Frank Cramer

"Well, these guys are my family. We're at each other's weddings, and when someone has a baby or when someone's in the hospital. We sweat blood for each other, and I'm not selling them out, not a limited percentage, not one of them." — Frank Cramer to Jessica Pearson

Frank Cramer is a union leader who represents construction workers in Chicago. He made his sole appearance in "The Union Leader".

History

Frank Cramer is the union leader for construction firms in Chicago, having developed a reputation as a loyal and ethical man. He and his wife had a son, Tyler, and an unnamed daughter. The family suffered under mountains of debt as they sent their son Tyler to rehab multiple times, as he was physically violent and had beaten his ex-girlfriend in the past.

After property developer Pat McGann wished to save $40-50 million by using non-unionized labor, he attempted to appoint Betsy Sullivan as an alderman. Not wanting Betsy to have the position due to her racist mindset, Jessica Pearson attempted to convince Cramer to turn a blind-eye to McGann and accept a bribe in exchange for allowing McGann to break union laws. Aware of McGann's nature and not wanting to sell out his workers, Cramer refused. As Jessica left, Tyler approached her and grabbed her arm, prompting Chicago police officer Nick D'Amato to restrain him.

Shortly after, Jessica invited Cramer out and informed him that she had a sworn testimony from a Chicago police officer that Tyler has assaulted her, which would be in violation of his parole. She offered to agree not to pursue the matter if Cramer took the payout, and with Cramer having mentioned his financial woes a few moments earlier, he agreed.^[1]

Appearances

Pearson, Season 1
#01	"The Alderman"	#06	"The Donor"
#02	"The Superintendent"	#07	"The Immigration Lawyer"
#03	"The Union Leader"	#08	"The Political Wife"
#04	"The Deputy Mayor"	#09	"The Rival"
#05	"The Former City Attorney"	#10	"The Fixer"

References