Ben Smith The Politico February 13, 2009
A new frontier in the bitterness within the divided UNITE HERE union: HERE locals are circulating fliers asking members to ignore a campaign from the UNITE side that's nominally focused on passing the Employee Free Choice Act.
A New York official sends over a version circulating there, under the heading "Union Alert," that warns of mail and automated calls and says: "Beware of groups that claim to represent our union!"
An official with the UNITE side just provided Greg Sargent with a similar flier circulating in Las Vegas, and makes the case to him that the big HERE local there is "imperiling" the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act by circulating the flier.
An official on the other side of the fight explained the fliers as an attempt to forestall a sneak attack from the UNITE side, led by union president Bruce Raynor, who has pushed for a "divorce," but lost key votes at a meeting of union leaders this week in Washington. The HERE official said calls that begin by touting the Employee Free Choice Act also sounded workers out on their dissatisfaction with their union leadership, and ask them if they'd prefer to join another union -- moves seen as preliminary blows in an internal campaign.
Recordings of the calls weren't available, but the no-holds-barred labor battle continues.
UPDATE: Raynor's spokesman, Eric Sharfstein, disputed the HERE characterization of the campaign. He said the calls ask about "problems on the job" and day-to-day labor issues, but "not anything to do with leadership."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0209/Free_choice_act_in_play_in_union _civil_war.html
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