John Dougherty rep: Union council restructuring is not due to federal probe

Aiming to assist union leader John Dougherty while his wife is hospitalized and bring more diversity to the trades in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Building Trades Council will add a second in command later this month, a rep for the IBEW Local 98 head told the Inquirer.

The Sprinkler Fitters Local 692 leader, who is also the current president of the Building Trades Council, Wayne Miller will become assistant business manager of the organization – a newly created position, the Inquirer said, and Ryan Boyer will take over Miller's previous role.

Speaking for Dougherty, Frank Keel said restructuring the Building Trades Council has nothing to do with the wide-ranging federal probe involving the union head known as "Johnny Doc." The changes are meant to give Dougherty help on the day-to-day operations of the council, while his wife, Cecilia, remains hospitalized.

“He has the full support of the membership, and any inference to the contrary is patently false. [The changes] have nothing to do with all the problems. Anybody who is spinning anything other than what I said is a liar.”

By bringing Boyer, who is African American, into the fold, the moves will also add diversity to the labor organization's ranks. The city's building trades have been criticized for years for a lack of diversity. The issue came up again recently as City Council discussed the Rebuild program that involves updating city libraries and rec centers.

  

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal