San Diego

Local Union Leader Facing Sexual Harassment Allegations

โ€œIt was humiliating, degrading and I never shared this with a soul,โ€ said Isabel Vasquez

A well-known union leader in San Diego was hit with another legal complaint.

Mickey Kasparian is facing sexual harassment allegations outlined in a civil complaint filed by a former, female employee.

Isabel Vasquez told NBC 7 that she had enough.

She filed the civil suit against the United Food and Commercial Workers Union as well as Mickey Kasparian, who heads it.

Vasquez says the sexual harassment started a year after she started working as an insurance clerk.

โ€œIt was humiliating, degrading and I never shared this with a soul,โ€ Vasquez said, near tears.

According to the complaint, Kasparian demanded sexual favors at the office, at hotels and even local events. The alleged abuse was "sporadic," sometimes not happening for years.

Vasquez says she endured the advances from Kasparian for 15 years before retiring in July, 2016.

โ€œI had a pension and a family to support. I was a single mom," she said. "I had to support myself.โ€

NBC 7 reached out to Kasparian, who responded via text saying, "I don't comment on things that 'never' happened."

โ€œHeโ€™s in a real jam here because if he denies it happened, there's going to be some very dramatic and humiliating evidence,โ€ said Dan Gilleon, Vasquezโ€™s attorney.

This latest allegation comes on the heels of another complaint filed Friday against the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).

Gilleon represents the plaintiff in that case as well.

That complaint accuses Kasparian of gender discrimination and creating a hostile work environment for women at the union.

โ€œIโ€™ve seen what he's done to other women with expiring careers. Smart women. Every woman in there is afraid for their job, every day," Vasquez said.

The UFCW sent a statement regarding the gender discrimination case, which reads in part:

"The complaint is nothing more than a pack of outrageous lies and falsehoods, defaming the Union and its leadership."

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