Messages
Lawsuit
The time has come to file suit in civil court to recoup money stolen from your wallet. We are hoping to establish legal precedent on a number of issues plaguing our Local. We are suing in Federal Court in an attempt to remove the Empire Council and its puppets from your local, recover stolen wages and illegal assessments, the return of funds illegally removed from our local by the council and its cronies, violations of fiduciary duty and fair representation by Local President William Weir and his administration, illegal changes to a signed contract, abuse of Union funds and imposed mandatory participation.
Assessment and dues money is DEMANDED under threat from your Union. Monies are collected from contractors in your name for health, pension and annuity. In return the Carpenters MUST perform certain actions in return such as fair representation and fiduciary duty. The welfare plans have a duty to perform actions such as securing your benefit payments. They MUST provide the services for the money they collect in your name.
As is evident by the recent Vacation check fiasco the Union has failed to perform the duties they are required to do. It is NOT your job to risk your employment to secure your benefits it is theirs. Your Union Officers fail to protect the 370 member and refuse to enforce the negotiated contract. This is evident by a recent ruling in which the Eastern Contractors Association stated that "the employer made every effort to pay the member as soon as possible" and refused to enforce as well as ignored Section 13 of the negotiated contract. Douglas Blacklock signed off on this. We would like them to show where in section 13 it states that the employer may pay as "soon as possible" and the regulations may be ignored. Your Local Officers, Empire Council Officers and fund employees mistakenly think that they do not work for you but that the member works for them. It is time to correct that attitude.
It is time to recover monies they have stolen from your pocket and establish legal precedent that will help all Union working members. Join us to help yourself and your Union brothers and sisters. If you want to join the lawsuit contact us as soon as possible. Do your duty to remove this element from our Union. It is your money. It is food off the table at your home. We sit back and give back wages while officers, organizers and paid schills continue to take raises and increases in benefits. When will it be enough. I say the time is now. If you have had enough then it is time to act. Sign the lawsuit.
Union Propaganda Review
Charles Lezette who could care less about the working member has proven his ignorance again for the membership. He has insinuated that at his request the Empire Council ,which Lezette refers to as HIS organization, has donated money to a propaganda site called Union Review. I hate to break it to Lezette but his organization is Carpenters Local 370. If the Empire Council is HIS organization then we would hope he seeks office with them and stays away from the members at Local 370 he works so hard to screw.
As a member of Local 370 I object to the Empire Council throwing away more of our stolen wages to support propaganda sites such as the one created by Richard Negri. I would also request Negri return the fleeced wages to the members of Local 370. The membership has had $1.60 in wages stolen in 2007 alone to pay for garbage like this as well as trips to the Yacht Clubs and Casinos. If Chuck Lezette and Richard Negri want to make themselves legends in their own mind by creating web sites to blow their own horn then let the two clowns pay for it out of their own pocket. The working member has enough bills to pay for without these two begging for donations to promote their private agenda.
Perhaps the Empire Council can explain how the Union Review web site which supports raiding other Unions with Ron Taylor and PATCO, is represented by such reprehensible people like Charles Lezette( "I am sick of the members having an opinion" and "I am a Hicks man") and is delusional to the point that its creator thinks he is the new labor messiah benefits the Local 370 member. How does the Empire Council justify a donation to such propaganda fools. While Lezette was writing letters to solicit donations for Negri one has to ask if he wrote any letters soliciting money for the working 370 member. Instead of asking the Empire Council to donate money to finance propaganda web sites Lezette might ask the Council to buy the working member some gas or groceries. How about we take the money the Council pissed away to Negri and start a supplemental unemployment fund for the laid off Carpenter.
I hope the members of Local 370 will remember this fine example of Charles Lezette promoting himself at the expense of the 370 member at election time. If this is indeed true than it should be further evidence of the ignorance of those who have demanded they need to think for the 370 member. Wake up brothers. Until you act to take back your local idiots like this will be allowed to piss away more of your hard earned wages. Read Union Review for yourself. You already know who Charles Lezette is. Remember that Negri promotes the person(Lezette) who works to screw the Local 370 member and promotes the corruption in Local 370. I would hope after seeing for yourself you would tell Lezette to stick his Union Review stickers. I find it insulting that the Lezette and Negri think the members of Local 370 would be fooled by pretenders. I would ask the members of Locall 370 to write the Empire Council and demand the return of our funds from Negri. I would also suggest the members express their indignation that the Council would donate money at the request of porpagandists like Lezette.
Hicks at the Desmond
For those of you who do not know a Retirement party will be held at the Desmond Americana Inn for Kevin Hicks on October 27, 2007. The event is being planned by Pat Higgins at 518-463-7288. We are still researching who is paying for the shindig. According to Ms. Higgins it seems William Weir is her contact for the event so one has to wonder if the 370 members are paying for the event. Nothing but the best for Hicks. If Weir is fleecing the 370 member to pay the bill it will be just one last parting shot in the ass for the 370 member. I encourage all members who Mr. Hicks has sold out to attend. Perhaps we can thank him for stealing our raises, selling our Local out to the Empire Council, handing over our Health, Annuity and Vacation funds and working so hard to line his pockets at the expense of the rank and file. I for one object to using any of our Union Funds to finance any tribute to this low life. If Mr. Weir wants to kiss his puppet masters ass one final time than perhaps he should pay the bill and not the members of Local 370. If we are not paying the bill it would be interesting to see who is. If we are it will be interesting to see who approved the expenditure. Perhaps it would be wise of Mr. Weir to go ahead and hold his retirement party with Mr. Hicks instead of wasting the councils money on training for a job he wont hold for very much longer. Always remember that Hicks may have sold us out but that Weir as President allowed it. Its time to retire them both.
