working against them,” Jones continued.

His column noted the Committee of Seventy reported that the Dougherty’s IBEW Local 98 made at least $1.2 million in political contributions in 2015.

Kenney has been striving to increase diversity within the construction industry. As the head of the Building Trades Council, Dougherty plays an important role in a new project labor agreement being negotiated between city administration and the unions.

Key members of Kenney’s administration have said a new project labor agreement could be a game changer for diversity for the city’s construction industry.

The administration is negotiating a project labor agreement with the Building Trades Council for projects that could receive revenue from the recently passed sugary-drink tax. Under the Rebuild Philadelphia plan, about $300 million could be in the pipeline for improvements to city recreation centers and parks.

Thornburgh thinks the FBI investigation won’t deter Dougherty from working on the project labor agreement.

“Just having watched and known Dougherty for a number of years, he isn’t easily distracted and I think at least based on how he’s reacted to so far, he wants to create a sense of business as usual,” Thornburgh added.

“My guess is he’ll keep putting effort into that project labor agreement and working with the mayor’s office as if this other thing didn’t exist. His best defense is a good offense.”

McCalla said the bad publicity that Dougherty is getting may push him to be sincere in the execution of the Rebuild Philadelphia project, however he doesn’t have much confidence that the agreement with the building trades will bear fruit in terms of helping to diversify the unions.

“They have been doing things their way for generations and I don’t see them turning on a dime,” McCalla said.

The FBI raided Dougherty’s home in 2006 as part of a tax-fraud investigation into an area electrical contractor, according to reports. Documents later unsealed in court suggested the investigation involved renovations to his home that were not reported as income.

In January, he was involved in a scuffle with a nonunion electrician outside a South Philadelphia construction site.

According to published reports, Dougherty and three other men confronted Joshua Keesee, a nonunion contractor, near a construction site on Jan. 21 over a union decal on his truck. Keesee said Dougherty swung first and broke his nose with one punch. However, Dougherty’s spokesperson said the union leader acted in self-defense.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and the state Attorney General’s office both investigated the incident but did not file charges.

Source: The Philadelphia Tribune