If you write your own will, it should be quite simple: "I give and bequeath to the Association for Union Democracy, Inc., a not-for-profit organization incorporated in New York, the sum of $xx,xxx.00 for its general program."

If you use a lawyer, and the process of composition gets more complicated, he or she may ask us for additional tax information. AUD is a not-for-profit organization exempt from income, gift, and estate taxes under the section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
http://uniondemocracy.org/Home/memorybequest.htm 

Sorry for the second posting.

To access the AUD website review group on Diigo, you must first
register as a Diigo user: http://www.diigo.com/.

After you do that, the link provided should take you to the group:
http://groups.diigo.com/groups/aud-website-review

Thanks, Matt Noyes

Friends,

Please help make uniondemocracy.org the best labor website!

I'm not talking about LabourStart's great contest (that would be
“labour website of the year” at http://www.labourstart.org/lwsoty/2009/).

What I'm talking about is the AUD Website Redesign project. We want to
make the AUD website a richer, more interactive and informative tool
for unionists, using the latest technology.

The first step is reviewing and assessing the existing website. We will go
through the website page by page to determine its strengths and weaknesses,
what's missing, what should be cut. We hope to complete the website review by
March.

To do this we need your help. As users of the website you can help us
understand how the site works and doesn't work for you.

To make it easier to take notes and share them I have set up a collaborative
website review group using a bookmarking/annotating site called Diigo
(http://groups.diigo.com/groups/aud-website-review). Take a look. You can
volunteer to review just one page or a whole section (even the whole site).  If
you want to help, but don't want to use Diigo, your notes on the website will
still be very helpful.

If you would like to join this project, email Matt Noyes at
webreview@....

Friends,

Just a quick note to urge anyone who hasn't done so to contribute to
the Association for Union Democracy in 2008. You can contribute online
-- choose the amount. We appreciate your support and look forward to
working with you in the new year.

http://uniondemocracy.org/Home/joinaud.htm

-Matt Noyes

(See our fund appeal -- "Capitalism collapses...AUD goes on" -- if you would
like additional encouragement:
http://uniondemocracy.org/Home/fundraiser.htm!)

1. PRESS RELEASE -- AUD Proposes Democracy as a Weapon Against Corruption in SEIU

2. Andy Stern is slipping off the pedestal.

3. SEIU needs a Public Review Board.

4. AUD presente!

1. Maine shipbuilders protest vs. IAM trusteeship.
2. On the eve of the SEIU Convention.
3. Opposition wins most delegates from big SEIU local.
4. AUD's SHORTS.
5. New book: Sisters in the Brotherhoods.
6. AUD fund appeal
-----------------------------------------

• Was the threat of a trusteeship of UHW-West real? What impact did open letters from labor intellectuals and student labor support groups have?

• Facing the imminent threat of a trusteeship, the UHW-W deposited $3,000,000 into a separate non-profit, tax-exempt fund [IRS code 501(c)(3)] independent of the regular local treasury but administered by local officers. What was that fund about? Why is the SEIU International pursuing legal claims against it?

• What were the rival platforms at the convention? What are the implications of the passage of the International's program? What are the implications for union democracy in SEIU? Read the article. (6/16/08)

1. On "democratic" centralism: Stern's illusion and democracy's nightmare.

2. Nurses ask court to back rights in NYS Association.

3. At the Teamsters Independent Review Board.

4. Union democracy dues

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. After twelve years: Where is that labor-intellectual alliance?

2. Four state nurses associations quit AFL-CIO union.

3. Race, gender and unfair hiring in construction: two cases.

4. Black and white can unite vs. construction discrimination.

5. Judge blocks Rail and Sheet Metal union merger.

6. Get all the AUD news in Union Democracy Review

------------

1. After twelve years: Where is that labor-intellectual alliance? "Andy Stern's appeal resonated among intellectuals, especially those who had criticized the labor movement precisely because they felt it had neglected the most oppressed. It was only natural that Stern would begin with the moral support of intellectuals who had responded to the early appeal from Sweeney, like those in SAWSJ. He could enroll in his campaign civil rights campaigners and students who had been active in a roster of worthy social causes. But it turned out that there are more things in the Stern-SEIU philosophy than enrolling the oppressed..." Read more on Benson's Union Democracy Blog.