Waldo Hicks Has Been Found
There have been many rumors as to the whereabouts of Kevin Hicks after his sudden retirement. It appears it was a planned move. Perhaps the EBSA did not scare him off. He is indeed working for the Spitzer camp. He is a paid employee of the state. He is on the NYS Labor Management Advisory Committee at $74,500 per year. He started on October 1,2007.For those of us who have been victims of Hicks Labor management we find this appointment rather absurd. We are researching exactly what damage he can do to the NYS working men and women in the position. One can only hope he cannot rape the NYS worker as he has done to the Local 370 member. I wonder how much he can fleece the State of New York as he has done with the Carpenters Union. What a great set up to be Political Director who decides which candidate to endorse and then have that candidate give you a job. Ever the Carpetbagger.
Mr. Blacklock has confirmed that Hicks has indeed resigned all positons in the Carpenters Union. It is indeed a relief to have Hicks out of the pockets of Local 370 members. His legacy at Local 370 will be remembered as one of self indulgence and the sell out of the Members he had a fiduciary duty to serve. Lets hope his new colleagues dump him before he can do any damage to the working men and women of New York State
Sowalski Appointed to fill Hicks Job
It appears William Weir has decided to give Mark Sowalski the desk of the former Financial Secretary and carpetbagger Kevin Hicks. The UBC Constitution Section 32 allows the Local President to appoint a Qualified member Pro Tem to fill vacancies until an election can be held. Mr Blacklock has stated that the election will not be held and Sowalski will hold the job until next June. We are challenging that plan and have asked the International to clarify the Section on time requirements to hold the required election. I am sure Mr. Weir is aware that an election at this time would not be favorable to the good old boys. The members are still stinging from the vacation check fiasco. With the loss of puppet master Hicks Mr.Weir knows he could not muster the the usual voting troops to guarantee the results. We have been in contact with the International Vice Presidents Office to let them know of the situation and have asked them to clarify the section.
I have never had the pleasure to meet Mark Sowalski and do not know his positions on the state of our Union. His association with Weir and Hicks does however make him suspect. Hopefully he will act in the best interest of the 370 members and does not follow the lead of Kevin Hicks and use the job to line his pockets. Although at the local level the Financial Secretary is nothing more than a dues bitch Mr. Hicks managed to use the position to control our Local and its weak minded President. One also has to wonder how Mr. Sowalski can possibly fulfill the duties of both jobs. There have already been questions raised as to his performance as an organizer. Will his organizing duties suffer further due to his new duties as Financial Secretary. What are his qualifications to be a Financial Secretary? Judging by such actions as the blow up rat, bad cheese cake flyers and contractor wanted posters organizers appear to have a rather limited maturity and IQ. Perhaps he will delegate his duties to others and we will have Chris Dugan making more phone calls that are none of his business.
We hope that Mr. Sowalski will show good sense and act in the best interest of the 370 members in the short time he will have the job. It is one thing to be appointed by a low life like William Weir and another to be elected by the members of Local 370. You can be assured the members know the difference. Now that Mr Sowalski has moved into a political position we will watch to see if he remains silent while Weir continues to sell us out to the Empire Council. We wish him good luck.
Parker Hammond and D&B Handouts
Join us as we ask why Parker & Hammond was handed $45,000 to bid work and D&B Acoustical was handed $30,000 to bid work. The listing was called "Job Target Expense" We have inquired about the handouts and hope to understand how the program works and how it benefits the Union member to give contractors money to secure jobs.
Footnote: Can you say"1099" Can you say "working Saturdays for straight time and cash" Can you say "Piece Work and Lumping" Can you say Saratoga Schools just to start. Can you say that you are such a low life that you put a real TRUE UNION contractor out of the Union by stabbing him in the back. Rather cryptic I know but the person I wrote it for knows exactly what I mean and they can be assured I will expose them.
The LM2s Are Out
As we take a look at the LM2s we see the good old boys are at it again. We would like to start off with raises but it seems there is something wrong with the LM2s. There seems to be a problem with listed salaries and real salaries. We have brought this to the attention of the IRS and DOL. A good example is Doug Blacklock of Local 370. It seems his salary went down from 2005 - 2006. He was making $77,000 in 2005 and is listed as making $72,000 in 2006. I called Mr. Blacklock to confirm the decrease and he was as surprised as I. He also confirmed that the number listed was not correct. Until the corrections are made and the REAL salaries are listed we cannot see exactly how much more they have lined their pockets with. Another good example is Kevin Hicks. It is only showing him as getting $10,000 raise. Now we know that is a large amount considering he headed the charge to steal the raises of the Local 370 Rank and File. We got 40 cents and Kevin Hicks got TEN THOUSAND. We got 40 cents and Patty Morin got ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND. We ponder why Hicks was not raised to the $180,000 Patty Morin got when he was raping the kitty as President of the Council.
