>I very much hope that I'm completely wrong in what I'm about to argue,
>but it is a possibility to which leftists and friends of labor (meaning
>the persons who labor, not the organizations that 'represent' them)
>ought to give serious thought.
>
>Unions are actively progressive only during the stages in which the
>primary struggle is to achieve recognition and legality. Once
>established they are (with marginal exceptions) merely more or less
>effective bargaining agents for more or less marginal gains of a
>minority of the total work force. And in the U.S. they have become
>(again with only marginal exceptions) ineffective even for these
>purposes and, on the whole, agents of reaction at best a lesser evil
>rather than a minor friend of the working class. I offer Nathan's
>arguments in this and related threads as evidence for this. I hope I'm
>wrong.
You've got a point. But still, actually existing unions are better than nothing right now, and the tireless opposition of the employing class is proof of that. But their fragmentation, combined with a long history of corruption, makes them a lot more conservative than they have to be.
Speaking of corruption, check out this strange story. Gotta love this: "By the end of the trial, it appeared that the union officials had done their best to corrupt Mr. Amicucci, and not the other way around." If you read Fitch's book, this won't surprise you; shakedown schemes have a long history in US labor.
Doug
----
New York Times - February 10, 2006
Head of Construction Company Is Acquitted of Bribing Union By JULIA PRESTON
The president of a New York construction company, who was accused of doing a "corrupt dance" with greedy union bosses, was acquitted yesterday in New York federal court of paying bribes to union officials.
John Amicucci, 54, the president of DeFoe Corporation, was found not guilty of two counts of illegal labor payments after a two-week trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Mr. Amicucci had been charged with making secret cash payments to officials of Local 14 of the International Union of Operating Engineers so they would cut corners and ignore contract violations to help DeFoe increase its profits.
But the main government witnesses in the trial were five officials from the union, including Joseph Rizzuto Sr., a former general manager, and his son Joseph Rizzuto Jr., both of whom have pleaded guilty in the same courthouse to accepting bribes.
Prosecutors did not present wiretap or other evidence to back up the claims of the union officials that they had been handed cash by Mr. Amicucci, and in return allowed him to fill the most expensive union supervisory jobs on his crews with workers who were paid less than union rates and who were lax in enforcing the rules.
In one instance, government evidence showed, Mr. Amicucci gave himself a key supervisory job.
During his closing arguments on Tuesday, Mr. Amicucci's lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel, had the jurors laughing as he ridiculed a cheap tote bag and a watch that the prosecutors had presented to prove that the union officials received gifts from Mr. Amicucci. Mr. Shargel showed that Mr. Amicucci and his company had handed out dozens of the bags and watches as Christmas gifts to employees and friends.
By the end of the trial, it appeared that the union officials had done their best to corrupt Mr. Amicucci, and not the other way around. Local 14 represents workers who drive cranes, backhoes and other heavy equipment on construction sites. Mr. Shargel brought out, under cross-examination, that the two Rizzutos had only mentioned Mr. Amicucci for the first time to F.B.I. agents months after they began cooperating with the government.
Jurors who spoke with Mr. Shargel after the trial said they thought the government's case was too weak for a conviction, the lawyer said.
DeFoe is a familiar name to New York drivers. The company carried out a $240 million contract on the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx and also did major work on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn.
This was not Mr. Amicucci's first brush with the law. He was convicted of federal tax evasion charges in 1990. In a 1993 case, DeFoe admitted in court that it had made "illegal payments" to a minority construction workers' group that was trying to extort money from the company.
More Articles in New York Region >