Amfa's Politics

[UAL_TECH]

Great post, Need to mention amfa has set up a legislative office thru the McCormick group so there is no accountability to assist the members who wish to participate. Keep in mind you have to do the work! Have yet to see anything constructive put out.

Thanks to the pressure the AFL-CIO and others, amfa had to make it appear they were doing something.

As is typical of the AFL-CIO, they always have their head up their Arse.

http://www.amfanatl.org/Pages/06_News%26In...LCIO%208403.pdf

Now, what was the intent?

The 'intent' was to 'support' the AFL-CIO in their efforts to gain 'support' for this 'grass roots' action???

And what was the action/reaction?
Do you want support or not?
Quit speaking out of both sides of your mouth.

Oh yea, I'm impressed!!!

UT

 

[Hopeful]

World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org

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WSWS : News & Analysis : North America

A red-baiting attack at the US Transport Workers Union convention
By Alan Whyte
6 December 2001
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In one of the first union conventions to be held in the wake of the September 11 disaster, the international leadership of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has signaled the support of the trade union bureaucracy as a whole for the Bush administration’s turn to military aggression abroad and the attack on democratic rights at home. The convention demonstrated as well that the bureaucrats welcome the war drive and its demand for ideological obedience as a useful weapon to suppress any hint of rank-and-file dissent within the unions themselves.

This was sharply manifested at the union’s international convention when a red-baiting document was distributed to all the delegates condemning the new leadership of New York City’s Local 100 as “bin Laden’s friends.†The document asserted that many of the leading members of the faction called New Directions that took control of the New York local at the beginning of the year belong to various groups that function “as a vehicle for revolutionary socialism.â€

The first page of the eight-page report included the assertion that the “TWU is at a crossroads similar to the one faced by Mike Quill in the late 1940s. It is one thing to advocate and practice progressive trade unionism—as TWU has done since its founding. It’s another thing to attempt to use the TWU to advance a broader radical political agenda at the expense of the members’ interests. That is what the Communists of the late 1940s attempted to do. And that is what New Directions ‘revolutionary socialists’ plan to do if they ever get to control the TWU international union.â€

Mike Quill, the TWU’s first president, was a supporter of the Stalinist Communist Party (CP) and one of the founders of the TWU in the late 1930s. After the Second World War, he turned against his former CP comrades in what became a virtual civil war in that union. Quill participated in the red-baiting tactics that the union bureaucracy was to utilize throughout the country. As a result, the CP members were driven out of the transit union and the labor bureaucracy nationwide warmly embraced Mike Quill as one of its own.

These repressive attacks in the trade unions anticipated the McCarthyite witch-hunt that would soon follow. Through this process, the union bureaucracy integrated itself ever more directly into the state apparatus, aiding in the suppression of workers struggles at home and the subversion of militant labor movements abroad. The result was the evolution of one of the most impotent and politically retrograde trade union movements in the world.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the bureaucracy’s usefulness to the US government, its State Department and intelligence services has declined, resulting in the loss of a significant source of funds and positions for the labor hierarchy. Clearly, the bureaucrats welcome the prospect that a “global war on terrorism†will revive their old role.

At the same time, as the TWU convention demonstrates, the union officialdom is more than happy to adapt the repressive policies of the government to the task of suppressing any dissent within their own organizations. This is made clear in the document’s attempt to brand anyone who questions Bush’s war in Afghanistan as a friend of bin Laden.

Under the heading “New Directions and Sept. 11: Bin Laden’s Friends?†the document asserts that some Local 100 officers and New Directions members belong to a group called Solidarity that issued a statement urging: “people of the United States must not give the U.S. government the free hand it desires to retaliate against the victims of U.S.-dominated global capitalism under the catch-all claim of fighting terrorism.â€

The red-baiting attack took place as TWU International President Sonny Hall was facing a challenge to his reelection from Local 100 President Roger Toussaint. This electoral spat arose not out of any principled dispute over policy or program, but rather over the division of the spoils within the bureaucracy itself. The New York local is, by far, the largest, having about one third of the convention’s 353 delegates. Toussaint apparently decided to run a slate against Hall as a result of a failure of the two men to make an agreement on giving the new Local 100 leadership a share of the posts within the international.

Hall claimed that he had nothing to do with the issuing of the red-baiting flyer. In the course of denying any responsibility, he said, “I think it’s a terrible thing to say anybody from TWU Local 100 or otherwise are friends of bin Laden.â€

However, it is hard to believe his disclaimer considering the fact that the document was placed on each delegate’s desk during their lunch break just before they were to vote for international officers. Since the convention hall was guarded by the international’s security staff, clearly such a leaflet could only be distributed in this manner with the approval of the union’s top leadership. Furthermore, Hall echoed the sentiments of the document condemning New Directions as a front for radical organizations trying to take over the union.

