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AUD Conference: Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions
Rank and file insurgency? Government intervention? Internal reform? Assessing a half-century of effort.

On October 14th, 2006 AUD held a one-day conference to assess fifty years of efforts by unionists and government agencies to drive out the mob and rid unions of corruption. The conference was held at the City University of New York and co-sponsored by the Center for Urban Research, and Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report. Thanks to Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg of Building Bridges, over the next month or two, we will post the complete audio.

This conference presented a sometimes upbeat but often grim portrayal of the struggle against corruption. Eleven speakers shared their experiences and ideas with an audience of about 90 people, some coming from as far away as Ohio, Illinois, and even Alaska.

We welcome feedback and encourage you to discuss the ideas and perspectives presented here in union forums, lists and blogs, both official and rank-and-file. Please let us know about discussions or threads on your site and we will post a link on this page.

NOTE: As you listen, you will hear speakers praise AUD and testify to the importance of our project. AUD runs on a shoestring budget. We are providing the audio online free of charge. If you too value AUD, please give generously -- we depend on you for our survival.

Morning Session - theory and history

3.1m - 3.32 min	Introduction -- Judith Schneider
21.2mb - 23:09 min	Herman Benson -- Founder of AUD, editor of Union Democracy Review and author of Rebels, Reformers, and Racketeers, How Insurgents Transformed the Labor Movement, a history of rank and file efforts.
19.8mb - 21:35 min	James Jacobs -- NYU law professor and author of Mobsters, Unions, and Feds, The Mafia and the American Labor Movement, which assesses federal efforts under the RICO statute to oust organized crime from unions.
34.4mb - 36:41 min	Edwin Stier -- Court-appointed trustee for Teamsters Local 560 and sponsor of RISE, an internal union program to root out corruption in the Teamsters union. (See also a new article by James Jacobs and R.P. Alford "The Teamsters Rocky Road to Recovery -- The Demise of Project RISE.")
27.5mb - 30.03 min	Questions and answers with Benson, Jacobs, and Stier.

Afternoon Session - reflections on experience

	William Kornblum, moderator -- Professor, CUNY Graduate Center and Director of the Center for Urban Studies; author of Blue Collar Community; AUD Board of Directors member.
17.5mb - 18:43 min	Carl Biers -- Education Director of ILA Local 1588 (Bayonne NJ) which is currently under court supervision; Former Executive Director of AUD.
16.3mb - 17:26 min	Barbara Harvey -- Labor lawyer in Detroit, representing Teamsters for a Democratic Union in the 2001 and 2006 International elections, held under government supervision, responsible for winning election rule requiring a candidate forum and broad distribution of the recording to the membership; devoted most of her 31 year career to defending the rights of union reformers and idealists; AUD Board of Directors member.
22.3mb -23:48 min	Robert Fitch -- Author of Solidarity for Sale which argues that the labor movement is hopelessly riddled with corruption; teaches LIU political science department course on American unions; former staffer several unions and union member since age 15.
21mb -22:29 min	Eddie Kay -- Former Secretary Treasurer SEIU local 1199; advisor to reform group in Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 (NYC school bus and disability van drivers, escorts and matrons).
17.9mb - 19:08 min	Susan Jennik -- Attorney who served as in-house counsel for a number of trusteed Teamster locals; former Assistant Attorney General, NYS Labor Bureau; former AUD Executive Director; currently represents Longshore Workers Coalition and various unions.
17.5mb - 18:46 min	Mike Sullivan -- Former reform leader of Roofers Local 30, who experienced a disastrous federal trusteeship.
16mb - 17:19 min	Eileen Sullivan -- Former Trustee Teamster Local 295 who completed its transition from mob control to court control to member control; staff in Teamster Local 295 trusteeship; former Teamster tractor-trailer driver and VP of TWU local 504; former AUD Women's Project Director.
13.6mb - 14:34 min	Ed Sadlowski -- Holder of many elected offices in Steelworkers Union; advisor to trustee of Laborers' Chicago District Council, posted in several Laborers locals.

Afternoon Session - discussion

31.9mb - 34 min

Michael J. Goldberg, moderator -- Professor, Widener University School of Law; represented numerous reformers; represented Longshore Union members in recent U.S. appeals court victory, finding ILA constitution violated members' free speech and due process rights and that members were not adequately notified of their democratic rights; AUD Board of Directors member.

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