:: rawblogXport ::

:: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 ::

WHY BUSH LOVES THE CARPENTERS McCarron would deny it, but his real reason for supporting Bush is likely that he needs the administration's help in quashing a challenge from within his own union. Many carpenters were critical of McCarron's decision to withdraw the union from the AFL-CIO partly over a dispute concerning back dues. "It was very unpopular," explains Michael Cranmer, a carpenter from Boston, "because our general belief is that labor has strength in numbers and that you don't give that up without having a darn good reason." This October, McCarron found himself at the center of still more controversy when it was revealed that he and other directors of ULLICO, a union-owned life insurance company, had made out like bandits through insider knowledge of the company's investment in Global Crossing. Facing a possible indictment, McCarron announced on October 29 that he would return the nearly $300,000 he had made.

But most angering to union members has been McCarron's attempt to transfer power away from democratically elected local unions and put it in the hands of newly created regional councils that McCarron and his allies can more easily control. McCarron's assault on the power of the locals led directly to the formation in March 2000 of Carpenters for a Democratic Union and to a challenge to McCarron's reelection at the UBC's convention that year. It has fueled revolts in California, the Pacific Northwest, Illinois, New York, New England, and Georgia, and it has led carpenters in British Columbia to declare themselves independent of McCarron's international union. Most significant, it has inspired a legal challenge from the New England carpenters, who filed suit to force the Labor Department to find McCarron in violation of federal laws governing union elections. If the New England carpenters win their case, they could topple the hierarchical structure that McCarron has erected. And that's where Bush comes in. So far, Bush and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao have sided with McCarron against the reformers. And McCarron is counting on their continued support, even in the face of legal precedents that clearly favor his opponents.

posted 8:56 PM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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