The New Directions tendency was created in the New York local more than 15 years ago by former middle class left protesters who firmly believed that to win the support of workers it was necessary to bury themselves in the trade unions by advancing a vague platform of more union democracy and militancy. They considered it absolutely mandatory that they avoid any mention of socialist politics in the unions.

New Directions was able to gain control of Local 100 at the beginning of this year by winning more than 60 percent of the vote against the old guard that was both badly divided and discredited among the 36,000 bus and subway workers. This vote reflected a growing disgust with an entrenched and corrupt leadership that not only accepted one concession contract after another, but also willfully submitted to a court order, obtained by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, that threatened the union and the rank and file with astronomical financial fines for even discussing strike action during the last contract fight.

The document distributed at the convention portrayed the selection of Toussaint as the presidential candidate for Local 100 as “the way in which radicals in New Directions coalesced behind a new face like Roger Toussaint in order to take power...â€

In fact, Toussaint’s candidacy was warmly welcomed by the powers-that-be. During the union election, all the New York dailies ran highly laudatory articles about him. His election victory was received with great praise from Sonny Hall, the city labor bureaucracy, as well as numerous political officials.

True to form, this new leadership has done absolutely nothing to discomfort New York City’s financial and political elite. Politically speaking, since it took power it has conducted itself no differently than the previous leadership. At its most recent mass membership meeting, New York Senator Hillary Clinton was the keynote speaker. As a candidate, she solidarized herself with Mayor Giuliani’s repressive attack on transit workers during the last contract fight by declaring her own support for the state’s anti-strike Taylor Law that prohibits walkouts by public employees.

The vicious red-baiting conducted by the international leadership reveals that the bureaucratized trade unions will do everything in their power to harness the present rightward turn by the Bush administration in order to suppress any expression of workers rights against the needs of big business and the privileges of the union officials themselves. If they are willing to do this against a mere rival for posts and privileges like New Directions, one can only imagine the venom and violence that the labor bureaucracy would utilize in the face of a genuine mass rank-and-file opposition.






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[Hopeful]

LETTER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
(also see their response)

I am absolutely fed up and disgusted with the manner in which the assets of our union have been mishandled and our contracts negotiated. I do not believe for a moment that these are isolated incidents of mismanaged assets. I believe this is part of a larger problem that is so deeply ingrained in the system that it is in fact an ongoing self-perpetuating problem. Further, I believe that unless something is radically changed the union membership will continue to be plagued by financial oversights. We must endeavor to put in place a system of checks and balances that will immediately call attention to any irregularities. Finally, we must back up that system with an automatic default that will prevent any reoccurrence of similar problems.

Initially however, I believe we need to clean house. I’m not talking about dusting around the edges to take of the surface irregularities, I’m saying we need to make a major overhaul of the infrastructure. Right now we have a leader that is capable, willing and motivated enough to take this organization in a new direction (no pun intended). There are still many major obstacles that are hell bent on deterring those efforts, its up to all of us to help remove those barriers. We should never forget that almost every leader that has been put into office has been elevated to that position in one way or another by a group of his/her peers. Obviously there is a general feeling of trust and confidence in the new leader that is being installed. More often than not this is usually well deserved. What happens then to change these leaders once they have taken office? Almost always these variations occur as a result of pressures from above, and or reciprocal obligations stemming from peer group support. Lets at least help to remove the pressures from above. If they can’t lead, and they won’t follow---LET’S GET THEM THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY!

My letter to the Department of Labor is my first step in that direction, I can use all the help I can get.

Ed Kehoe

This letter I sent to the department of labor indicates my intention to have charges brought against all those who would have had any responsibility in bringing the membership of local 100 to its present financial condition. Not the greatest letter in the world, but it sure beats the hell out of doing nothing. I am going to ask the executive board to assist me in pushing for our legal staff to follow up on this.

It contains the following:

A statement of facts

Allegations I have made regarding the manner in which fiduciary responsibilities were abdicated.

My charges, specifically.

A copy of a letter from Sonny Hall to me in which he states "Clearly, the local is in deep administrative trouble"

A copy of my letter sent to both the District Attorney and The Department of Labor with my request for an investigation into the credit card fiasco (their response was awsome).