Some Highlights of the LM2s are :Seneca Niagra Casino $20,677, Montauk Yacht Club $24,774, Ballys Paris Casino Las Vegas$10,235, Prime Hotel in Saratoga $32,913. US Golf Association $10,625 more to come
The Labor Management Convention
In another move to encourage members to pay there dues on time the Empire Council bilked the membership $67,000 for a week at the Westin Resort in Hollywood Florida. You see our illustrious council officers have created Labor Management Councils of which they are trustees. Ours was the NYS Labor Management Council which was a PO box in Jack Simmons home Town of Oswego. The Trustees are a whose who of Carpetbagger Hierarchy. Patty Morin, Kevin Hicks, John Fuchs,John Simmons and Oddly enough Anthony Caropresso of the Eastern Contractors Association here in Albany. What is even stranger is that the other Trustees include the officers of the New York City District Council such as Michael Forde, Peter Thomassen and the rest of the NYC boys who by the way are charged by the Feds for corruption in the NYC District Council. They also have their own NYC Labor Management Council. These boys have expense accounts and draw money from the kitty of each of these so called councils. The mission of these LMC as stated on the Form 990s is to "Promote Carpentry in New York State" Funny I thought that is what we were paying Patty Morin $280,000 as EST of the Empire Council. Lets also understand that now we also have the Empire State Carpenters Labor Management Cooperation Fund which again all these boys are trustees on and draw cash out of.
So now we get to the Labor Management Convention that these Union Brothers(cough cough) along with the New York City Council Officers send themselves for a week of fun and sun in Hollywood Florida (here). They attend the Convention Golf Outing and sleep in Luxury soaking up the Florida sun. Of course as they will tell you they went to meetings and learned a wealth of new ways to help the Union. It is a fact that they have sent themselves to these conventions for a few years now. Was it worth $67,000. Well the way they screw the rank and file I think perhaps they had better stay home next year. It seems to me they have not learned a damn thing other than how to help themselves.
In a clear attempt to foster solidarity and encourage members to pay their dues on time Patrick Morin took a $100,000 a year raise. This brings him to $279,000 and change. Lets not forget that he also had $59,000 paid into his Pension last year as President and that should be close to $79,000 for this year as EST. FOR ONE YEAR!!! In sympathy for the rank and files need to give back their raises to cover the high cost of health care and trips to Hollywood Florida Patty decided to take over a quarter Million Dollars for his own pocket. Between his salary and the money his wife pulls down as the head of the Pension Fund the Morin family is doing quite well. What a deal. The Morins get close to a half a million a year and the Local 370 member gets 40cents an hour. Thank you Mr. Weir and Mr. Hicks for opening our wallet to these fine examples of solidarity and Unionism.
Hicks Retires
Much to the surprise of many members Kevin Hicks announced his retirement. The rumors are flying over Hicks sudden departure. Some have indicated that Mr. Hicks has taken a position with Spitzer. Others wonder why he retired in the middle of the EBSA investigation of the funds and its trustees. Others speculate that Hicks is one of the parties mentioned in the Holding Company Application, Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund, Hauppauge, NY, Docket Nos. 08433 and H-4232 and headed for the First Trade Union Bank.
What ever reasons Mr. Hicks has left us may I say please do not leave empty handed take the other idiot with you. You worked side by side with William Weir to sell out our local to the Empire Council and reduce us to a mere shell. Now our only purpose is to pay per capita tax to the Empire Council. Mr. Weir has held your hand while you allowed the Empire Council to illegally impose Council bylaws on our Local. This has resulted in the Empire Council controlling every aspect of our Local. You and Mr. Weir have worked together to screw the members of Local 370 so in all fairness take his worthless ass with you. We members wonder how Mr. Weir can even pee without your hand in the hole in his back to make him move. I wont waste space on this page to this list all the ways you have screwed the members of Local 370. That is something you will have to live with every time you look in the mirror. In parting may I say that when you reflect on your years at Local 370 I hope you can live with your legacy.
A very reliable source has indicated that Karen Mahar did not retire but was fired over the issue of fees. This information is available in the trustee minutes which can be viewed by all members. Many of us wondered why Mahar after being made Region 3 Administrator suddenly retired. Perhaps after the EBSA investigation we will get the trustees to elaborate on the fees issue. While Mrs. Mahar was rather arrogant and could never accept that she worked for the members. Still she is to be commended for her many years as our fund administrator. The fake annuity fund she created has come back to limit members rights to the annuity monies collected by Mahar. Her secretive payroll amounts were an irritant and an example of her arrogance. Yet it now seems it was a blessing for her to control our funds compared to the carpetbaggers at the Empire Council. While con man Kevin Hicks would have us believe we saved money going to RMSCO in my opinion he is full of shit and a liar. The service we received from Pat and the office personnel at the Local 370 funds office is sorely missed. Our benefits were better and our bills were paid unlike the poor service we receive at RMSCO. From the Empire Council we experienced the rape of our raises, increased copays, cuts in benefits and constant lies and misinformation in regards to the status and condition of our health funds. At least under Mahar we knew that our fund was in Albany and not under control of the Empire Council Carpetbaggers.
It seems quite clear to be a Local 370 Organizer or Officer a reasonable IQ is not required. It is quite apparent that they have resorted to the age old practice of how many pencils you take stick in your ass and pull out your nose determines your qualifications for employment
Lets look at a few of the shining examples of the Local 370 hierarchy's brilliance. First we have the blow up rubber rat. Somewhere along the way a bona fide 370 intellectual decided the best way to get non union members and contractors to join our Union is to insult and belittle them. This idiots, who are to stupid to see how foolish they present themselves, show up to protest with a large blow up rat in tow. They pat each other on the back and comment on how cool they are. It seems they are to impervious to see that the only thing the general public sees in the rubber rat is the ignorance of the people that are using it. I for one as a member just want to thank these incredible minds for showing the public that we construction workers are the idiots they always thought we were.
One of our better 370 ideas was displayed during the protest at the Cheese Cake factory in Colonie Center. It happened to be my day to join over 30 others who were forced to perform picket duty. We were instructed to hand out flyers which contained not information on poor wages or working conditions or anti union contractors. Not us. We handed out flyers to let the public know that 5 years before in a store in California the Cheese Cake Factory had sold tainted cheese cake. My God!!!! Those dirty labor violators. This revelation mobilized the community to rush to support the plight of the Carpenters. The Labor world was stunned and the acts of solidarity that followed crowned our picketing efforts.
