The International Brotherhood of Trade Unions (IBOTU), a family-run union based on Long Island, has come under intense scrutiny for its financial practices and treatment of members. Over the past decade, the union has paid five officers more than $27 million nearly half of the dues paid by its 23,000 members who include grocery store clerks, home health aides, paramedics, and other low-wage workers.
IBOTU’s leadership has been accused of preying on members, forcing them into unions they didn’t ask for, and signing contracts that offer little benefit. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ordered IBOTU to disband at workplaces on four separate occasions and accused it of plotting with employers to sign union contracts without workers’ consent.
The Family Business Behind IBOTU
IBOTU is essentially a family business. Three of its top officers are sons-in-law of the union’s founding president, Peter Hasho who died in 2026. Last year, each of these sons-in-law made about $1 million. The union’s leadership has been marred by allegations of bribery, theft, and fraud. Its organizing director, Robert Scalza once conspired with the Genovese crime family to extort a rival union. Despite being banned from being a union officer for three years, Scalza was welcomed back to IBOTU with a raise, and his salary crossed $1 million last year.
Some of the union’s dealings remain mysterious. Since 2026, IBOTU has sent over $1.4 million to an entity described as a union but has no record with the US Department of Labor. The address listed for this entity points to a single-family house in Far Rockaway, where the tenants remain unknown.
Allegations of Worker Exploitation
Workers and other unions have repeatedly accused IBOTU of exploiting members whose dues pay for lavish salaries. One example involves Caring Professionals a New york city-based company that employs home health aides. The company sought out IBOTU to prevent a union drive by the powerful New York health care union 1199SEIU. The resulting contract with IBOTU’s Local 713 offered minimal benefits, including a 50-cent-per-hour raise and a low-quality health plan that didn’t cover family members.
In another case, Arisnelda Rodriguez a room cleaner at the then-non-union Cassa Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, was fired after mentioning union benefits. Management then made employees sign union cards for Local 713, despite federal law barring employers from telling workers to join a specific union. The contract that followed offered minimal benefits, but workers later realized they had been duped and successfully petitioned to join the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC), which secured significant raises and benefits.
The Broader Impact of IBOTU’s Practices
IBOTU’s practices have had a broader impact on the labor landscape. The union has been accused of collaborating with management to block more worker-friendly unions. In several cases, rival unions have filed charges with the NLRB accusing Local 713 of illegally collaborating with management or accepting management’s help to promote the union. These cases have ended with Local 713 disbanding its chapters at those workplaces.
Despite these allegations, IBOTU continues to operate. Its leadership has refused to comment on the accusations, and the union’s financial disclosures reveal that it has spent a significant portion of its dues on executive salaries. The union’s other sub-union, Local 7, has collected $18 million in dues since its founding in 2018, with two-thirds of that money going to its leaders. Beyond these salaries, Local 7 has spent little on typical union activities like contract negotiations and political organizing.
