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Hawkeye Labor Council, a coalition of unions in seven Iowa counties, has suspended both members of its two-person staff and requested a government investigation of its finances.

Alan Bernard, 54, has served as the council's executive director since 2005. Lin Chavez, 21, has been the council's administrative assistant. Both were suspended last Wednesday, but the action was not made public until a news release late Monday.

In the news release, Justin Shields, labor council president and Cedar Rapids city councilman, was portrayed as confronting Bernard about "payments made by the staff on behalf of the council" immediately prior to the suspensions. Shields, a man who many perceived as being a close friend as well as working colleague with Bernard, would not offer further comment except to say that the matter is under investigation.

The matter, like most internal union conflicts, might have remained out of the public eye, except that Bernard was refused a United Airlines commercial flight on Monday from Cedar Rapids to Chicago. Bernard, prior to his suspension, had been scheduled on the flight as a part of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City corridor lobbying delegation to Washington, D.C. He was no longer part of the delegation and, amid concerns from members of Hawkeye Labor Council that he was leaving the area during an investigation, Bernard was asked by the airline to leave the plane. A United Airlines spokesperson has not yet responded to an information request as to the exact reason for Bernard being asked to leave the plane.

Bernard, who also owns and operates a political consulting firm, has not responded to a request for comment. Labor interests held a special meeting Monday night that was not open to the press. At this time, no actions or discussions from that meeting have been made public.

Hawkeye Labor Council, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, is the official organization of the national American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations of East Central Iowa. The council represents union employees in Linn, Iowa, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Delaware and Jones counties.