Retaliation!
Black listed, black balled, or retaliation (the legal terminology used by the Department of Labor), no matter what you call it, most of us have been subjected to, or at least been afraid of this happening to us. As you read the attached excerpt from “Democratic Rights for Union Workers, A Guide to Internal Union Democracy” written in 1979 by H. W. Benson founder of the Association for Union Democracy (visit their web site at www.uniondemocracy.com), you see before your eyes, Local 18! Every sentence has significance as to what has historically happen with our Local. How did this happen? When did these men begin to forget where they came from, what they once fought for and what they professed to believe? How did it all change when the power and control of Local 18 member's welfare was at their fingertips? When did it become “their union” and not the union of the Rank and File? We are all supposed to be Union Brothers and Sisters so after an election, why can't these men shake hands with those who opposed them and work together for the next three years to make our Union stronger? Is it paranoia or ego, or both?
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Excerpt from the book “Democratic Rights for Union Workers, A Guide to Internal Union Democracy” by H.W. Benson
In their proud identification with a great social movement, in their capacity as worker's leaders, most union officers would surely rejoice to see a labor movement purged of corruption, wholly dedicated to its membership, honored for its democracy and enlightenment. But they continually fall short of their own ideal standards; as union politicians— as distinguished from union leaders —they are men of power, driven by the need to hold tight to that power.
As a politician, the union officer develops special talents, sometimes those of a bureaucrat, sometimes of a dictator, but always the ability to maintain and strengthen his own base. He formulates programs and switches them, exchanges enemies and friends, makes and breaks alliances; and through all the permutations and combinations, one thread of consistency remains: he jealously guards his own power in his own union against even remote shadows of threats. To solidify that power he apportions patronage jobs in the union, in industry, in union welfare funds. As a politician he demands personal loyalty from the union staff, which almost everywhere in the labor movement becomes the administration's political machine.
As a leader, he often sets out to arouse his members; he organizes, seeks support during tough negotiations and strikes, and calls them out to vote in public elections. And for that, he stimulates the worker's self-respect and sense of social justice, sometimes against employer, sometimes against government officials. Stand up for your rights! Solidarity! Don't be intimidated! You're as good as they are! Be a man!
But as an official, jealous of power and determined to stave off opposition, he ordinarily tries to impose quite a different mood in the union. Don't make waves! Go along! Don't complain, especially not to outsiders! Sit down, shut up! The leaders stir up passion against bosses; the officials implant acquiescence toward themselves.
The leader readily slips into the state of mind of the official. As he performs memorable deeds, he can easily imagine that his talents alone assured success, not the power of the social movement he represents. Spring comes only because he plants the grass seed. Obsessed with the notion that his union can prosper best under his leadership, he feels in his bones that he and his followers must continue to hold power, come what may. Or, even without the dizzying breezes of noble philosophical rationalization, the official may resist surrendering power simply because he has learned to love its perquisites.
Running a union is a rough job, and union leaders enjoy the reputation of being “Tough-minded.” As tough politicians, it is difficult for them to accept the absurd notion that their role in historic events should depend upon the passing whims of workers who drop pieces of paper into ballot boxes. They take shelter behind a bureaucratic stockade against the savage thrust of democracy. Before the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act gave some federal protection to internal union democracy, many union constitutions buttressed the officialdom by outlawing caucuses, illegalizing handbills, suppressing free speech, penalizing members for going to court. Oppositionists were ruled off the ballot, elections were stolen, trusteeships were arbitrarily imposed over rebel locals. Most of these practices are now illegal but are often continued by subterfuge. The distrust of democracy remains, nicely illustrated by what David McDonald, when he was Steelworkers secretary, once said to the union's research director: “I never could trust anyone I couldn't buy.”
Recognizing certain common qualities in each other, expecting them, admiring them, union leaders come to accept a tacit agreement for non-interference in each other's internal affairs. If there is any single unforgivable offense in the labor movement, it is the mortal sin of supporting an internal opposition in some other leader's union.
The opposing forces which tug at labor leadership act upon the whole labor movement, creating that great paradox: from one angle, the labor movement is a powerful force for democracy and social progress in the nation; but from another, it is often undemocratic and repressive in its own internal life. This paradoxical quality infused the AFL-CIO drive against corruption which began with such energy only to sputter to a halt.
As a last-ditch defense against challenge, a union officialdom is protected by the right of most international executive boards to rule on disputes and appeals. With this power, the officers are transformed into a union supreme court which can cut down critics and bolster supporters at every level of union structure.
This was written in 1979, it could have been written today by any of us! It is time for the Rank & File Members of Local 18 to take THEIR Union back!