In an interesting article on rank and file rebellion in Communication Workers of America Local 1101 in NYC, Steve Early comments on the notoriously corrupt unions in that city:
"The culture of Big Apple unionism has become slightly more dissident-friendly in recent years.
But institutional loyalty, where it still exists, tends to run deep. When grifters, gangsters and autocrats hold union office in the five boroughs, they’re usually smart enough to deflect any membership criticism of themselves by re-casting it as an “attack” on the union itself. Plus, there’s a deep well of local cynicism, for incumbents to tap, about the inevitability of corruption in politics, business, and labor.
After all, this is the city where Brian McLaughlin, a big player at the intersection of all three fields, managed to steal more than $3 million while serving simultaneously as a N.Y. State Assemblyman and leader of the nation’s largest Central Labor Council (CLC). The victims of his shakedowns or thievery included the state of New York, the CLC, various IBEW contractors, his own re-election committee and a union-sponsored Little League team in Queens!
In a revealing display of outer-borough solidarity (of the wrong kind), Bronx-born John Sweeney, then national president of the AFL-CIO, urged the federal judge sentencing McLaughlin’s to be lenient. He cited his friend Brian’s “long record of service to the working men and women of New York City.” The judge demurred, sending the defendant away for 10 years because his “brazen” misconduct and “abuse of trust” lent credence to “the harshest critics of organize labor who accuse the leadership of corruption.”"
Here are two things to consider (this is me not Steve writing here). First, whenever the president of the AFL CIO or the SEIU (name almost any union here) starts with the militant talk, we should all start howling with laughter. Second, it is very hard to confront your employer, much less your employer and your union. Union dissidents are a brave lot. We should applaud their efforts whenever we can, and support them however we can.
Steve's essay is at http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12341/a_stewards_army_uprising_brings_regime_change_to_cwa_local_1101/