The Bank of Labor is a for-profit bank controlled by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers that advertises itself as “the nation’s only bank that is labor majority-owned and operated.” It specializes in serving the banking needs of labor unions, locals, and labor union members. ¹

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a grand jury indictment against seven defendants, five of whom were current or former officers of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. ² Defendants included Newton Jones, who had also worked as chairman and CEO of Bank of Labor, and William Creeden, who had also been senior executive vice president of the Bank; ³ the government alleged that their employment with Bank of Labor amounted to illegal “no-show employment.” ²

Background

The Bank of Labor was founded in 1924 by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers labor union as the Brotherhood State Bank. As of 2025, Bank of Labor is owned by the one-bank holding company, Bank of Labor Bancshares, Inc., which is in turn owned by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. ¹

In addition to its labor union customers, the bank also operates as a community bank in the Kansas City region, operating five branches and offering a standard suite of bank services to residents and businesses. ⁴

As of March 2025, the Bank of Labor reported $1.034 billion in consolidated assets. ⁵

Controversy

Boilermakers RICO Indictments

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a grand jury indictment against seven defendants, five of whom were current or former officers of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. The defendants were charged under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act with operating a 15-year, $20 million embezzlement scheme. ²

The defendants were former Boilermakers union president Newton Jones, former secretary-treasurer William Creeden, former president Truman “Warren” Fairley, then-secretary-treasurer Kathy Stapp, and former vice president Lawrence McManamon. ² Newton Jones’s wife Kateryna Jones and son Cullen Jones were also charged. ⁶

The indictment alleged that Newton Jones and William Creeden had held “no-show” jobs at the Bank of Labor that paid them a total of more than $3.4 million in salaries and benefits. ²

The DOJ indictment also alleged that the conspirators had made “$7 million in loans from the Boilermakers Union MORE Fund executed by Newton Jones and Creeden to the Bank of Labor, which were not authorized under the terms of the Boilermakers Union constitution or its conflict-of-interest policy.” ²

Stapp pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge for knowingly authorizing improper payments, while all other defendants pleaded not guilty. ⁷ The case was made with the assistance of Tyler Brown, the former chief of staff and special assistant for Newton Jones, who pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy charge and assisted the government with its case. ³

Leadership

The board members of Bank of Labor’s holding company include multiple representatives of labor unions, including D. Michael Langford, former president of the Utility Workers Union of America and former member of the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council; Steven Powell, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881; Clint Penny, international secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Timothy Simmons, international president of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; and Steven VanSlooten, former national executive vice president of the Utility Workers Union of America. ⁸

In 2021, Bank of Labor senior vice president Mary Buche was appointed to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Community Bank Advisory Council. The Kansas City Business Journal characterized her as saying that she aimed to “address systemic racism and racial inequities in banking.” ⁹

1. “About.” Bank of Labor. Accessed June 2, 2025. https://www.bankoflabor.com/who-we-are/.
2. “Two Former Presidents of Boilermakers International Union among Seven Indicted for $20M Embezzlement Scheme.” U.S. Department of Justice, August 22, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/two-former-presidents-boilermakers-international-union-among-seven-indicted-20m-embezzlement.
3. Thomas, Judy L. “Boilermakers’ Ousted President Stole Millions from KC-Based Union, Court Filing Alleges.” Kansas City Star, May 29, 2024. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article288768790.html.
4. “About the Bol Community.” Bank of Labor. Accessed June 2, 2025. https://www.bankoflabor.com/about-community/.
5. “Large Commercial Banks.” U.S. Federal Reserve Board, March 31, 2025. https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/.
6. Carpenter, Tim. “Federal Appeals Court Affirms Ouster of Former Union President Indicted for Embezzlement.” Kansas Reflector, December 10, 2024. https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/09/federal-appeals-court-affirms-ouster-of-former-union-president-indicted-for-embezzlement/.
7. ^[1] Thomas, Judy L. “Former Boilermakers Officer Pleads Guilty in $20 Million Union Embezzlement Scheme.” Kansas City Star, December 20, 2024. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article297396579.html.
8. Bank of Labor Bancshares, Inc. 2024 Annual Report, 2024. https://docs.publicnow.com/viewDoc?filename=172071%5CEXT%5C7ED74A6E21ABEB537A8B688DF228448D588D32E4_C06F4BBFC4FBF0AE11DDBB2FFDE76C0B167031E3.PDF
9. Weaver, Darcy. “Bank of Labor Exec Joins National Banking Council, Aims to Push for More Banking Equity.” Kansas City Business Journal, September 23, 2021. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2021/09/23/bank-of-labor-svp-joins-national-bureau.html.