Bush's Labor Buddy

President Bush has properly read the riot act to corporations about shareholder democracy, but his Administration is turning a blind eye to a similar problem in a surprising place--Big Labor. That failure has now led to the principled resignation of his own Labor Department's acting solicitor, Eugene Scalia.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Hearing On
"Impediments to Union Democracy Part 11:
Right to Vote in the Carpenters' Union?"
June 25, 1998

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM S. LEBO

In June of 1996 our International President Douglas McCarron placed our District Council under trusteeship. I believed at the time the UBC had come to help our District Council rid itself of mob influence, but have since learned there was much more to Douglas McCarron's motives than helping the working carpenter.

I also would like to mention before I go any further that our Council's under a consent decree with the U.S. Government and that the UBC was assisted by the IRO Kenneth Conboy to attain the trusteeship. I also would like to note that the IRO's tenure under the consent decree was about to expire at the time the UBC took over our council, the UBC extended his tenure at the time of the take over at the cost of sixty-five thousand a month. Ever since the IRO has been writing shining reports to the court regarding Mr. McCarron’s actions and it seems every time he writes a report he gets another extension of his tenure. Just recently in June his tenure again expired in time for a court battle we are having with the UBC regarding elections and the trusteeship. Again he wrote a shining report and again he got an extension, this time for one year on a bill as necessary basis, plus expenses. In my opinion this shows collusion and corruption by the IRO and the UBC.

Douglas McCarron has been taking over District Councils throughout the United States as well a Canada and merging them and the Local unions within -- without a vote or membership consent, and forming what he and the UBC constitution call Regional Councils.

I believe the New York City District Councils take over had less to do with fighting corruption and more to do with Douglas McCarron’s methodical creation of his personal and publicized goal of restructuring of our union, which is no more than the building of his own private empire.

http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:vrbXvQFXp1wC:edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/105th/eer/ud62598/lebo.htm+Douglas+McCarron&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Bush Appoints "Hoffa" to Trade Committee

"Hoffa" Quotes Debs to Locked-out Detroit Workers

On July 15, Hoffa spoke at a Detroit rally of locked-out newspaper workers and their supporters. They were meeting to commemorate the fourth anniversary of their battle against media giants Knight-Ridder (Detroit Free Press) and Gannett (Detroit News). While he didn’t propose any fresh initiatives to get all the workers back on their jobs, he did congratulate them profusely on their pride and toughness. “These proud working men have stood their ground, refused to give up, and demanded fair treatment. Their heroic actions embody the best traditions of the American labor movement.”

At that point Hoffa quoted from an 1894 speech by Eugene V. Debs, who said: “Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. But notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential power the planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun.” A brief IBT press release describing Hoffa’s remarks did not include a reference to Debs, America’s foremost socialist labor organizer and political leader.
Source

Eugene V. Debs

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