Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. New Articles: Union democracy online; Operating Engineers; Plumbers
and Pipefitters.

2. Benson's Blog: on the New York City Transit strike.

3. New Links: autoworkers, engineers, grocery workers, university workers.

4. Best Rank-and-File Website 2005: last chance to put in your two cents

5. Your Union can support AUD
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1. New Articles:

Union democracy online survives two lawsuits. "The right of union
members to criticize their union officials is well established…thanks
to the LMRDA and the landmark Salzhandler v Caputo decision… However,
the LMRDA was written before the internet was more than a dream. What
are the rights of union members online? The outcome of two test cases
in court is mixed, but generally bodes well for union democracy."

In the Operating Engineers (IUOE). "Local 18 members elected Patricia
Kohl as representative from her 2,700-member Division 6, a remarkable
accomplishment for a woman running on an insurgent slate in this
overwhelmingly male hardhat local. Nevertheless, in the larger
interests of her union's democracy, she is challenging the conduct of
the elections, even though it could jeopardize her own victory."

Last year's scandal hangs over next Plumbers convention. "Last year,
former UA president Martin Maddaloni and Secretary Thomas Patchell
were removed by the Labor Department… A special panel selected by the
GEB found that they had cost the union treasury millions in suspect
loans to friends. They were expelled from the union and fined heavily.
That's how current officers Hite and Perno got their jobs: appointed
by the GEB. And so they seem willing to ignore that dark cloud of
scandal that hangs over the convention proceedings: where was the GEB
as all these millions evaporated?"

Read more at http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/UDRhome.htm

2. New on Benson's Union Democracy Blog: Thinking about the New York
City transit strike. "Most of the media comments and all of the
outrage were focused on the inconvenience inflicted on the suffering
riding public by the 33,700 New York City subway and bus workers
during their three-day strike, right in the middle of the holiday
season. All those mythical million dollars worth of business
presumably "lost!" But why did they do it? That question, lost in the
arguments over bargaining details, never got the attention it still
requires…"

Read more at http://bensonsudblog.blogspot.com/

3. New Links: Engineers Cut Sheet; The Store Floor; Our Local 353; My
CSUEU Opinions; Mindless Blather; UAW Crisis; Quorum 325; The Offbeat;
UAW Forum; Soldiers of Solidarity Unite; Flint Solidarity; Internal
UAW Appeals practice manual. Also the great Chief-Leader newspaper in
NYC is now online.
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/AUDLinks.htm

4. Best Rank-and-File Website 2005, last chance to put in your two
cents. Vote for your favorite site in our online survey.
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/website%20guide/websitecontest.htm

5. Your Union can support AUD.
Unions, union officers, staff and members can play an important role
supporting the struggle for union democracy in the entire labor
movement. One place to start is to join AUD and support our work.
There are several ways your union can help. Find out more.
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/uniondonation.htm


(An RSS feed is available on the AUD homepage. These updates are also
posted on our Yahoo Groups page
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/audupdates/?yguid=182316330)