2. Four state nurses associations quit AFL-CIO union. In December, nurses associations in four states, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington, withdrew from the United American Nurses, the national AFL-CIO union of registered nurses.. "The absence of a national union robs NY nurses of the ability to have a national voice on issues such as staffing ratios, universal health care and basic human and labor rights. We believe in a national democratic union run by staff nurses and we will continue to struggle to make that a reality." Read more.

3. Race, gender and unfair hiring in construction: two cases. "Anthony Holden, has been a member of the Operating Engineers for 28 years; he is one of the rare black members of the 1,500- member Local 98 in Massachusetts... A 50-year-old woman laborer, who prudently remains anonymous, has complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Laborers Local 731 and the DeFoe Corporation, both in New York." Read more.

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. SEIU rearranges 600,000 into mega locals.

2. Can AFL-CIO avoid a RICO suit in ATU Local 1181?

3. Toussaint in TWU Local 100: How to lose friends and alienate people.

4. Steel officers instigate reform revolt.

5. OLMS Makes Contracts Available Online.

6. CFC Time! Federal Employees please give to AUD #11741

7. In Memoriam

------------

1. SEIU rearranges 600,000 into mega locals. ...the SEIU leadership has been forthright about its preference for tight top-down control. It is implanting the spirit of subservience into the new structures...As permitted by law, all the officers of the big new locals are appointed by the international. To make sure that even those handpicked officers can be trusted to remain amenable, candidates for appointive office must sign a "code of conduct," a loyalty oath which signifies not loyalty to the union but to its ruling administration... Read more.

2. Can AFL-CIO avoid a RICO suit in ATU Local 1181? For years the international officers of the Amalgamated Transit Union were warned that Local 1181, one of their biggest, was infiltrated by organized crime. They ignored the information until 2007 when Matty the Horse Ianniello, along with two local officers pleaded guilty in federal court to dominating the local for the Genovese crime family... Now that the international has done nothing effective to clean up the local, the question will inevitably arise: will law enforcement authorities and the federal courts use their authority under the federal RICO statute to reorganize the local? A reform group has appealed to AFL-CIO President Sweeney to do something. Will he act, and in time?... Read more.

3. Toussaint in TWU Local 100: How to lose friends and alienate people.Roger Toussaint, president of Transport Workers Local 100, has perfected the art of how to lose friends. He was elected in 2000 to lead this union of New York subway and bus drivers at the head of a caucus that had campaigned for more democracy and militancy in the union. Once elected, he did adopt a more militant stance in the face of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the mean and overbearing employer of most of his members. But democracy? That was something else... Read more on Benson's Union Democracy Blog.

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. NY Nurses face union trial threat.

2. New York nurses battle over union ties.

3. New Book: I Just Got Elected -- Now What?

------------

1. NY Nurses face union trial threat. At last report 23 registered nurses face the threat of disciplinary trial in their New York State Nurses Association on charges arising out of their successful opposition to proposals that their union disaffiliate from the United American Nurses. Should there be an attempt to discipline them on these charges, it could result, to the best of our knowledge, to the most massive effort at the repression of members rights arising out of a single series of related events since the adoption of the LMRDA in 1959. The record up to now, according to our records, is held by Painters District 9 in New York where 18 faced repressive trial in 1961.

2. New York nurses battle over union ties. "Registered nurses in New York State Nurses Association are embroiled in a bitter factional fight over how they should be linked to organized labor. In a non-binding opinion poll, 60% of the voters, 2,312 to 1,533, rejected a proposal to disaffiliate from one AFL-CIO collective bargaining unit. But the battle continues. The urgent question is whether the association officialdom which, despite disclaimers, obviously favors disaffiliation, will resolve the disputed issue democratically or whether it will try to steamroller its opposition..." Read more...

