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From the January-February 2007 issue of Union Democracy Review #166
In Food Workers Local 951
Pressuring witnesses to save a suspect election
By Judith Schneider
In September 2005, the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit to overturn August-September 2004 mail ballot results and order new elections for president and three regional vice-presidents of Local 951, United Food and Commercial Workers. With some 33,000 members throughout Michigan, the local is one of the largest in the UFCW. The union's next regular election is scheduled for Summer - Fall 2007 and the lawsuit is still pending.
In the challenged election Russell Blunden, a relative newcomer to local union politics, had gotten 45% (3,420) of the vote to 24 year incumbent president Bob Potter's 55% (4,181). Turnout was reported to have been the highest in local history. The DOL charged substantial and numerous LMRDA violations, including: no secret balloting; ballot distribution and collection by staff at work sites; failure to account for hundreds of unused ballots and replacement ballots; denying ballots to eligible voters; discriminating in the use of the membership list; and using union and employer money to promote the incumbent slate. If the DOL is right, Blunden's recorded 45%, in overcoming such obstacles, was astounding.
Incumbent President Potter resigned on July 1, 2006. Some months later the executive board appointed Marv Russo, a prominent member of the international's official family, to fill Potter's remaining term. Naturally, there is widespread speculation that he will run in the upcoming election. As in many other unions, there is a union 'tradition' of midterm retirements to open the way for candidates acceptable to the international to run as incumbents.
The local is vigorously contesting the suit. One intimidating effort is a massive campaign to contain damage from disclosures to the DOL: A letter during the investigation gave "guidance" to all members, informing them that providing a false written or oral report, even one that "you believe was correct... can be a felony." It advised them that they had the right to refuse to talk to the DOL and to have a union attorney present if they did so. Later, President Potter contacted all members believed to have provided information to the Labor Department, presented them with a form letter to enable them to obtain a copy of their statements and enclosed a stamped envelope to mail the statement to the union's attorney. There was no "guidance" in that letter that members had a right to refuse to do so.
The DOL case against local 951 was initially scheduled to go to trial on April 9, 2007, but has been moved to June 4.
Articles on the UFCW:
Pressuring
witnesses to save a suspect election in Food Workers Local 951
(1/07-2/07)
DOL
challenges close election in Foodworkers L 951(3/06-4/06)
Union
democracy online survives two lawsuits(11/05-12/05)
Results of AUD rank-and-file
website contest (special 2/04)
Using the Internet
for Union Democracy (10/8/02)
Free speech irritates
UFCW (4/5 2002)
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