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Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. AUD Archive will share history and resources.
2. New Articles: Solidarities forever; Can local union elections be run more democratically?; Nurses now for sale, barter, and trade; How to eviscerate the LMRDA, but quietly; In the Transit and Transport unions.
3. New on Benson's Union Democracy Blog: At the SEIU: Harassing Dissidents' Lawyers, China Style
4. New AUD Blogroll expands our collection of rank-and-file links.
5. Thanks for the scanner!
6. In memoriam. Jonathan Palewicz.
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1. Help us share the history of AUD. The AUD office is not much to look at (picture file cabinets on top of file cabinets), but it is home to a rich collection of material: numerous substantial labor law cases, and hundreds of back issues of the Union Democracy Review and its predecessor, Union Democracy in Action. We want to make this material available and easily accessible. The first step is to digitize our stores of newsletters and union democracy court cases. We've already made a few inroads by scanning important cases such as Daniels v. Pipefitters LU 597. The next step is to create a keyword searchable database â€" a kind of AUD version of Google. We are asking for special contributions to help us make this terrific resource available to unionists, researchers, students and anyone interested in the history of union democracy.
http://uniondemocracy.org/Home/specialgift.htm

2. New Articles:

Solidarities forever, by Dave Roediger. "Three years ago Sal Salerno, Archie Green, Franklin Rosemont, and I scrambled to send The Big Red Songbook, a giant compilation of Industrial Workers of the World songs (Charles H. Kerr Company) to press. In putting final touches on my small introductory contribution to the book, I recalled the title of the 2000 AUD Thirtieth Anniversary conference, "When the Workers' Inspiration Through the Union's Blood Shall Run." The title played, of course, on a line from Ralph Chaplin's classic 1915 labor anthem "Solidarity Forever." That line ran, "When the union's inspiration through the workers blood shall run"... 
http://uniondemocracy.org/UDR/191-Solidarities_forever.htm

Can local union elections be run more democratically? by Kevin Condy. An active CWA member and AUD supporter, Kevin Condy recently wrote a report for his senior project at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, "Local Union Elections-Can They Be Run More Democratically?" (Fall, 2008). Condy surveyed fellow union members' knowledge of their democratic rights, focusing on two specific groups of workers - "outside technicians," -- union members that respond to problems onsite, and "inside technicians" or union members who do most of their work from a company's office. Condy's discoveries are interesting, but troubling. We publish excerpts from his paper...
http://uniondemocracy.org/UDR/192-Can_local_union_elections_be_run_more_democratically.htm

Nurses now for sale, barter, and trade. "By combining into a new 150,000-member national union affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the California Nurses Association, the United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association seemed to have taken a giant step toward creating the kind of united force so many nurse unionists are hoping for. Meanwhile, the move has triggered a swift and dizzying realignment among the many unions that aspire to represent registered nurses. Most notable and unexpected is the sudden love affair between top officials of the Service Employees and the California Nurses Association. From bitter competition over who shall represent nurses, they have shifted to an amicable agreement over dividing up the territory."
http://uniondemocracy.org/UDR/188-Nurses_now_for_sale_and_trade.htm

In the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters: How to eviscerate the LMRDA, but quietly. "The federal law, LMRDA, has all those fine provisions designed to strengthen union democracy. But over the years union officials, guided by their attorneys, have learned how to immunize themselves against its effects and cut the heart out of some sections of the law. The latest egregious example is in the SEIU where Andy Stern used the law's trusteeship provisions to take over a 150,000-member local... In that case, trustees invaded explosively, massively, with all financial guns blazing, all in defiance of public protests. But, more representative than these events, are trusteeships imposed without public fanfare, quietly, unobtrusively, and routinely. For that we point to one small example, Pipefitters Local 211 in Oklahoma."
http://uniondemocracy.org/UDR/189-How_to_eviscerate_the_LMRDA_but_quietly.htm

In the Transit and Transport unions. "ATU Local 241 in Chicago -- Never a dull moment in this 6,700-member local of city bus drivers...; ATU Local 1181 in New York City - Members for Change win two of three top spots...; TWU 225 in New Jersey -- members barred from seeking AUD's advice...; TWU Local 100 in New York City -- the big union of New York City subway and bus workers is about to hold elections wrapped in confusion...
http://uniondemocracy.org/UDR/190-In_the_Transit_and_Transport_unions.htm

3. New on Benson's Union Democracy Blog:
At the SEIU: Harassing dissidents' lawyers, China style. "On his trips to China, Andy Stern may have learned how to hone his union managerial skills. The authoritarian rulers of China go beyond simply punishing critics; they go after the victims' lawyers to teach other lawyers the painful consequences of helping dissidents. Stern can pay well to hire an army of his own lawyers to harass lawyers who represent his opponents..."
http://bensonsudblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/at-seiu-harassing-dissidents-lawyers.html

4. New AUD Blogroll. Using Grazr, we have placed the blogroll from our AUDFeeds page on the AUD website. What does this mean? You are one click away from frequently updated information from over fifty rank-and-file sites. Please check it out and give us your feedback.
http://uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/blogroll.htm

5. Thanks to the AUD supporters whose generous donations â€" in just a few weeks! -- enabled us to buy the scanner and media drive we need to begin our digital archive (see above).

6. In memoriam. Jonathan Palewicz. Jon died in March of leukemia. He was an active member of Local 2 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union, and proud of the local's militant record. It was always good to get a phone call from Jon, because he always communicated cheer and confidence. He organized a reform caucus, HERETIC, and was a constant source of advice and support for his fellow unionists. When the HERE (under the old regime) was supervised by a court-appointed monitor, Jon prodded the monitor to keep the membership informed. He was pleased when John Wilhelm took over as HERE president and dubbed him ---really with affection--- as Kaiser Wilhelm. Jon was also an enthusiastic supporter of AUD and a member of our Advisory Board; he was one of the first members of the $1000 Clarion Club, joining those who agreed to donate at least $1000 a year.
Help the work of union democracy activists live on by supporting the work of the Association for Union Democracy. http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/memorybequest.htm

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