Which brings us to our most recent mind fart the "contractor wanted poster" This piece of work is clearly one of the best yet. They choose a contractor named Bruce Tanski. An organizer with the obvious IQ of 6 created a wanted poster indicating that the contractor had committed a criminal act. But what was his crime. He hired a company who subcontracts to Gridworks which is a company the Union has been unable to sign and detests. So Tanski is a criminal for hiring a non Union contractor. The public reaction to the poster is as one might expect. We rank and file Carpenters are again reduced to comical idiots and held in disdain by anyone with an IQ over 7. While the group of retards are down at the Union Hall gleefully telling each other how cool they are we Carpenters in the field again have to bear the brunt of their ignorance. Do us a favor. The next time you have an idea go slam your head between the toilet seat and the bowl and shut up.
Local 370 and the Empire State Council are currently under investigation by the EBSA for possible article 1 ERISA violations. Among the many things the EBSA are looking at are the possible illegal control and movement of our Health, Annuity and Vacation Funds as well as the illegal control of our pension fund by the Empire Council. The EBSA is also looking at the destruction of the Local 229 funds by the Empire Council, Fund trustees taking gifts, and other illegal activities. We cannot disclose more at this time due to the on going investigation but we will post the outcome. What we have learned is that the power little Patty Moron claims to have over our funds is pure bullshit and the only reason he has got as far as he has is directly due to Kevin Hicks and William Weir working in collusion with the Empire Council to steal the funds and rights of the Local 370 and 229 members.
Another Genius at local 370 has decided that the Members of Local 370 were not pissed off enough over the Vacation Check fiasco so they moved to make matters worse. Although there is a part of the UBC constitution which allows members who are 3 months behind ( got it Dugan)on their dues to be denied the password at the monthly meeting it has never been enforced. Until now. It would seem that the Empire Council needs more money for trips to Ballys and Marco Island and wants you to pony up your cash or you cannot attend the monthly meeting. So pay up your dues or else. The working member has to pay the extortion money called dues assessment for every hour they work but it seems that is not enough. They want your monthly fee as well. They also want to withhold your vacation money for another 4 months each year and suck down the interest for themselves. Welcome to cash cow Unionism.
So when is enough? Does being three months behind on your monthly dues in an industry that is seasonal make you any less of a Union member. Chris Dugan who supports the extortion says the move is being made to encourage members to pay their dues. I say tell Chris Dugan to stick it in his ass and would hope the members of Local 370 remember Chris at election time. While Kevin Hicks and the rest of the Council Cronies steal from the membership these people remain silent and make no effort to stop or expose these abuse of Union Funds. Yet when it comes to extorting and threatening the members they join in willfully and makes excuses for the Carpetbaggers. Perhaps if you want to encourage members to pay their dues you will encourage the Officers to provide the services and benefits the dues entitles them to. Perhaps members need to cut off the cash flow that the Council and Local carpetbaggers use for their trips to Marco Island Hilton and Montauk Yacht Club. You are quick to penalize the members for being behind on dues but you do nothing to penalize those that steal from the membership for parties at the Marco Island Hilton. You do nothing to penalize William Weir when he refuses to support the members of Local 370 and provide the benefits the dues is paid for. If the 3 month rule is to be enforced than perhaps the membership needs to move to call for the resignation of these people. It is they who are actively abusing Union funds, failing to do their job as a Council or Local Officer and who work so hard to take more money out of the pocket of the membership . Should the membership strive to pay its dues on time. Absolutely. But not until the day that we have stopped the abuse of Union Funds. Not until our Union Officials fulfill their fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the membership and do their job. Until then I recommend you take your meetings, dues and 3 month rule and stick them in your ass.
Footnote: They cannot deny you the password unless your are 3 months behind on you dues. Dugan although asked refuses to correct the misinformation he has posted on the 370 website which it appears is intended to mislead the membership.
International Declares No Legal Authority
Although worshiped by the ignorant and a victim of his overinflated ego Douglas McCarron is not the future of Labor. While Dougy spends most of his time screwing the membership of the UBC every once in a while he throws us a bone. Not on purpose of course. He and his legal circus either anticipated we would never find it or they just plain made a mistake.
It seems that McCarron has been named in a lawsuit filed by a Carpenter in California. A Union Brother named Gustave Link has been fighting for his Union rights for some time now. Much like we here in Local 370 Brother Gustave is the victim of some asswipe council. They made a mistake with Brother Link as he is quite tenacious and has made them pay for their actions. In an attempt to get himself removed from the case,Gustave William Link v. David Rhodes, EA AL, McCarrons Lawyers have attempted to convince the Judge that the International has not control over the Councils and the Councils have no control over the Locals. What a joke. Either way the Legal team has stated for the record in court documents the following: "The Union has adopted a three tier structure: the international union, various intermediate bodies and local unions. Though they are affiliated by a constitution these organizations are such separate entities that they can and do sue each other and THEIR AGENTS HAVE NO BINDING AUTHORITY OUTSIDE THEIR OWN UNION ENTITY." So sayeth the Dougy McCarron legal team as representative of McCarron. What they had done is confirmed the UBC Constitution which has dictated that the Council may write bylaws for the council and NOT for the local. We also have a letter singed by McCarron that clearly says we are AFFILATED with the Empire council and NOT members of as William Weir stated for the record at a monthly meeting repeatedly. While I make consideration for Mr Weirs low IQ I am sure Mr. Weir knows we are not members of the Council and this was a blatant lie on his part. Just another of many he has told the Local 370 membership.
