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From the October 2005 issue of the $100 Plus Club News #96
One Person One Vote On AFSCME DC 37 Delegates' Agenda
Alonso Myers writes to the delegates of District Council 37 in New York regarding an upcoming (late October) vote on a motion to allow for direct election of executive officers of the D.C. His letter is excerpted, below. Note: Opinions expressed in the $100 Plus Club News are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Association for Union Democracy.
Dear Delegate:
Recently there was a gathering of People of Color and the many supporters in the cause for the Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act ... a huge turnout for a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Atlanta, Georgia. The same location that saw Black citizens march for the right to vote on that bloody Sunday of March 7, 1965.
We make reference to this fact of history because here in New York City ... he delegate body of District Council (DC) 37, the flagship of District Councils nationwide, will soon have an opportunity to make voting rights history. Will we give our general membership the right to vote by voting "yes" to the amendment to our DC Constitution regarding one person one vote to elect the executive officers to control DC 37?
There are those among us who say that the delegate body process currently used to elect the executive officers for DC 37 is ok, just the way it is .... The ... response to that is ... if there was a more even distribution of membership between the individual locals, so that one or two locals could not dominate the outcome of delegate voting for DC 37 executive officers, the opportunity for a fair and balanced reflection of the general membership voting will and choice would be more apparent.
There are those who say that the cost of a general membership election for the executive officer positions is prohibitive .... The cost of democracy comes at a very high price. Just ask the relatives of the thousands of people who have lost their lives in the struggle to establish "fair and honest elections." ... no monetary price tag can be put forth as the excuse to deny anyone the right to vote."
There are those among us who will argue that we do not need to let the members vote for the executive officers because the members elected us as delegates to do that for themc The... response to that argument is that the general membership was never asked if they wanted the delegate body to elect the executive officers for them. We have been informed that the general membership was told, back in that day, that such was the way it was going to be done ....
The right to vote is the epitome of the democratic process which has its basis in the idea and notion that "fair treatment" should prevail. The question then becomes what is District Council 37? A private entity formed with the basic belief that it is a democracy? aristocracy? Or a dictatorship? There is no truly democratic reason to continue to deny DC 37's general membership the right to vote to elect the executive officers. The membership has the right to make the decisions on who will decide where the millions of dollars in dues money should go or not go.
We have been told that those who want to keep the general membership of DC 37 from having the right to vote... come from two camps of thought: a) ...they believe that the general membership they represent is not intelligent or sophisticated enough to make the type of decision they want them to make, b) certain individuals ... feel that giving the right to vote to the general membership only diminishes their power.
... We do not know the exact truth of these statements... What we do know for a fact is that certain individuals, in positions of power and influence, at DC 37 have recently made it publicly clear they are not in favor of giving one person one vote to our membership... We would hope and advise all fellow delegates not to take a vote on this motion lightly. Further, we advise all fellow delegates to exercise their own franchise and not give the overall power to one individual to cast a vote for you in the form of block voting...The honest and objective thing to do ... is for each delegate to be held accountable for his other own vote on this very important issue ....
Remember, we are viewed as the flagship of District councils, nationally ... Don't let us become a part of history that will record us having been obstructionist to democracy in our own house. And, more importantly, don't let the egos and greed of others make us look bad in the eyes or our children and grandchildren .... One Member One Vote!
See also:
AFSCME DC37: reform fails
the test
For union democracy in
action, watch New York City public employees
Two
letters on direct elections in AFSCME DC37
One
Person One Vote on DC37 Delegates Agenda
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