Report Finds Pattern of Misconduct and Faulty Safeguards at Major Union

(Bloomberg) -- Inadequate policies, a chilling environment and distrust of dissenters enabled a pattern of misconduct by the former president of the largest U.S. federal workers union, according to a report released Thursday.

Last month, J. David Cox, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, resigned after allegations of sexual harassment reported last fall by Bloomberg News. An independent investigation by the group Working Ideal out today has now also found “substantial evidence” that Cox subjected multiple AFGE employees to “conduct of a sexual nature and other inappropriate behavior.”

The report, based on over 70 interviews, not only found public allegations made against Cox to be credible, but described a culture employees perceived as tolerant of harassment and bullying. Concerns about retaliation chilled employees’ willingness to come forward. The union also had an official policy that warned people they could be punished for filing false complaints.

“The behavior by Cox outlined in this report is contrary to the mission and values of our great union, is not what we stand for, and behavior like this will not be tolerated by AFGE – from any individual at any level,” AFGE’s National Executive Council wrote in an email sent to staff today.

Even if workers wanted to flag concerns, the head of human resources was “largely” out on extended leave between 2017 and 2019, according to the report. AFGE’s general counsel office handled internal complaints, but lacked sufficient capacity or independence to do so effectively, the report found. The union’s general counsel David Borer and his deputy both “stated that they were unable to take action where there was no specified applicable policy,” such as when the conduct at issue took place outside of designated work activities. But witnesses reported Cox, during work trips, would invite AFGE employees to his hotel room late at night, “sometimes to drink alcohol, watch pornography with him, and/or masturbate with him.” 

In October, AFGE said Cox denied the allegations, which included licking a subordinate’s ear and asking an employee to shower with him. More people have since brought additional claims. In February, a member filed internal union charges alleging that, for years, Cox sexually abused her son, who was working as one of his drivers.

Cox has not responded to inquiries about the more recent allegations or the new report. In an emailed statement in October, he said he was “truly sorry if I ever made anyone feel uncomfortable by my words or actions,” and that he trusted the independent investigation to “sort the fact from fiction.” Cox did not respond to Working Ideal’s requests to participate in its probe, according to the group’s report.

The union’s governing body cited changes made recently by AFGE including a new code of conduct. The union has also shifted responsibility for handling misconduct allegations to the HR department. AFGE will continue to investigate internal union charges filed against Cox, and will form special committees to put forward specific policy changes covering each of Working Ideal's recommendations, according to the email.

AFGE’s new president Everett Kelley, who took over Cox’s position permanently when he resigned, is mentioned once in the report. During Kelley’s time as a national vice president, the investigators write, an AFGE employee alerted Kelley that the management of a hotel had complained about Cox propositioning a member of their staff. “Kelley stated that he asked Cox about it immediately afterwards, and that Cox denied the incident occurred,” according to the report.

“Like he did with so many others, Cox lied to me about his behavior, and I believed him,” Kelley said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. “Knowing what I know today, I would’ve handled that situation differently, and I’m committed to leading the effort inside AFGE to make necessary changes so that it’s clear to our members, our employees, and anyone we do business with that AFGE does not tolerate this behavior.”

One of the biggest lessons from the report "is the need for greater shared responsibility" among the organization's leadership, former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Jenny Yang, who led Working Ideal's investigation, said in an interview. "What we saw here was that, although no one person had all the information, there were flags at different points that would have been important opportunities for the organization to do a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of what may be happening."

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