The relevance of this statement to the Local 370 membership is that McCarron has provided us with the legal means to tell the Empire Council to take a walk and restore control of Local 370 to the membership and its duly Elected Officers. No binding authority confirms the UBC Constitution and proves that the Empire Council may not impose their bylaws on us and no longer control our local. Patrick Morin can no longer control our funds or trustees. Patrick Morin cannot hire or fire Organizers or Union Officers. The Empire Council can no longer control our vacation checks, impose mandatory picketing or run our local. We have already moved against the control of our funds by the Empire Council and now we will move against their control of our Local. If you want your Local back then join us. Let the example of Local 229 be fresh in your memory. It was Hicks and the Empire Council who destroyed Local 229 and its Pension fund. They used the International to shut down a Local because its President refused to bow to their control. We will not allow the same to happen to us. Local 229 never acted in a manner detrimental to the UBC. All 229 was guilty of was opposing the Empire Council . Hicks, Fuchs and Simmons planned and executed the entire event. Terry Middleton sold out the Local 229 members by playing ball and making the call. You can see he has been amply rewarded. Let these events be fresh in your memory to help you understand the need to remove the Empire Council form our Local. You must also ask yourself HOW if they have no legal binding authority the Empire Council has taken over our Local. They could not have done so without the collusion of William Weir and Kevin Hicks. Ask yourself also which Union Officer, Organizer or other flunky has done nothing to oppose this take over. Ask yourself which member (such as Chuck Lezette) Officer or organizer actively helps this to continue. Remember that it is THESE PEOPLE who are directly responsible for your vacation checks now being held for 2 more months, your benefits not being paid, mandatory picketing, fines and trials as well a myriad of other actions against the membership. It is THEY who have allowed it to happen. It is THEY who actively support these actions. The Empire Council could not have taken over our Local unless THEY let them and sold out our Local. Remember that the next time you see them. Remember that the next time Chris Dugan tells you how he needs to encourage you to pay your dues. Remember that the next time you are called before the trial committee. Ask yourself WHY THEY were chosen.
Coming Next:
NLRB Region 3
Weir Region 3 Director
Members Vacation Checks
Contract A Joke
Ten reasons Why..And Why Not...To Join a Union Dealing with the realism of Union membership. How to spot the lies of salts or organizers. "We don't Lie. We just stretch the truth"
Dog and Pony Show
Local 370 holds Circus disguised as a monthly meeting. Ringmaster Weir crowned clown of the evening. Loud mouth punks allowed to rule the night.
Regional Councils
The monster within
Rules and Fines
Cash cow unionism
Stop the Crying on HR 800
"Thus we allow the most atrocious lies uttered by political and moral prostitutes to go unchallenged. These lies are endlessly recycled in the commercial media until they become ingrained in the public conscience as truth. Worse than burying our heads in the sand, we bury them up our collective ass. How do you like the view? "
- Charles Sullivan -
Please do us all a favor and stop the weepy stories on the poor Union and their disadvantage against big business . We have heard every boo hoo story about Sally Worthington who has five kids and walks 25 miles uphill to get to work each day. She just wanted a Union and the mean old employer fired her for trying to bring in the savior of her labor career the UNION. (This is where all the bands strike up and the poor abused Union officers dressed in red, white and blue come rushing in to save Sally from the clutch's of Big Business. Who by the way are aptly portrayed by Snidley Whiplash.) Please. Give it a rest will you. Stop the propaganda.
I sympathize with these workers and I am sure the stories are mostly true. It happens all the time. How ever I am sure they are embellished to satisfy labors propaganda machine. How many more of these sob story propaganda campaigns must we listen to. What bothers me the most is the portrayal of the Unions as the white knights and good guys come to save the day for the poor downtrodden worker. This as we know is far from the truth. Its amusing to see two sides who are both a detriment to workers each thumping their chests and squawking like bandy roosters. Do us all a favor and shut up for awhile.
How hypocritical is it of the Unions to portray big business as the scourge of the working man when the Unions ARE big business. The Unions do not care about workers rights or providing the working man or woman with a better standard of living. They routinely deny their members their democratic rights, violate the LMRDA and steal from their members wages every day. The Unions sole agenda is to increase their cash flow. They are not concerned with workers rights. They want dues paying Union members. They cry foul when management bully's, intimidates or harasses workers yet they routinely engage in the same practices. These are the people we want to entrust a card authorization system to.
I am a firm believer in Unions. The ones that are not corrupt do provide a better standard of living and better worker protections. The problem is these are the exception and not the norm. The Carpenters are a poster child for why you would not want to join a Union. They keep crying about the decline in Unions and blame everybody but themselves. Perhaps they should not work so hard to rob their members and line their pockets with their hard earned wages. Perhaps if we were to see some of these fat cat Union Officials give back some of those outrageous salaries, double pensions and board meetings on Marco Island they might see an increase in membership. Perhaps if they stop cutting the throats of our pensioners and cutting working members benefits. Perhaps if they realized that they work for the members and were not such arrogant elitist pricks. Perhaps then they might retain members. In the meantime. Stop all the BS propaganda stories. Until the Unions clean up their own glass houses they should..how does that adage go..just shut up.
DOL UN Confirms Contract
In a letter dated February 12, 2007 the Department of Labor has further confused the issue of "Do We Have a Contract". The questions concerning the contract have been raised for the last two months. Your Union officials have responded in their usual "How dare you question us" posture. When asked for a copy of the contract our Union had two choices as outlined below. They had to either produce a new printed copy or give the member a copy of the old contract and a copy of the Memorandum of Agreement. This was not the action taken by Mr. Weir or Mr. Hicks. This refusal to comply with a members request required action taken through the DOL. We use the word HAD because Section 104 of the LMRDA dictates the requirement to provide a copy of the contract. I know our Union officers feel they can ignore the rights of the members protected by the LMRDA but we hope to enlighten them in the very immediate future.
