:: rawblogXport ::

:: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 ::

SUITS VS. BOOTS....RANK AND FILE OPPOSITION IN CHICAGO CARPENTERS LOCAL 1
Willmeng thought of the Rank and File as "an island of resistance in a sea of terrified members," and he and the other members drew inspiration from stories about other regions in the international. One night they watched a video of a carpenters' meeting in British Columbia, where the district council had begun proceedings to withdraw from the UBC to protest the erosion of democratic rights. Douglas McCarron had flown out to try to dissuade them. McCarron is a controversial leader, reviled as an autocrat by some, hailed as a genius by others. Shortly after being elected general president in 1995, in what seemed an obvious symbolic gesture, he ordered the union's historic headquarters in Washington, D.C., demolished, then replaced it with a ten-story building full of rental spaces that generate about $20 million a year. In the years since, he's implemented major structural changes in the UBC, merging autonomous locals and district councils, stripping their democratically elected leaders of power, and staffing the consolidated bodies with people loyal to the international.
Critics accuse McCarron of being cozy with contractors and of acting more like a businessman than an organizer. His $260,000 salary adds to that impression, as does his jetting around with George W. Bush on Air Force One on Labor Day--he was the subject of a September New York Times article titled "Bush Finds a Friend in Carpenters' Union President." He's now under investigation by the federal government for his role in questionable insurance stock deals. The video showed McCarron at a table with district council officials. One stood up at the start of the meeting and asked McCarron whether carpenters would be allowed to vote for their own BAs and vote on structural changes in the union. When McCarron said no, the man called the discussion "an absolutely bloody charade and just a goddamn bunch
of smoke and air." The hall erupted in cheers, someone flicked off the lights, and the angry carpenters stormed out, leaving their general president in a dim room.
As the camera zoomed in on McCarron for a close-up, Rank and File candidate Bob Sheehan said, "That's the face of the guy that's gonna sell everybody out." Willmeng said he thought McCarron looked nervous, and it seemed the general president had reason to be. The video ended with the British Columbian carpenters in a spontaneous and spirited parking-lot rally.
new Chicago Local 1 website

posted 10:54 PM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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