<HTML>Justin is correct in noting that Carey & Co., did, indeed, break the law. But that is not the essential issue for progressive trade unionists: sometimes the law should be broken. What was done in the Teamsters was the misuse, the theft of members' due to finance the campaign of the Carey slate in the Teamsters election: this is a fundamental violation of one of the most basic precepts of union democracy. Unfortunately, there has been little analysis and reflection, in progressive trade union circles, on why the Carey administration/Teamster reformers, having just won the most important struggle for union democracy in this century, would resort to such anti-democratic practices. This is a vital practical and theoretical question, and it is not answered by reference to the personal failings of individuals. If I were to take wagers on such matters, I would most certainly bet that AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Trumka, too, will be indicted over this scandal. When he was called before a grand jury investigating it, he "took" the Fifth Amendment. [For non-Americans, this means that he asserted his constitutional right, under the Fifth Amendment, to refuse to testify on the grounds that his answers might incriminate himself.] He's in trouble. Leo Casey United Federation of Teachers 260 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10010-7272 (212-598-6869) Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. -- Frederick Douglass -- </HTML>