Three weeks ago in a phone conversation with the DOL Investigator Kristen Kester indicated that she had spoken to the Union and a copy of the New Contract was forthcoming. I was told "Either this week or next". She indicated that she had contact with both Mr. Hicks and Mr. Weir. This was almost 3 weeks ago. I would have to say the only question is who was lying to who. In the letter dated February 12, 2007 the DOL and Investigator Kester have made the following statement "A new collective bargaining agreement will not be printed until the council is able to resolve some interpretive issues with the Eastern Contractors Association" The letter also indicates that the Union is using the Memorandum of Agreement and the last printed copy of our collective bargaining agreement as our new contract. In reference to the Memorandum of Agreement the DOL states "The terms of which are Binding". This brings us back to the matter that is being questioned. If you are going to make changes to a "Binding agreement" at a later time unless indicated in the agreement at the time it was signed HOW can you insist we have a contract. How is it legally possible for the Council to present a signed agreement to the membership as a "Binding Contract" and then change the terms 10 months later.???????? So again we must come to the conclusion that we DO NOT Have a Contract.
What must be explored at this time by the membership is what are the "interpretive issues" that must be resolved. Mr. Hicks refused to give details when questioned and would only say that there was a problem with some "wording in the subcontracting section" . Its time for Mr. Hicks to explain in detail exactly what changes are going to be made to the "binding agreement" Perhaps Mr. Hicks should have been more forth coming to begin with then instead of letting his disdain for Brother Newell direct his response to the legitimate request for information by a Union member. Mr. Hicks seems to believe we as members are here to serve him and the council and not the other way around. It is the money that the Empire Council sucks out of our wages that pays Mr. Hicks and Mr. Weirs rather large salaries. I do believe that indicates that Mr. Hicks as well as all the "Council Employees" work for the members of this Local.
The Empire Council has taken away the right for our Locals to negotiate our contracts and refuses to allow us to ratify any contract they negotiate in our name. The DOL is clear in their position that Local Union members have "Identifiable Membership. Have their own bylaws and ratify their own contracts" The UBC has also stated that the Locals can ratify their contracts at the discretion of the Councils. We have asked for such ratification rights and have been denied. The Empire Council believes we as members need them to think for us. They have forced us to appoint Delegates to think for us even though it is quite clear that the Empire Council thinks for them. Have a look at how many Delegates are also council employees. It would appear in this case that the Empire Council is not capable of acting in our best interest. It has been 10 months and the Empire Council has not resolved "interpretive issues" How is this possible. Is there some new plan to break this stalemate that they have not thought of over the last 10 months. Its time for our President Mr. William Weir to exercise his fiduciary responsibility to the members of Local 370. We would ask that President Weir determine if the Empire Council is capable of acting for the members of Local 370. Failure to finalize our contract after 10 months casts serious doubts on the ability of the Empire Council to represent the interests of Local 370. We call on Mr. Weir to act as the President we elected him to be and stop acting as the Employee of the Empire Council
DOL Confirms Contract does exist
A Department of Labor representative has confirmed that we do indeed have a binding contract. Mr. Hicks has told the DOL that the contract is to be printed this week. Repeated requests for a copy by a Union Brother did not produce a copy and concern was raised if we did indeed have a binding contract. While the Union Brother was provided with a copy of the Memorandum of Agreement it has been 8 Months since the contract was negotiated and a revised copy has not be printed and made available to the membership. When asked for a copy of the contract it was stated that there were wording problems in the subcontract section and no agreement had been reached between the Union and the Contractors. The Memorandum clearly states that "
Changes to Appendixes for eastern Region 3.
Article 1 - Subcontracting
Use subcontracting clauses as previously in counties
Sections 3,4,5 of existing 370 subcontracting article apply to all areas
If you present a Memorandum of Agreement which the Union has stated is already signed which contains negotiated subcontracting provisions how is it possible 8 months later to claim you are still negotiating the "Wording". Mr. Hicks repeated that we "Have a Binding Contract" on a number of occasions. If we indeed have a binding contract which was presented as signed than how are you making changes 8 months later. Mr. Hicks also stated to the DOL that the Local did not have to print new contracts and make them available to the members. He stated that the members could be given a signed memorandum of agreement to reference in conjunction with the printed copy of the master agreement dated June 1 2002 through May 31,2006. If this was the case then the signed memorandum of agreement would have been a binding contract and unless otherwise noted as such no changes would have been possible 8 months later. If Mr. Hicks and the Empire Council were in negotiation with the Eastern Contractors Association to "Change the Wording" to Article 1 presented above then how could you make the statement that "We have a binding contract" .If you were still negotiating wording and have now 8 months later made changes to the Memorandum of Agreement you presented 8 months ago than indeed we DID NOT have a binding contract. The other alternative is that the provided a false or incomplete Memorandum of Agreement. Why was it required that you make specific reference to possible changes in the stamp program but found no need to make reference to possible changes in subcontracting.
Members Torpedoed at Meet The Funds Night
Hicks uses meeting to announce the loss of yet another Raise.
