Tempers flared behind a closed door meeting that lasted almost three hours.Union Member Gordon Wright says, "If they could explain it to them, outright, well the probably wouldn't be upset."
After more than a year of waiting, dozens of members of the Carpenters Local 747 came to find out how much of their pension and annuity funds were tied up in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme. While union officials didn't want to talk, some did. Marty Halstead, who put ten years in with the Carpenter's Union, found out he lost half of his retirement fund. "At least you have closure, At least we have, At least we have something in your head. If you had 100-thousand, you've got 50," says Halstead.
Halstead says union officials will attempt to recover as much money as they can through the federal government. In the meantime, he hopes union members will keep the rest of their retirement money with the union. Halstead says, "The union has to stay strong. It's never going to work if we don't."
