Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-12-01
Welfare Fund
Probers Told Of.
Al Pei. Profits
Administroto Lists
His 1854 Earnings
From D. c. Unions
BY Jack Jonas

traitor told House investigators
today he made A per cent profit
last year handling such funds
for building trades unions here.
Arthur A. Peisner told a spe-
ecial House subcommittee looking
into the administration of union
welfare and pension funds that
his profits for fiscal 1854 were
$34.692. while the total income
from the various funds was
$100.170.
He added that If certain ex-
peflses deducted from the WASH
ington account, but actually
chargeable to Offices in other
cities, were taken into account,
his profit probably would reach
A per cent.
IN addition to the Washing
ton office. he listed profits Of
$l3,644 in Baltimore, $12,578 in
Boston and $2,456 in Providence,
Rhode Island.
Listed as Trustees.
Mr.. PeiSner also disclosed
under questioning by the COM
mittee, that he and Leo Nazdin,
president of the Washington
Lahorers District Council, are
listed as trustees of a joint medi-
cal center set up for the la
horers unions here, eligible for
$4,000 and $500 annual sal
aries respectively.
However, he added, he has
drawn on $4,000 of that salary
during the past three years, be-
cause he was trying to build up
the clinics funds for an expan-
sion program. Mr.. Nazdin, he
said. has not drawn any salary.
MIR. Peisner said the medical
clinic at 1901 Fourth street NV.
was set up because of the high
proportion of colored members
In the building trades unions.
He said the inadequacy Of facili-
ties for medical treatment of
Negroes made the clinic neces-
sary.
General Agent for Firm.
In other phase OF his testi-
mony, Mr.. Peisner said he is
general agent In this area for the
Labor Union Life Insurance Co.
an American Federation of Labor
subsidiary, and that some Of the
INSURANCE contracts bought by
the welfare funds he administers
are with that fund. He denied
he was instrumental in negotia-
ting those contracts.
Committee members questioned
Mr.. Peisner sharply about the
condition of his records, and re-
vealed that in an executive
session November 8 Mr.. Peisner
had produced incomplete records,
saying they were all he could
find
Representative Wier, Demo-
crat, Of Minnesota, recalled Mr..
Peisner had used the term
sloppy" in referring to the state
Of his records. On Monday, when
the current hearings opened. Mr..
Peisner produced further records
which he said he since has been
able to find.
Mr.. Nazdin was scheduled for
an appearance in the witness
chair later today.
Paid Union Officials.
Yesterday. MIR. Peisner testi-
fed he paid high union officials
here $4,000 to help him get
more union welfare fund ac-
counts.
Mr.. Peisner said he agreed
to pay commissions to Mr.. Nag
din and Faust Moreschi, inter-
national officer of the AFL Hod
Carriers Union, to obtain the
administration of union welfare
funds in Boston, Baltimore and
Providence, R. I.
MIR. Peisner, who said he got |
into the welfare fund field as a |
500 a : week employee of the
Washington local of the AFL
Painters Union. reported he
now handles the funds Of eight
Washington local unions, two
laborer unions in Boston, one
laborer union in Providence and
a construction workers union in
Baltimore.
Five Of his Washington ac-
counts are laborers' locals, in
addition to the Iron Workers,
the Operating Engineers and the
Painters Unions.
MIR. Peisner testified he
switched from a salary to a fee
basis in 1949 when he took on
the administration of the Oper-
ating Engineers. Subsequently
ne added the other Washington
funds to his list and In 1861
decided to branch out into other
cities.