The
Association for Union Democracy: union democracy for a strong labor movement
104 Montgomery
Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA; 718-564-1114; info@uniondemocracy.org
Welcome to AUD.
There is a lot of material here, please explore it. If you need
help or advice with a union democracy problem please start
here.
AUD and our message of union democracy are
more relevant today than ever. Within
the last year, a broad discussion on the future of the labor movement
and the role of union democracy (there has been nothing like it
for decades) has erupted out of the labor movement itself. With
more than 40 years of campaigning for democratic rights, with
our board members who are experts in union democracy, with our
Union Democracy Review, with our website, with guidance we provide
for hundreds of unionists each year, AUD can contribute to that
discussion as no others can. But we need your help. Please
give generously.
The Association for Union Democracy (AUD) is a pro-labor, non-profit
organization dedicated to advancing the principles and practices of
democratic trade unionism in the North American labor movement. It is
the premise of AUD
that internal democracy makes unions stronger and better able to fight
for the rights and interests of working people. No other organization
is dedicated solely to advancing the democratic rights of union members.
AUD
is a non-partisan organization. We do not support or endorse candidates
for union office or particular policies within unions. Rather,
AUD supports actions which strengthen
the democratic process, promoting membership participation, free speech
and fair elections, so that union members can transform and lead their
unions.AUD
depends on contributions and has limited resources. We provide educational
assistance and guidance as to legal rights and organizing to union members
fighting for greater control of their unions...(more about
AUD, a definition of union
democracy, to contribute
to AUD)
Maine shipbuilders protest vs.
IAM trusteeship. Thomas Buffenbarger, Machinists international president,
dispatched his deputy to Bath, Maine on March 17 to change the locks on the
hall of Local S6, then put the local under trusteeship, ousted the local officers,
and took over negotiating a new contract. It was the culminating act in a
long campaign to try to get this independent local under control. Routine.
At worst, Buffenbarger might have anticipated the usual ineffective protest;
but he could not have expected what followed: continued mass protest picket
lines, an unfavorable local press, and powerful resistance in federal court.
Read.
(6/16/08)
On the eve of the SEIU Convention.
The convention is old news, but this detailed analysis of the issues and players
should continue to be useful as the struggles within SEIU evolve. Did open
letters from labor intellectuals and student labor support groups stop the
trusteeship of UHW-West? Facing the imminent threat of a trusteeship, the
UHW-W deposited $3,000,000 into a separate non-profit, tax-exempt fund [IRS
code 501(c)(3)] independent of the regular local treasury but administered
by local officers. What was that fund about? Why is the SEIU International
pursuing legal claims against it? What were the rival platforms at the convention?
What are the implications of the passage of the International's program? What
are the implications for union democracy in SEIU? Read
the article. (6/16/08)
Opposition wins most delegates
from big SEIU local. More than ten years ago, Cathy Hackett and Jim
Hard were elected the top leaders of SEIU Local 1000. One of the early supporters
of their democratic reform movement was Alex Hernandez. Since then, relations
have changed drastically. In elections for the local's 61 delegates to the
SEIU convention, an opposition group, led by Hernandez, contested 49 slots
and won 33, a clear majority....Hackett and Hard are strong supporters of
Andy Stern, SEIU president; Hernandez backs the opposition platform of Sal
Rosselli's United Healthcare Workers-West. Read.
(6/16/08)
AUD's SHORTS: In each issue
of Union Democracy Review we publish "shorts" -- stories that are
too short for a feature, but too important to leave out. We put this issue's
shorts online to give you a sample: Photocopying hiring hall records; "Harbor
Herald" reformers win in ILA 333; Peace pipe for Nurses and SEIU?; Trouble
in Philadelphia IBEW Local 98; and in Operating Engineers Local 825, Newark;
Administration spies on challengers in Machinists District Lodge 751. Read.
(6/16/08)
"Sisters in the Brotherhoods:
Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York City." Jane
LaTour, journalist, labor activist, and former director of AUD Women's Project,
has a new book based on her long time support and study of women in so-called
"non-traditional" jobs. For more
information.
Fight in Ohio between SEIU and
California Nurses revives old issue: When employers welcome unions at the
NLRB. "An angry battle in Ohio between the Service Employees and
the California Nurses Association calls attention to a proposed new regulation
by the National Labor Relations Board that would make it easy for consenting
employers to accept, or even welcome, unionization without disturbing their
workers with a hostile, confrontational campaign.... In these parlous times,
when unions fight to hold their own, when the need to organize the unorganized
is so urgent, the new NLRB system seems like a union leader's dream. Could
anything be wrong?" Read
more. (4/23/08)
New Links:Teamster
Local 992 Unity Team; Union Democracy Caucus; Charleston Central Labor Council;
Who Ya Gonna Recall? (SEIU); SEIU Members for Democracy; Unofficially OPEIU
Local 30. See
AUD Links (4/1/2008)
SEIU member websites debate SEIU
democracy: several new independent websites have sprung up as the discussion
in SEIU grows. See our list of links
to member websites.(updated 3/12/08) Got a link we should add? Let us
know info(at)uniondemocracy.org.
Office of Labor-Management Standards Makes Contracts
Available Online."The Office of Labor-Management
Standards (OLMS) announces the availability of the Department of Labor Collective
Bargaining Agreement (CBA) File in the Online Public Disclosure Room. Collective
bargaining agreements...are now available to be viewed and printed."
With two exceptions: contracts covering fewer than 1,000 workers, and contracts
covering railroad and airline workers. See the Online
Public Disclosure Room. (11/12/07)
To end the employers' arbitrary "right to reject"
-- Electricians press IBEW to defend union hiring halls.In
response to calls from electricians frustrated by the international union's
failure to act to end the "right to reject," AUD offers four proposals
for action. See
the proposals here. (1/19/07)
"Request Help" page.
For unionists seeking information or advice with a union democracy problem.
With a new "Request Help" form that will help AUD better assist
you. An important resource for union members, please bookmark and link directly
to this page. See the page here. We have
also reworked the Contact AUD page.
Volunteer for AUD.
Work with AUD staff on online projects: translation into Spanish, indexing
and database entry, graphic/web design, web surfing and other skills needed.
See our volunteer page.
Spread Union Democracy:
get a bundle of 20 copies of Union Democracy Review for $20.00 to hand out
to coworkers. Order here.
If you find this
website helpful, send AUD a generous contribution. We cannot continue
to provide this service without support from unionists and civil libertarians
like you. You may need us. We certainly depend upon you.
Donations to AUD are tax-deductible.
Disclaimer:
the information presented on this website is general and intended for
educational purposes. It is not a substitute for practical legal advice
on any specific situation.
Use
the following credit line on the materials you use: "From the
website of the Association for Union Democracy. www.uniondemocracy.org. Email:
info@uniondemocracy.org. 104 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA;
718-564-1114"
