Carpenters launch international rank and file group

By Matt Noyes

On March 4, in Boston Mass., in a conference that was a good example of democracy in practice, one hundred rank and file carpenters came together, to discuss how to regain lost rights and build rank and file control in the UBC. Representing reform groups in Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Tacoma, New York and other cities, the activists shared experiences, debated their options, and then took a big step: they formed the "Carpenters for a Democratic Union International," the first national rank and file reform organization in the history of the UBC.

The conference was sponsored by the Boston carpenters reform group, Carpenters for a Democratic Union, and the Association for Union Democracy, a Brooklyn NY based organization that promotes "union democracy for a strong labor movement." In recent years, carpenters have been pushed into action by the International's restructuring plan that has moved power from locals and city-based district councils to larger regional councils. The process has meant the loss of rights to elect Business Agents and vote on contracts. The regional councils structure concentrates power in the hands of one person, the Executive Secretary Treasurer, and reduced locals to little more than powerless administrative units that are not even permitted to hire staff or pay salaries to their officers. This process of consolidation has provoked rank and file movements all over North America.

The conference agenda was designed to build on the discussions among carpenters about the fight to restore democracy that have been underway for some time in locals and councils, and, importantly, on the internet (see www.uniondemocracy.org, www.cdu2.org, and www.ranknfile.net for links and information). The goals of the conference reflected carpenters central concerns: "to promote democracy and rank and file control in UBC, to build links with other carpenters fighting for democracy in union, and to get training on skills and strategies for building rank and file power." CDU activists like Susan and Mike Cranmer in Boston, who played the main role in organizing the conference, also hoped that it would give carpenters the opportunity to take a step in the direction of organization on a national level.

The conference opened with a long chart, the Union Power Line, on which carpenters rated the UBC in terms of power and democracy. Opening remarks were followed by regional reports from carpenters activists, and a presentation by TDU-founding member and author Dan LaBotz on lessons from the founding of TDU. Carpenters then met in small groups to discuss the pros and cons of three basic strategic options: to continue organizing locally and in the councils, to build a national single-issue campaign, and to form a national carpenters reform group.

Carpenters came out of the discussion groups ready to get right into the discussion about next steps. After some debate, they voted to change the conference agenda to postpone the scheduled workshops and go straight into the "open discussion of next steps" that had been planned for the end of the day. Boston carpenter Jimmy McDermott chaired the discussion, which resulted in the formation of a thirteen member pro-tem steering committee and the naming of the organization, Carpenters for a Democratic Union International, borrowed from the very successful Boston CDU. At that point participants voted to go to workshops while the steering committee met on the stage to begin its work.

The pro-tem steering committee represents each of the thirteen regions represented at the conference; more will be added as other regions join in.

Timing was the key to the success of the conference. With the UBC convention coming up in August in Chicago, and delegate elections already underway, it was high time to pull a national effort together. The work that has been done over the years in the different regions had also established the foundation for a national reform group. The challenges facing the group go beyond the pressure of time and the panoply of forces that always work against rank and file organization. The fight for reform in the UBC raises fundamental issues of democracy, inclusion, and power.

Consolidation: The Source of Indignation

Labor historian and activist Bert Cochran once observed that the endurance and strength of a movement is determined by the source of indignation from which it arises. The recent struggle in the carpenters union was provoked by a process of restructuring which has had the effect of eliminating some of the most important democratic rights of union carpenters. The fight to regain those rights has opened a discussion among rank and file carpenters about the value and meaning of democracy and about broader issues of rank and file control and the need for answers to the challenges facing the union.

Consolidation has its advocates, like New England Regional Council EST Mark Erlich. Erlich argues that by reducing local unions to powerless bodies and concentrating these powers in the councils, the restructuring has shaken up a system of local "fiefdoms." The old local-based structure, he says, "cannot survive in the face of sophisticated regional contractors." The concentration of power enables the councils' new leaders to overcome local resistance to new organizing, and to enact new policies like bringing in workers of color and immigrants, as new members and as organizers. Consolidators also point to contracts that have brought in new, previously non-union, contractors and workers who have historically been excluded from the union.

That the concentration of power was accomplished not just by shaking up "fiefdoms"--something that many rank and file carpenters embrace--but by eliminating the right of members to vote on contracts and the direct election officers who represent them is what angers carpenters in CDUI. What's worse, the new ESTs not only are not elected by the members, but have the sole power to hire and fire all employees of the councils, including business agents, many of whom are delegates and thus indebted to the EST.

Rank and file carpenters also question some of the claims made for new organizing. They point out that some contracts involve trade-offs in which new employers are brought under the union contract, but allowed to pay wages that undercut union scale. This kind of concessionary organizing--in the midst of a building boom and high profit margins--boosts membership numbers in the short run, but tends to weaken the union over the long run, according to carpenters like CDUI member Paul Inferrera.

Whatever one thinks of the policies implemented under the council structure, one thing is clear, by weakening locals and eradicating members' democratic rights, the leadership (ESTs) has gained an unprecedented amount of control over union policy, with little accountability to the members. Ironically, Mark Erlich himself has offered the best summary of the problems of this kind of concentration of power, (though he was speaking of the danger of concentrating power in the hands of elected business agents, as under the old local system). "In the best case scenarios," Erlich writes, "dedicated trade unionists rise to leadership and handle their power responsibly on behalf of the members. In the worst-case scenarios, corruption and cronyism foster an exclusionary country-club atmosphere. But in all situations, the inherent power of the position has the potential to be anti-democratic." AUD founder Herman Benson takes the argument a step further, "the undemocratic, authoritarian features [of the councils] are…simply convenient devices to permit the officialdom to avoid the annoying necessity of consulting the membership."

Carpenter activists often quote union founder P. J. McGuire, who once asked, "do we love more to be ruled by delegates and officers than rule ourselves?" They rightly reject the idea that real progress can, or should, be won by undemocratic means. So far, the rebellion provoked by the restructuring--including the wildcat in the bay area--has had some success. McCarron has issued a rule whereby councils are permitted--not required--to allow members to vote on contracts.

CDUI faces many challenges: the short time frame of the delegate elections and convention, the difficulty of holding a national rank and file organization together with only working carpenters to do the work, differences in regional conditions, and the stick wielded by the newly powerful councils. They must also find a way to keep the struggle for inclusion and equality at the center of their efforts. The presence of carpenters of color at the conference shows that this is by no means impossible. To the degree that the new council leadership can claim the high ground on issues like new organizing and immigrant workers, the task of reformers is harder.

McCarron, though, has handed the rank and file a powerful organizing tool by attacking members' basic democratic rights. These unifying principles--democracy and rank and file control--have brought carpenters together. CDUI emerges with many experienced activists in its membership. It has strong local bases in several regions. It has an active communications network. Most importantly, this new organization seems to be the right answer to the problem: it will surely take a national rank and file movement to create democracy out of consolidation. The UBC convention in Chicago gives CDUI its first organizing task; delegate elections are underway.