Transit union bans former local officers, demands payback of $317,000

By Joe Holleman | St. Louis Post-Dispatch (TNS)

ST. LOUIS, MO. — Three former officers of a union local that represents Metro Transit workers have been ordered to pay back more than $300,000 after a probe into corruption and malpractice.

The governing body of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) said in a letter to its members Monday that the former Local 788 officials are "banned for life" from holding an office or position of "trust or control over union finances" with the ATU or affiliated unions.

The three are former president Reginald “Reggie” Howard; former first vice president Catina Wilson Howard, Reginald's wife; and Antoian Johnson, who had been financial secretary.

A story first reported in the Post-Dispatch in September revealed that because of possible corruption and malpractice, Local 788 had been taken over in June 2025 by international union officials, who said the local's budget had a deficit of more than $930,000.

Last week's announcement provided a breakdown of the amount of money the international union wants repaid:

• Reggie Howard: $93,453, for unauthorized compensation.

• Catina Howard: $73,959, for unauthorized compensation.

• Antoian Johnson: total of $149,637; that includes $97,687 for unauthorized compensation and $51,950 for "misappropriation."

Reggie Howard and Johnson could not be reached for comment.

Catina Howard said she received the information by email. She denied any impropriety and said her compensation was part of "contractual raises." She called the situation "a political issue" and declined to comment further.

Catina Howard made an unsuccessful bid in 2024 to become a state representative for Missouri’s 75th District in north St. Louis County. She lost a close Democratic primary race to Chanel Mosley, who is running for reelection this year.

In that race, Howard benefited from her connections to the international union, which contributed $2,000 to her campaign. She also used Johnson as her campaign treasurer.

Local 788 was founded in 1918 and represents about 2,600 bus drivers, light-rail operators and associated service employees for Metro Transit. It also represents some school bus drivers in Missouri and the Metro East.

The international union, based in Maryland, filed last year for trusteeship of the local with the U.S. Department of Labor, citing “corruption” and “malpractice.”

In a trusteeship, a parent union suspends the autonomy of a local unit and appoints others to assume managerial duties. The trusteeship remains in force for 18 months, unless the international union asks for an extension.

The local now is being run by the international union's executive vice president, Yvette Trujillo, of Silver Spring, Maryland; and vice president Jacques Chapman, of Rochester, New York.

Trujillo declined to comment, and Chapman could not be reached.

The international represents about 200,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada.

Alicia Richardson, a local vice president who is working with the trusteeship, said the letter was sent only to members of the union.

Last year, Local 788 records turned over to the Labor Department showed it had a budget deficit of $931,251 — based on $255,412 in total assets and almost $1.2 million in liabilities.

The trusteeship's filing said the local failed to file audits and disbursed union funds without adequate financial controls.

The union had not been in arrears until 2021, according to the filings. After that, records showed liabilities increased by more than $1 million and assets only grew by about $156,000.

In 2022, the Labor Department reported that Local 788 had been paying the three former officials annual salaries and other compensation of more than $90,000: Reggie Howard, $104,487; Catina Howard, $94,376; and Johnson, $92,716.

The local also paid 14 shop stewards a total of about $230,000, with compensation ranging from $1,280 to almost $40,000, records show.

According to general guidelines by the Labor Department, salaries for full-time officers and staff are contained in a union's governing documents, and changes in salaries usually must be approved by a vote of the union's membership.

When filing for the trusteeship, international officials said Local 788, among other shortcomings, had a "payroll and compensation structure which is beyond the current means of the local union.”

The international also claimed the local failed to file audits and disbursed “local union funds without adequate financial controls.” The filing did not identify any specific spending by the local beyond the salaries.

The union currently is working under a three-year contract that expires in August; negotiations on a new pact are underway, Richardson said.

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