FEC files suit in U.S. District Court to enforce terms of conciliation agreement

WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against defendants Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 9 (the Union) and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 9 Political Action Committee (the PAC) for their failure to comply with the terms of the parties' conciliation agreement with the Commission resulting from Matter Under Review (MUR) 7028, which was closed in 2018.

MUR 7028 was initiated by a sworn complaint filed with the Commission in 2016 that alleged that the Union and the PAC violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), when the Union failed to obtain the appropriate voluntary authorizations to make payroll deductions from union members in the form of contributions to the PAC. The complaint alleged further that the PAC improperly accepted contributions from union members that were not obtained voluntarily or documented correctly.

To resolve the matter, the Union and the PAC entered into a Conciliation Agreement with the Commission providing for the Union and PAC to pay a joint civil penalty and to refund contributions withheld from the pay of the complainant between 2012 and 2017, as well as other remedial actions.

The Commission seeks a declaration from the court that defendants have violated one or more of the requirements set forth in the conciliation agreement that they entered into with the Commission, and other appropriate relief.

The Act grants the Commission the authority to file suit in U.S. District Court if it believes that any provision of such conciliation agreement has been violated.

The case is FEC v. Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union No. 9, et al. (Case No.24-1450).