Despite decades of progress, the union movement acknowledges that it has not met its goals: unions must reflect the diversity of their community, and union movement leadership must reflect the diversity of its members. In too many cases, women and minorities remain underrepresented among union leadership. It is understandable that many women—the workers who are among those with the most to gain from union membership and who are most actively organizing today—do not feel welcome. We continue to see racism and sexism dominated the CRCC leadership and they continue to pander to its racist and sexist members.

It is incumbent upon the union movement to stand before employers and governments in every part of the world as a model of openness, fairness and opportunity. Unions must not allow women, or other minorities, to be denied the fruits of their labor in the workplace. Unions cannot be less vigilant and demanding of themselves. Building a stronger union movement to improve the lives of working families will require all of us, working together, not as a Corporate Union without the voice of its members to be inclusive of concerns and decisions the union makes.

If the union continues not to hear every voice and continues to speak for ALL members, we will see the destruction of the Carpenters Union as we have known it within a few years…

Regional Councils across the United States and Canada have been given the power by General President Douglas McCarron to appoint Business Representatives and Organizers to our administration with the plan to appoint sisters and brothers to different positions within our union to make each appointment representative of our diverse workforce. Many of our Regional’s and Locals are beginning to fall in line; but many more are not…

I will talk about what I have heard and seen from my brothers and sisters here in the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters member since 1979.

Our new President/Secretary-Treasurer and his appointed administration are working furiously to eliminate the corruption that has been in the carpenter’s union for over a century. Some things I have seen are in the right direction; but again, many others are not.

The biggest mistake that unions have made is keeping information from their members. Members are consistently told to shut-up and sit down at local meetings when expressing a concern about politics or procedures. They have not been allowed to help to find resolutions or changes that must occur for unions to survive.

The union continues to appoint inexperienced brothers and sisters to positions creating an eternally and fiercely loyal staff totally dependent on their jobs. These people are loyal to the point of abusing their power and positions to further their own goals or the personal agenda of our corporate union (I call the republican plan.) These new appointees are even asked to sign a contract which virtually keeps them from talking or speaking out about what is on their minds. They are even given job evaluations for their new positions, but the timelines are not equal depending who they are…

The union panders to the older members and society’s theological moral teachings, allowing the bigotry and sexism that have existed in our union and country for centuries. The appointments are sometimes made from outside the carpenters union. People with no experience become union carpenters overnight. They are appointed as Business Agents, Organizers, etc. just to have these positions filled. Even Executive Delegates are being appointed by our Executive Secretary-Treasurers without our membership knowing. The new appointed Executive Delegates are being paid six hours, at time and a half, for one hour’s work. They even get two salaries for the different titles they hold.

I continue to collect the voices of brother and sister carpenters from across the U.S. and Canada regarding the same new plan given to them by General President of the UBCJA Douglas J. McCarron.

During the 2005 UBCJA General Election 1,819 delegates were in attendance and voted. McCarron’s slate received 1,625 votes and “Restore the Vote” slate received 194 votes. “Restore the Vote” slate tried to get their information out to brothers and sisters regarding the deceitful tactics that had been used by the McCarron slate to re-elect them, but not too many rank and file members (working carpenters) received the information.

A little unknown fact is when the delegates voted for the McCarron slate in 2005, they also voted to amend the UBCJA Constitution, giving the General President the power to appoint delegates and local officers when any two Regional Councils are merged. This was part of the slate (the new plan), and not one of the special delegates appointed here in Chicago told the members at their locals. Was this because they did not know either?

When elected members think ignorance is bliss, they are, in fact, deceiving the members that elected them...and are sending them down the river without a paddle.

The union has not employed their new muscle yet; taking the vote away from us to elect Delegates, but I see it coming very soon. Members will not be allowed to elect their delegates. All it will take is a letter to all our locals after a mandate is given to all our District and Regional Councils. Most members do not even know what a Delegate is! So how important will it be to these members to lose that vote? We have already lost our vote to elect our own Business Representatives, what is wrong with losing the delegate vote?

Let’s check the conflicting information between Department of Labor (DOL), Union Member Rights (LMRDA) and our UBCJA Constitution.

There is a clear contradiction between our DOL laws and our Constitution laws…

Excerpt from the U.S. Department of Labor, Union Member Rights

Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959, as amended:

TITLE I—BILL OF RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

Bill of Rights for Union Members (29 U.S.C. 411) Sec. 101 (a) (2)

Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Every member of any labor organization shall have the right to meet and assemble freely with other members; and to express any views, arguments, or opinions…

Excerpt from UBCJA Constitution

A Section 51

Any officer or member found guilty after being charged and tried in accordance with Section 52, for any of the following offenses, may be reprimanded, fined, suspended or expelled only by a majority vote of the members of the Local Union present at a regular meeting, or of the delegates to the District or Regional Council having jurisdiction of the offense.

