CLEVELAND — Northeast Ohio's largest labor union has fired its leader.
The North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor announced on Wednesday that it removed Daniel J. O'Malley as executive secretary. In a release, the AFL-CIO stated that the decision was related to O'Malley's "use of the federation's credit card and reimbursement practices."
The AFL-CIO's executive board met on April 12 for a "due process hearing" on charges that were made against O'Malley. The board says after a day-long hearing and nearly four hours of deliberation, it found O'Malley guilty of four of the six charges and voted to remove him from office "effective immediately."
"This was a very difficult decision on the part of our Board, but after deep review and discussion we determined that our duty to our members required this action,” said AFL-CIO Board Chair and Cleveland Teachers Union President Shari Obrenski.
In an email to 3News, O'Malley's attorney, A. Steven Dever, says his client received "unfair treatment" and his removal was motivated by personal agendas." You can read Dever's entire statement below:
“We are troubled by Mr. O'Malley's unfair treatment by the Executive Board of the North Shore Federation of Labor. The lack of a proper due process and the concealment of information and communications has made it clear that his removal was motivated by personal agendas and differences with his vision to expand the labor movement. There was a lack of written policies and procedures governing the organization. We believe some members attempted to challenge Mr. O'Malley by identifying his attendance at LGBTQ establishments and events as inappropriate expenses.
"Dan did not deceive or deprive the organization of any funds. The Federation's dispute over $1,200 of undocumented expenses from over 25 months is simply an unfair opportunity to tarnish his reputation and remove him from his job. Additionally, it's worth noting that the Federation still owes Mr. O'Malley for wages and reimbursements. The men and women of labor were not served by this decision.”
The North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor represents 85,000 workers and 146 local labor unions in Cuyahoga, Lake, and Geauga counties.
O'Malley had been the North Shore AFL-CIO's executive secretary since January of 2021. He previously served as the federation's campaign director for five years. In addition, O'Malley is on the board of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. He resigned as Lakewood City Council president in 2022 to take a seat on the port board.