A copy of:
ARTICLE 20-A
LABOR AND MANAGEMENT IMPROPER PRACTICES ACT

A Remedy Sought



The Letter to the department of Labor



Edward Kehoe

314 West 231st. Suite#111,

Bronx, New York 10463





To: The Department of Labor

Re: Request for investigation

March 5, 2001,

Dear Ms Hoyt,

I am asking your organization to assist me and 35,000 members of the TWU, Local 100 to recover monies and health benefits that were illegally taken from us. The following pages will not outline the complete extent of the damages we have suffered, nevertheless, it should supply enough information to elicit an investigation by your department. The result of which I hope will lead to the eventual recovery of our membership's assets, and the prosecution of those responsible for our loss.

Edward Kehoe,

TWU Local 100 Executive board member, Line Equipment/Signals



Statement of facts:

The funding of the Local 100 Staff pension is and has been grossly under-funded and therefore poorly managed. The building which houses, and which is the property of Local 100 was mortgaged at an interest rate of 14% at a time when the going rate for mortgage agreements was 9%. Local 100 is at the present time indebted to the TWU International, a parent organization with fiduciary responsibilities over the Local Unions administrative and financial procedures, in the amount of approximately $3,000,000. The local union officers so mismanaged the assets of the building that the locals rental spaces will be locked into rental agreements at far below the going market rate. Further, the local officers deemed it financially prudent to compensate the agents who negotiated these outrageous contracts at fees that were approximately three times the going rate. In one particular instance, not only are we locked into a totally unacceptable rental rate, we are locked into it for a period of 20 years, with options to renew locked in for another 20years. Local 100 is at the present time in danger of losing its health benefit funding due to what can only be referred to as a last minute change in a contract negotiation at a time when the Local was under what many consider to be an illegally imposed Temporary restraining Order during an otherwise peaceful and Legal labor contract negotiation.

Allegations:

The International Union had a responsibility to carry out the duties and responsibilities in article(s) V, VI and IX (attached) as defined in the excerpts from the constitution. The inexcusable mismanagement of the Locals finances as outlined above were a direct result of the abdication of those responsibilities. Further, the inaction on their part to carry out these responsibilities, coupled with a close political alliance with the Local Officers, actually served to encourage, condone and exacerbate the furtherance of these improprieties. The members of the local executive boards minority group were continuously frustrated as they were outvoted time and time again on issues intended to obtain responsible financial oversight.

The international Union is, and has been a tenant in the building and has had, during the last local 100’s administration, an ongoing almost inseparable relationship with the local 100 officers and membership. The three highest ranking officers in our union, largeley, if not completely responsible for the unions finances are all Executive Council Vice Presidents in the TWU International. It would have been virtually impossible for them not to know that there was something not in line with their financial requirements. Yet and still they did nothing, they allowed the union to sink further and further in this financial abyss.

Further, the MTA NYCT has been an active participant in the undermining of the integrity of our union representation. The enormous resources of legal and financial information regarding our medical, personal and financial information, coupled with political connections with the chief administrative officers of our city and State Governments have completely decimated and destroyed the concept of "good faith bargaining". Couple this with an illegally obtained injunction issued by a pool of judges dependent on city and state administrators for retention of their office and you have all the ingredients required for the onset of "TYRANNY".

Charges:

I charge the TWU International union, the President and vice presidents of TWU Local 100 that were in office prior to the recent election and the MTA New York City Transit Authority with numerous and consistent violations of New York State Labor Law.

Specifically:

Article-20 A

Sections: 722. Fiduciary obligations of officers and agents.

Sections: 724. Obligation of employers and others.

Additionally, Articles in article(s) V, VI and IX of the TWU International Constitution.

Remedy Sought:

I demand that the TWU International, The MTA, NYCTA, and the officers involved in perpetrating this loathsome, harmful and totally unjustifiable act on the 35,00o members of the TWU Local 100 and their families be held to full accountability for their actions. Further, that the Governor and the Mayor of New York be held as accomplices in these outrageous crimes against the membership. Finally, that a court of competent jurisdiction exacts whatever monetary restitution it might take in order to make the Local 100 membership whole again.

Finally, I realize that as a union member I have a responsibility to exhaust all available remedies through the union before going to an outside agency for a remedy at law. Needless to say, given the fact that the TWU would ultimately be involved in the decision making process, even to the extent that they have a right to overturn any decision that may be made at a lower level, this would be an exercise in futility.

In a letter sent to me by Sonny Hall in response to my letter to your organization requesting an investigation into credit card abuse he not only reprimanded me for going to an out side agency, he also admitted that the local was in "deep administrative trouble" (copy attached