(8)        Divulging to any unauthorized person, the business of any subordinate body without its consent.

Now let’s see how fair our union officials are…

A Section 52

Any member charged with an offense under Section 51 or Bylaws or Trade Rules shall be given a fair and impartial trail, and must exhaust all remedies allowed by Section 52 & 53 before taking the case to the civil courts.

Situation that just occurred in a trail board hearing 2008:

Jack and Jill carpenter apprentices brought charges against a carpenter foreman on their job site. Two job stewards working for the same contractor backed up their verbal and written grievance on this carpenter foreman. Total of three brothers and one sister carpenter all stating the same thing.

1^st        The Business Representative (BA) for Jill tells her to call the EEOC, even had an attorney contact her. (BA) gave Jill the wrong advice under Section 51, in fact allowing her to lose the grievance and be blackballed from working as a union carpenter again!

2^nd        Getting past this wrong information given by her BA, Jill goes to a pre-trial hearing made up of five people, four Executive BAs and a union attorney.

            During Jill’s questioning quote from one of the Executive BAs that is part of the Pre-Trial board, “Why are you doing this? This is a man’s world; why don’t you learn to fit in!”

Now this is an Executive Officer of our union that is there to protect the member’s rights, in this case a female. This was, to say the least, sexual harassment by an appointed executive officer of our CRCC union.

What controls has our administration put in place to evaluate the members that are being appointed? And what about the corrupt officers that were allowed to stay as part of the merged District/Regional Councils and locals. Are some of our new officers still being threatened with their lives or jobs…I would say yes. Do we have to continue to be careful of what we say, about what we know to be true ? The answer is YES! 

The United States Labor laws for governing ourselves supercedes whatever might be obscure or conflicting laws in our UBCJA Constitution. I suggest that every union carpenter print out a copy of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) laws and keep it in their pocket. Every member should educate themselves to not only their Constitution, and to their LMRDA laws. Without this information and knowledge, they may be the product of suspension from the union for trying to stand up for their union rights.

Union members have the right to meet and assemble freely with other members, in any carpenter local; and to express any views, arguments, opinions, or concerns about any member, local officer, and executive officer in their union. But when they speak, they must have proof. Proof can be in the form of other brothers and sisters signing on to the same comments that they are stating as to what happens in a local, committee, trail board or on the job site. Any member can bring a representative with them (any union member, not necessarily an attorney) as support.

There are many things that members need to learn to protect themselves in a union…they need to start now, if they have not done so already.

The media is one good way to change what has and is still occurring in the union today…

We must remember: participation starts with us, democracy starts with us, solidarity starts with us!

This next story was posted by Brother T. Scott Brineman

—Brothers and sisters, delegates to convention, those that know their rights and use them understanding that "all politics are local".

I am sure that was said before I thought it. When rights are available from our government to control our union-member rights, I advocate utilizing them. The press has never responded, and we that are "Restore the Vote" advocates are appreciative of coverage of workers rights by the press. USE THE PRESS to protect your rights.

Other union members are also aware; they hope to work with us to secure the best future for all workers. In our multiple year campaign to (re)gain our rights under the law it has been and will be a tactic that will evolve. Finding new ways to build educationally through solidarity will be the key. To work under the current laws passed by the 2005 delegates will be difficult at best. The constitutional amendment to add to the appointment of delegates fills his hand, our elected delegates sold out their own future. There is question about the voice vote which was gaveled quickly as concurrence.

For 8-plus years observing and reacting, we have seen many fall by the wayside in their personal belief of democracy. Our UBC has crushed many that have stood their ground under fierce attack. They were the example applied. When GOOD MEN DO NOTHING, its like "if your only involvement in DEMOCRACY is in a voting booth 10 minutes a year, then that will be all the democracy you deserve." Ventura A. E. Simmons

I know The UBC traditions of not exercising our rights, it is perhaps why the status quo is in control. It is a tradition when we attack each other with the fear of a loss. I hope that you all will act out of a hope of a gain. This also was said by others that have moved my heart to stand with the "restore the vote slate". You have won at this convention, and many still need to know the power we all showed, even those repressed economically and physically by MAC supporters. —

If any of you are interested in viewing a DVD of the warriors that stood for you and our many ideas, please contact:

Ken Little, Brother Carpenter
253-531-5658
http://www.KenCarpenter.com

Comment by Chris:

Come on brother, you have to start including sisters (women) in this fight…we have been here for 38 years fighting by ourselves…let’s go. Change the way you think and we can win together!