The
Association for Union Democracy: union democracy for a strong labor movement
104 Montgomery
Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA; 718-564-1114; info@uniondemocracy.org
Welcome to AUD.
There is a lot of material here, please explore it. If you need
help or advice with a union democracy problem please start
here.
AUD is here and available for you
only because others like you -- unionists who understand how important
democracy is in our unions and our country -- contribute. Please
keep that in mind as you browse andplease give generously.
The Association for Union Democracy (AUD) is a pro-labor, non-profit
organization dedicated to advancing the principles and practices of
democratic trade unionism in the North American labor movement. It is
the premise of AUD
that internal democracy makes unions stronger and better able to fight
for the rights and interests of working people. No other organization
is dedicated solely to advancing the democratic rights of union members.
AUD
is a non-partisan organization. We do not support or endorse candidates
for union office or particular policies within unions. Rather,
AUD supports actions which strengthen
the democratic process, promoting membership participation, free speech
and fair elections, so that union members can transform and lead their
unions.AUD
depends on contributions and has limited resources. We provide educational
assistance and guidance as to legal rights and organizing to union members
fighting for greater control of their unions...(more about
AUD, a definition of union
democracy, to contribute
to AUD)
Fight in Ohio between SEIU and
California Nurses revives old issue: When employers welcome unions at the
NLRB. "An angry battle in Ohio between the Service Employees and
the California Nurses Association calls attention to a proposed new regulation
by the National Labor Relations Board that would make it easy for consenting
employers to accept, or even welcome, unionization without disturbing their
workers with a hostile, confrontational campaign.... In these parlous times,
when unions fight to hold their own, when the need to organize the unorganized
is so urgent, the new NLRB system seems like a union leader's dream. Could
anything be wrong?" Read
more. (4/23/08)
Other recent articles on Benson's
Union Democracy Blog:
On "democratic" centralism: Stern's illusion
and democracy's nightmare.Read.
(4/10/08)
Stern's threat to trustee west coast SEIU local
poses danger to democracy in labor movement.Read.
(4/3/08)
Hoffa soft on Obama and vice versa.Read.
(3/13/08)
Nurses ask court to back rights
in NYS Association. "...In a referendum poll last year members
rejected a proposal to quit the AFL-CIO union by 2,312 to 1,533. Nevertheless
in December, the NYSNA Board of Directors voted to disaffiliate, a decision
which the complainants charge violated federal law and the union's own established
policies. "The fact that NYSNA, a union, can be governed by persons who
are not union members or who are the managers and supervisors of its union
members, gives rise to the issues raised in this complaint."" Read
more. (4/10/08)
At the Teamsters Independent Review
Board. "The board still has plenty of work to do. Its 150th report
in December, stated that 85 calls had been received on its hot line since
the previous report... Among the new cases, two members of Local 743 are charged
with failing to appear for an examination before the IRB. This is the Chicago
local whose secretary treasurer and three former employees had been indicted
in September on criminal charges of stealing a union election." Read
more. (4/10/08)
Healthcare leader raps Stern; quits
SEIU board. "...In January last year, Rosselli criticized as "company
unionism" a deal negotiated by Stern with California nursing homes. In
January this year, Rosselli refused to participate in the election of officers
of the 650,000-member SEIU California State Council, or to run for reelection
as its president, accusing Stern of rigging the process to guarantee the success
of his own handpicked choices. Now, as the SEIU convention looms in May, Rosselli's
resignation ratchets the conflict up several notches." Read
more. (4/10/08)
Union Democracy Nerds needed.
To help migrate content to new AUD website. Familiarity with Drupal
a plus, but not required. See our volunteer
page.
New Links:Teamster
Local 992 Unity Team; Union Democracy Caucus; Charleston Central Labor Council;
Who Ya Gonna Recall? (SEIU); SEIU Members for Democracy; Unofficially OPEIU
Local 30. See
AUD Links (4/1/2008)
Carpenters Mystery. "Local
157 is affiliated to the New York Carpenters District Council where corruption,
and even murder, had been a problem for decades. A 1994 federal consent decree
aimed to "rid the union of corruption-that is, the corruption that allows
contractors to run 'cash jobs' that deprive carpenters of their benefits and
fair pay... and that is used to and opens the door to organized crime."
In 2002, the judge concluded that abuses continued; he modified the decree
to permit the appointment of a court-approved independent investigator. But
nothing seemed to work out..." Read
more. (3/10/08)
SEIU member websites debate SEIU
democracy: several new independent websites have sprung up as the discussion
in SEIU grows. See our list of links
to member websites.(updated 3/12/08) Got a link we should add? Let us
know info(at)uniondemocracy.org.
Top SEIU leaders debate SEIU democracy: video
and text transcripts of a debate between Sal Rosselli, former member of SEIU's
International Executive Board, and Dave Regan, current member are available
on the website of Democracy
Now! For background on the current debates see Benson's
Union Democracy Blog. See also AUD's Bloglines
page for feeds from SEIU member websites and blogs. (2/17/08)
Office of Labor-Management Standards Makes Contracts
Available Online."The Office of Labor-Management
Standards (OLMS) announces the availability of the Department of Labor Collective
Bargaining Agreement (CBA) File in the Online Public Disclosure Room. Collective
bargaining agreements...are now available to be viewed and printed."
With two exceptions: contracts covering fewer than 1,000 workers, and contracts
covering railroad and airline workers. See the Online
Public Disclosure Room. (11/12/07)
To end the employers' arbitrary "right to reject"
-- Electricians press IBEW to defend union hiring halls.In
response to calls from electricians frustrated by the international union's
failure to act to end the "right to reject," AUD offers four proposals
for action. See
the proposals here. (1/19/07)
"Request Help" page.
For unionists seeking information or advice with a union democracy problem.
With a new "Request Help" form that will help AUD better assist
you. An important resource for union members, please bookmark and link directly
to this page. See the page here. We have
also reworked the Contact AUD page.
Volunteer for AUD.
Work with AUD staff on online projects: translation into Spanish, indexing
and database entry, graphic/web design, web surfing and other skills needed.
See our volunteer page.
Spread Union Democracy:
get a bundle of 20 copies of Union Democracy Review for $20.00 to hand out
to coworkers. Order here.
If you find this
website helpful, send AUD a generous contribution. We cannot continue
to provide this service without support from unionists and civil libertarians
like you. You may need us. We certainly depend upon you.
Donations to AUD are tax-deductible.
Disclaimer:
the information presented on this website is general and intended for
educational purposes. It is not a substitute for practical legal advice
on any specific situation.
Use
the following credit line on the materials you use: "From the
website of the Association for Union Democracy. www.uniondemocracy.org. Email:
info@uniondemocracy.org. 104 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA;
718-564-1114"
