AFSCME takes over Michigan state employee union, amid strife

LANSING – Michigan's oldest state employee union — the Michigan State Employees Association — was placed in trusteeship Monday after years of controversy and internal feuding.

Representatives of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) International, the union's parent organization, arrived at the union's Lansing offices Monday morning, locked officials out of their computers, and sent its elected officers home, three union sources told the Free Press. They later changed the locks on the office doors, sources said.

The union, founded in 1950, is now under the control of a trustee.

Union officials said they were working on a statement but had no immediate comment.

AFSCME officials weren't immediately saying what prompted the unusual action, but the Free Press has reported on internal MSEA strife since 2016, when the National Labor Relations Board accused President Ken Moore and other leaders of attempting to break an internal union formed by union office staff.

The union has been forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay and penalties after findings that it violated federal labor laws.

More:State employee union president seeks another term amid accusations

More:Internal war raging at Michigan state employee union

Moore won re-election in 2018, despite a challenge from union member James Zoccoli of Garden City, who framed much of his campaign around the controversies and the refusal of Moore and other board members to disclose how much had been spent on legal fees defending the board's position.

"I'm looking to hopefully get him out of office, so we can restore our reputation in organized labor," Zoccoli said of Moore and the MSEA.

Moore could not be reached for comment Monday. President since 2010, he has maintained support from a majority of the 14-member MSEA board.

The union has about 4,600 members, but only about 65 delegates were eligible to vote on whether Moore got another three-year term.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.  Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.