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

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman , Congressmen and Congresswomen.

I'm a member of L.U. 45 whose geographical jurisdiction is Queens, N.Y. which is an affiliate of the New York City District Council of Carpenters. 

I started in construction in 1977 carrying lumber for a house framer on Long Island. In 1985 1 joined the Carpenters Union. Since then I've worked in many phases of carpentry from concrete work on foundations and high-rises in Manhattan to fine woodworking.

I've been a worker, a foreman, a super, and a shop steward. I've been the Vice President of Local Union 348, and I am now the Vice President of the New York City Branch of Carpenters for Democracy. I want you to understand I'm not here today to hurt my union, but to help it regain or gain it's right to democratic governance by it's rank and file membership.

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.

In New York it seems corruption in the form of members being intimidated into submission is at it's worst. Men and women are in fear of losing their jobs or of being brought up on bogus union charges, as I was. In April of 1997 at my local union meeting, I seconded a motion to hold an election for our local union offices, regardless of the UBC's position, which was opposed to this, The elections were never to take place and charges were filed against me on May 12, 1997 for seconding that motion. (I have submitted these charges to your committee.) These charges were causing dissension, advocating separation, improper harassment of any member of the United Brotherhood, violating the obligation, and violating section 34, which is the duties of the Vice President, (this is not even a charge in our constitution.) A trial on these charges was held on March 19, 1998 nearly a year later, and after the UBC won a Court battle against the NYC local unions that are opposed to Mr. McCarrons restructuring plans.

The trial committee which was appointed by the UBC and consisted of members who were appointed by the UBC to paying jobs in the District Council and local unions, as business agents, organizers, officers, and shop stewards.

This kangaroo court found me guilty of all the charges (of course) and fined me the maximum for each, totaling $1,500.00.

These charges and the fine were no more than one of the many intimidation tactics the UBC has been inflicting on our membership. I have become a major target, because of my letter writing, and my outspokenness, as well as, that I am one of the leaders of the New York City Carpenters for Democracy.

Our "dissident" group as the UBC's cronies and the Federal Courts appointed IRO the Honorable Kenneth Conboy calls us, holds meetings monthly and sometimes bimonthly.

The UBC's people have taken steps to intimidate our members so that they would be afraid to come to our meetings. A business agent has been told by the UBC's daily supervisor of the NYC district council that if said agents local union officers were seen at our meeting again they would be removed and that if he couldn't keep his people "in line" he would lose his job as well. Another member of a different local was told by his business manager that if he went to our meetings he would never be a shop steward again.

Another member who got involved and became an officer of our organization, and who is a wounded Vietnam War Veteran was removed as a shop steward from his job by the UBC's cronies for bogus reasons. He has since filed suit against the council with the National Labor Relation Board, and filed Union charges against the UBC appointee who removed him.

All the aforementioned parties have contacted the Department of Labor as well as the Court appointed IRO about these violations, but to date they have received no relief.

I and my attorney have written complaints to U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White about this as well as to the Honorable Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. who rules on the consent decree our council is under and to date we have not received an answer or any form of relief. 

The United States Constitution guarantees every American citizen the rights of freedom of speech and assembly.

The Landrum-Griffin Act and the Bill of Rights for members of Labor Organizations within also guarantees us these supposed to protect us from this intimidation that is no less than labor racketeering, yet it goes on and goes unchecked. 

Many members are afraid to come forward, not just in New York, but all around the U.S.A. for fear of being blackballed by the UBC's appointed army. This is well demonstrated by a letter of complaint of the UBC's actions in an issue of Hard Hat News from a member from Ohio who signs, Anonymous for fear of reprisals. (I have submitted a copy to your committee).

I have been brought on charges, I've had my life threatened and was physically attacked during a local union meeting by beneficiaries of the UBC's dictatorship, in front of the IRO's agent Jack Mitchell. I cannot and will not give in to this intimidation, but I and others like me are the exception not the rule.

Rank and file members have no internal remedies to fight this.

It seems as if the Department of Labor has turned its' back on our membership in favor of the leadership and political assets, it even seems as if Lady Justice is not only blind, but deaf as well.

Mr. McCarron and his cohorts who include construction bigs Ronald Tutor and Bob Georgine and investment magnate Richard C. Blum -- who is Senator Diane Feinsteins husband, are doing very well for themselves by investing our pension and annuity money in estate and construction investments. McCarron, Tutor, and Blum all on the Board of Directors of the Perini Corporation, one of largest construction firms in the United States. For McCarron to be on the Board of a contractor seems to be a direct conflict of interest. How can he represent the worker to the boss if he is the boss? Also I would like to know if in the last election year in California if the inordinate amount of money that was paid to Richard C. Blum for his work investing their money was a way of steering union funds to his wife's campaign. I believe the amount was in the area of $4 million.

I ask Congress to close the gaps in the LMRDA that allow a Unions Constitution to override it. I ask that the congress do away with delegate bodies in the LMRDA in favor of one man, one vote referendums. We have no say in our union affairs its "governance".

Lastly I ask the Democrats to start thinking about the workers instead of the of the union boss. It is, after all, the workers money that the union bosses have been giving to you for your campaign funds.

The Landrum-Griffin Bill passed on the floor of the Senate 90 to 1 on April 25, 1959.

The House adopted the bill on August 6, 1959.

Today we stand before you in 1998, 39 years later, asking you to help us get those same rights back.

Our country prides itself on its democracy. We send our children to war to fight and die protecting the democracy of people worldwide. Our President flies to Africa to praise their governments for their new found democracy, and yet allows his fellow Americans to suffer under a dictatorship such as the one we face.

I find it hard to believe our government has let its own people in our countries labor organizations like ours fall prey to this corruption and autocratic rule and yet our union's democracy is gone, one man has complete autocratic rule, even though Congress passed the LMRDA and the Bill of Rights for members of labor organizations within in 1959.