Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. Stern's threat to trustee west coast SEIU local poses danger to democracy in labor movement.

2. Hoffa soft on Obama and vice versa

3. Carpenters Mystery

4. Links: SEIU members and leaders debate democracy

5. Union Democracy Nerds needed

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1. Stern's threat to trustee west coast SEIU local poses danger to democracy in labor movement.

"Andy Stern, international president of the Service Employees International Union threatens a trusteeship over the United Healthcare Workers-West and the removal of its president, Sal Rosselli. The reach of the imminent trusteeship is awesome: With 140,000 members, this local enrolls about one-tenth the total membership of the whole SEIU.... This conflict transcends any legitimate debate over policy. At stake is not who is right or wrong on critical issues, but whether it is even permissible or possible to have a genuinely free discussion."

2. Hoffa soft on Obama and vice versa

"Obama has indicated willingness to end federal oversight of the Teamsters."� So reported Robert Novak in the Chicago Sun-Times on February 24. ... Senator Obama proposes to lift the moral standards of the nation's politics. Could he begin by lowering standards for the Teamsters union?"

3. Carpenters Mystery

From the February 2008 issue of The $100 Plus Club News #109,By James McNamara

"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..."

4. Links: SEIU Leaders and Members debate democracy

If you haven't seen them, 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! http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/15/seiu_members_face_off_in_dispute

For links to SEIU member websites and blogs see AUD's Rank-and-File and Reform Links page: www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/RNFLinks.htm#seiu and the blogroll on Benson's Union Democracy Blog http://bensonsudblog.blogspot.com. For the SEIU International's take, see SEIU Fact Checker: http://seiufactchecker.org.

5. Union Democracy Nerds needed

AUD is looking for volunteers to help migrate content to the new AUD website, which is in development. Familiarity with Drupal a plus, but not required. Contact Matt Noyes at info(at)uniondemocracy.org.