September 1999
Published by
Laborers for Justice & Democracy
1601 Ocean Avenue, #346
San Francisco, CA 94112
For the last month rumors of an election
being held in Local #270 to end Max Warrens illegal trusteeship
have been floating around. These rumors were confirmed at the
August #270 meeting by Paul Radford. Radford said an election
would be held soon. The members of #270 can thank Carlos Lujan
and his supporters for bringing an end to this illegal trusteeship.
In 1997 Ray Duran should have been removed
for unauthorized expenditures and giving false evidence to a GEB
hearing panel. But after a phone call hearing with Peter Vaira
the Local was put into trusteeship under the watchful eyes of
International Vice President Max Warren. Warren sent his right
hand man Ken Casarez to oversee the day to day operations.
Two years later the GEB Attorney meets with
Max Warren and Archie Thomas and Ray Duran agrees to resign all
positions with LIUNA and not accept employment or office with
any LIUNA related entity for a period of five years. (Why would
Duran quit a $100,000 a year job at the Local union and a $25,000
a year job at the District Council?) According to a report at
the Local 270 meeting Ray Duran is now working for a non-union
contractor.
In March 1999 the GEB attorney met with the
head of the District Council Archie Thomas and International Vice
President Max Warren who was supposed to oversee the trusteeship
and failed. They decide to bring ex-Business Manager of Local
#185 and ex-Secretary Treasurer of the infamous Northern California
District Council, Paul Radford, out of retirement to run the a
new trusteeship.
Lujan pointed out this is a violation of
the LMRDA act and that Max Warren should be brought up on charges
for violating the act by the Labor department. Lujan also demanded
that every member of local #270 be given a full accounting of
why Ray Duran resigned and how much the past eighteen months has
cost Local #270 while Max Warrens cronies run wild.
AFL-CIO hack Sal Lopez was hired by Warren
but nobody knows what he does. Frank Romero was hired as Business
agent by Duran and appointed to the executive board. Carlos Lujan
and his supporters say you can bet if there is an election Warren
will have Frank Romero running a slate. Romero has been a member
of 270 over 15 years but never worked on a jobsite as a real Laborer
until 1999 when he was let go as a business agent for #270.
Carlos Lujan says what we need is real reform
and democracy in Local #270. We need a Business Manager who will
be available to the membership. We need to set up real organizing
programs. We need a dispatch window free of corruption and political
influence that does not discriminate against any members regardless
of race or gender. We need Business agents to police the field
everyday and make sure the correct amount of laborers is being
utilized and the contract is being enforced. ###
The Appellate officer has cleared General
President Arthur Coia of all important charges against him. Brother
Coia was fined $100,000 dollars for a questionable lease on a
fancy Ferrari from Carmine Carcieri. This brings up an interesting
question. I always read Brother Coia's Message in the Laborers
Magazine. In the May/June issue General President Coia wrote of
the "haves and have nots" and corporate managers and
corporate profits. He said "We live in a time when the gap
between the have's and have not's is becoming wider and wider".
Arthur Coia owns a law firm in Rhode Island
named "Coia & Lepore Ltd." One of his partners
is LIUNA Vice President Armand Sabotoni. Our righteous Labor Leader
Brother Coia made a cool $421,794.68 as General President of LIUNA
last year. We are not sure how much his Law firm took in but we
do know they got money for representing several labor unions in
Rhode Island. (See the Coia & Lepore web page at http://www.coialepore.com
or call (401) 751-5522)
At the 1996 convention the delegates voted
to raise his salary to $250,000 a year. The general Executive
Board was authorized to increase the salaries, benefits or other
compensation of the General President to account for the increase
in the cost of living. According to the LM2 form filed by the
International Union Coia was overpaid $171,794.68 without the
permission of the Laborers members.
Who authorized this cost living the General
Executive Board? Was this the cost of living? Who computed the
amount? So is Coia a Have or a Have Not? You be the judge - you
are paying this guy $421,794.68 a year of your hard-earned dollars
to belong to a union with corruption from top to bottom.
International Vice President Mason Warren
was paid $333,639.59. Northern California District Council Business
Manager Archie Thomas was paid $205.985.00. These two men have
just started an organizing fund in Northern California.
While LJD welcomes an organizing drive we
hope the funding comes from the monthly per capita tax paid by
the local unions to the Laborers International Union.
In the Laborers magazine they boasted of
having 60,000 members in California and 2600 General Contractors
signed. (That is less then 1% of the 400,000 active licensed General
Contractors working at this time, according to the California
State License Board!) We want to know:
Will they organize the construction Industry or public employees with our money?
Are they going to organize using established union wages covered under the Laborers Master Agreements or cut rate deals that bring down everybodys wages and conditions?
When these same people organized the Asbestos
Industry they took the work out of the Laborers Master Agreement
($21.22 per hour) and put it in Local 67 at a wage rate of $8.00
These members of Local 67 who do the most hazardous work are
now paid the lowest wages and benefits. ###
Last Labor Day Secretary of Labor, Alexis
M. Herman, addressed members of LIUNA in the LIUNA MAGAZINE. She
was given the whole back page to voice her views. Now a year later
she faces charges of influence peddling before she became labor
secretary.
Ah but have no fear she is in good hands with LIUNA Appellate officer Neil Eggelston as her attorney. Who recommended Neil Eggleston to LIUNA? ###
Voice of the Rank & File is published by the Laborers for Justice and Democracy. We are dedicated to winning justice and true democracy for all members of the Laborers International Union of North America, working within the parameters of the LIUNA constitution. If you have an article or other useful information for the members of our Union please mail it to us at:
1601 Ocean Ave #346
San Francisco, CA 94112