Despite the mailing calling the December 19,2006 meeting a Meet the Funds Night the Officers of the Empire Council used the meeting to announce the seizure of the January 1,2007 raise increase of .40cents. The scheduled meeting had been billed as a meeting to discuss the future of our health and pension fund and dispel the rumors. In no part of the mailing was it mentioned that raise allocation would be discussed or decided. I take liberty's using the word decided because as the members found out at the meeting we HAD NO CHOICE or say in the matter. The Council Employees had already decided for us and took our raise without our consent. I suppose if I had to tell the members that out of the 1.$90 raise they have been patting themselves on the back for negotiating we as working members were only going to see less than .50cents in our paycheck I might forget to mention that in the mailing as well. I might have scheduled such a meeting 6 days before the Holiday with short notice as well to avoid attendance of more than 90 members of the Local.
229 and 370 Merger To Take Place in April 2007
According to Patrick Morin the merger between the 370 and 229 pension funds will take place in April 2007. This revelation was made by Mr. Morin at the Meet The Funds Night on December 19,2006. Mr. Morin stated "Regardless of what Vicki Bullman told you and regardless of what you put on your little web site these funds will be merged in April"
Patrick Morin Declares HE is in charge of the 370 pension fund.
Despite the fact that Local 370 Pension Fund has not merged with the Empire Council Mr. Morin insists HE is in charged of the Local 370 Pension fund. Declaring that since the Empire Council By Laws allow him to hire and fire all fund personnel then he is in charge of our Pension Fund. Mr. Morin was being asked who was in charge of our fund since Karen Mahar retired. Although Erin Cerucci is putting her name on fund mailings in an attempt to give the appearance she is the Fund Manager it was made quite clear she is NOT in charge of our fund and only the Fund Office Manager and it is quite clear that the Empire Council is running our Pension Fund. In all due respect to Mr. Morin I think it will be up to the Federal Government who is in charge of our Fund. The issue has been turned over to the Department of Labor for investigation.
Doug Blacklock says NO on decrease in Pension
When questioned on the job site at Empire College Mr. Blacklock stated for the record that there is to be "No decrease in the pension benefit rate" to his knowledge. He also went on to tell members that the talk of decrease were "False Rumors" and the talk of a decrease did not come from Local 370. This conversation took place on December 8,2006.
WARNING BE AWARE
DO NOT SIGN ASSIGNMENT FORM See FORM HERE
Article 19 of the Master Agreement " "Executed Copies of Dues Check Off Authorization Forms will be kept on file by the Union, with a copy provided to the employer"
As usual your trusted officers have been screwing you. In a letter to William Weir I requested a copy of the authorization form required by your employer and your Union BEFORE Assessment or Dues Check off can be removed from your check. I have never signed any such form and I can imagine neither have any of you. Now that the Local has been exposed I am sure they are going to try to sucker you into signing the authorization form. The story they intend to give you is that it is a convenience to you so you do not have to mail the payment your self to the Local. In fact it will an attempt to cover their collective ass. Do not sign it. Read it. Once you sign it your screwed. Read the little parts like "irrevocable for one year" and other Council Scam Phrases. Mr. Weir has been aware of this fraud for some time and in his arrogance or stupidity has continued authorizing the deductions from our pay checks without the signed forms as required by law. Here is a portion of a letter I sent to Mr. Weir in August of 2005 .Mr. Weir refused to comply and knowingly violated the rights of a Union member he was elected to act in the best interest of. Mr. Weir also violated the terms of our Master Agreement. Mr. Weir will answer before a Judge for his actions but it is quite clear that Mr. Weir does not have the best interest of the members of Local 370 in his agenda.
In summary Mr. Weir it is my contention that by
imposing and increasing assessments on Local #370 by the Empire Council you are in violation of both the LMRDA and the UBC Constitution. Further by forwarding assessment money to the Empire Council without signed Authorization Cards you are in violation of the LMRDA. Further by my present employer General Drywall withholding assessment money from my check without an employee Authorization card they are in violation of the LMDRA. Since the said employer has done so at your Direction as an officer of Carpenters Local #370 or salaried direct employee of the Empire State Council you are liable for their actions. I do order you as of this date, August 25, 2005, to instruct said General Drywall to halt all present and future assessment or dues check off deductions from my payroll check. Further I order you as Carpenters Local # 370 and Salaried Employee of the Empire State Council to RETURN ALL past assessment amounts taken from my payroll since the dues check of was imposed by any state or regional council Council with the exception of any monies legally removed after a secret ballot vote of Local #370..
The views expressed are personal opinions. The Advice I offer is NEVER blindly sign anything until you have examined it and understand its consequences. I recommend that you have any documents in question examined by legal counsel or a relevant professional.
local370voice
Update:While attempting to get my employer to stop my dues check off deduction I found the situation to be confusing for all involved. My employer insisted he needed the ok from the Union. This is false. Anyone who has not signed an assignment form does not and should not provide a letter as indicated in the Council form. All that did sign the form must provide a letter. However dues check deduction from your pay is your choice not the Unions or the employers. Mr. Weir when asked for the guidelines and procedure for direct payment did not have a clue as to the procedure or guidelines. It appears that no one has opted for direct payment before. If you decide to take the direct payment option and you employer or the Union fails to comply then you can take legal action. Most employers assume that the Union has the required documents on file and are surprised that they do not. Anyone who experiences problems with compliance can contact us for the name of an attorney who will help you. We have also established contact with an investigator with the Department of Labor on this and other issues if you would care to add you name.
Join The Fight
Its time to stand up. If you want your democratic rights back . If you want to decide the allocations of your raises instead of having some council CLOWN decide for you while he lines his pockets with your hard earned wages. Do you want to tell them where they can stick mandatory picketing?? Than do it. Its time to put your name on the line and have your voice heard. Do not hesitate. These clowns cannot touch you. You have nothing to fear. You have legal rights and its time to use them.
The process has been started to begin a lawsuit to force the Councils to elect their officers and have the issue of Local Union rights decided by the Department of Labor. The issue of Council bylaws and Council dominance over the locals must be decided to put the control of our Local Unions back in the hands of the Rank and File Carpenters. We have seen the result of putting control of our Locals in the hands of a few greedy council employees. They get rich while we get robbed. It is time to put and end to it. All local 370 members are asked to join us in the lawsuit. If the Empire Council refuses to abide by the UBC constitution and continues to refuse our Local 370 to exercise its democratic rights than we will sue. We must sue. All Local 370 members willing to fight for their rights and join the lawsuit please email your intent to local370voice@yahoo.com or contact us at 518-664-4773
Sign the Letters Below
Letter One
November 21, 2006
William Weir, President
United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Local
370
1284 Central Ave.
Albany
NY
Dear Brother Weir,
Despite the misinformation you have repeatedly provided to the membership of Local 370 we DID NOT vote on the issue of Mandatory Participation. We voted on the issue of fines only and Mandatory Participation was illegally imposed on our Local by the Empire Council. We the undersigned members of Local 370 DEMAND a special meeting be called to decide the issue of Mandatory Participation by a secret ballot vote of the rank and file of Local 370. We the undersigned DEMAND that all Mandatory Participation requirements be suspended pending the outcome of the vote. Please do not insult us by refusing us our request because we would be in violation of Council bylaws as you have done in the past. As you are quite aware we ARE NOT members of the Empire Council and have the right to our own Local bylaws which you have illegally REFUSED to let us create and be governed by. Since we are not members of the Empire Council you have no right to impose Council by laws on our Local and therefore the Mandatory Picketing is an illegal action. Please inform you Pals at the Empire Council that the Rank and File of Local 370 will decide the issue of Mandatory Picketing.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Richard Dorrough
12118
Letter 2
November 21, 2006
William Weir, President
United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Local
370
1284 Central Ave.
Albany
NY
Dear Brother Weir,
Please provide the undersigned with a copy of the authorization card you have on file at the Local 370 Union Hall allowing you to have assessment money removed from my payroll check. Federal Law requires both you and the employer to have an authorization card sign by the member before ANY money may be removed from a members payroll check. If you do not have an authorization card signed than we the undersigned DEMAND that the Union cease and desist further deductions of assessment money or dues check off from our payroll until this issue is resolved.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Richard Dorrough
12118
Letter 3
November 21, 2006
William Weir, President
United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Local
370
1284 Central Ave.
Albany
NY
Dear Brother Weir,
As members of Local 370 we in good faith elected you to a term as
President of our Local. We did not however elect you to a position of
”Empire Council Employee” We elected you to ask in the best interest of
Local 370 rank and file members. Your actions have shown that you are
not interested in the well being of Local 370 but in the preservation of
your job with the Empire Council. You no longer have the confidence of
Local 370 members so at this time we the undersigned ask you to resign
immediately.
You have repeatedly violated the trust of Local 370 members and
acted in a manner detrimental to Local 370. You have provided
misinformation and lied to Local 370 members concerning our relationship
with the Empire Council. You have discriminated against members of Local
370 on the hiring list which has caused undo financial hardship to Local
members. You have denied Local 370 the right to have its own bylaws
which would allow Local 370 members and NOT the Empire Council to make
decisions for the 370 members. These bylaws are guaranteed by the UBC
Constitution but because they would interfere with the Empire Councils
control over our Local YOU have denied our right to create such bylaws.
You have illegally denied members rights to make motions at meetings
concerning wage allocations which would be in the best interest of the
rank and file of Local 370. You have conspired with the Empire Council
to deny the Democratic rights, inherent to all Unions, of the 370 Rank
and File members. You have become nothing more than a puppet for the
Empire Council and we request that you resign or a committee be formed
of the Rank and File to investigate your actions contemplating your
removal from office.
We understand that you are in fear for your job due to the fact
that you are a “council employee” and must play ball or be fired. Mr.
Hicks and his Empire Council cronies have proven by the rape of Local
229 that they are willing to sacrifice duly elected officers and destroy
a Local and it members if they do not do as they are told. But as an
elected officer of Local 370 you have a legal responsibility to act in
the best interest of Local 370 Rank and File members. You should have
trusted that the members of Local 370 would have supported you in your
effort to act in our best interest.
Sincerely,
Richard Dorrough
12118
Letter 4
November 7,2006
William Weir , President
United Brotherhood of Carpenters , Local
1284 Central Ave.
Dear Brother Weir,
I am a member of Local 370 and I seek work through its job referral procedures. I have reason to believe that I have been and am being discriminated against by Local 370 in job referrals.
In order to determine whether I have been or am being discriminated against, I ask you to send me the following information:
a) the names, addresses and telephone numbers of persons on the Local 370 job referral list(s), and of the persons who have been referred to jobs, the dates of referral, dates of hire, and dates of last preceding discharge;
b) the names, addresses and telephone numbers of persons who, in the past six months and continuing, have asked to be referred to jobs by Local 22 or have their names placed on a list for job referral;
c) the date or dates of each such request;
d) the date or dates of each referral of such person to a job, the name of the person referred, and the name of the employer, and the jobsite he/she was referred to;
e) the date or dates of each hire and of any subsequent layoff/discharge, the name of the person hired and/or laid off, the name of the employer and of the jobsite.
I am willing to pay a reasonable fee for reproducing the information requested.
Please send me this information to the address below or let me know when I can come to the office to obtain it. I ask to receive the information by November 14,2006.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Richard Dorrough
12118