3. I Just Got Elected, Now What? A New Union Officer's Handbook. AUD supporter Bill Barry, Director of Labor Studies at the Community College of Baltimore County, in Dundalk, Maryland has just written a very readable, rank and file oriented approach to what new local union officers should try to do if they believe in union democracy. Buy it from AUD.

(RSS feed -- http://www.uniondemocracy.org/rss/rss.xml)

1. New Articles from Union Democracy Review:Operating Engineers defend their internet rights; Mob ousted, reformerswin in ILA Local 1588; IBEW President Hill upholds Canadian member'srights.

2. New Audio: from the AUD conference on Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions: Eileen Sullivan, Ed Sadlowski, Discussion.

3. Notice to disabled Carpenters: Possible Dues Refund.

1. New Articles from Union Democracy Review: Hiring hall breakthrough; one woman's journey from fieldhand to "wireman."

2. New Audio: from the AUD conference on Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions.

1. New Articles from Union Democracy Review: Ironworkers and Pipefitters rig trusteeships; UFCW pressures witnesses; IBEW local fights "right to reject"; Operating Engineers confront corruption; and reflections on the Teamster elections.
2. Internet Exclusive: Union officials "condone and endorse" attacks on members' internet free speech.
3. New on Benson's Blog:  "An injury to one? Not my problem!"
4. New Links: Team 150 Operating Engineers; Concerned Operators Unity Party; Sisters in the Building Trades.
-----------------------------------------

1. New articles from Union Democracy Review:

How the Ironworkers and Pipefitters rig trusteeships

Before the LMRDA, union-imposed trusteeships over recalcitrant locals could be forever...The federal law adopted in 1959 gave locals some protection against retaliation. Trusteeships lost any presumption of validity after 18 months. Legislators may have imagined that the law corrected most abuses, but they did not count upon the ingenious ability of top leaders to invent devices to circumvent the law. Here come the Ironworkers and the Plumbers-Pipefitters unions...

In September 2005, the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit to overturn August-September 2004 mail ballot results and order new elections for president and three regional vice-presidents of Local 951, United Food and Commercial Workers. With some 33,000 members throughout Michigan, the local is one of the largest in the UFCW. The union's next regular election is scheduled for Summer - Fall 2007 and the lawsuit is still pending...

IBEW Local fights employers' "right to reject"

Sentiment in favor of dumping this "right to reject" is growing throughout the international, mainly because it arms employers with a powerful device for blacklisting the most vocal, loyal, union members, those likely to police jobs to ensure that union standards are defended at the job...

Members of Operating Engineers Local 3 on the West Coast did not wait upon law enforcement authorities after they discovered that their business manager had misdirected the local's money. ... They organized an insurgent slate which defeated the business manager and ended his control over the local. Then the local sued to try to get the money back. It was not an easy undertaking. This is a construction local with over 40,000 members scattered over four states, including Hawaii. Here, according to informed local members, is how they did it...

The outcome warrants reflection on the process by those who believe robust political opposition within unions to be in the best long-term interests of organized labor. The supervised Teamsters elections represent this country's most significant continuing experiment with the direct election of officers...

2. Internet Exclusive: Union Officials "condone and endorse" attacks on members' internet free speech

Perry Speranza a 32 year electrician and active member of IBEW Local 353 in Toronto, Canada, who operates an "open forum" called OurLocal353 was found guilty of "supplying confidential information... about IBEW business" to the public. He was fined $1,000, with an additional $5,000 fine again"held in abeyance of non-reoccurrence," and ordered to "cease and desist operating the OurLocal353.ca website for 5 years. [Note: Speranza won his case on appeal to IBEW president Ed Hill. A forthcoming article will analyze the decision.]

3. New on Benson's Blog: "An Injury to One? Not my problem!"

Are unionists' grievances against their employers an obstacle to organizing? That odd question is brought to mind by Andy Stern, SEIU president, in an interview with Kris Maher of the Wall Street Journal...Stern's talk with writer Maher helps us understand the philosophy that already shapes the evolving organizational structure of the SEIU and that underlies Stern's image of the kind of labor movement that he hopes to create... See Benson's Union Democracy Blog: http://bensonsudblog.blogspot.com/ 

4. New Links: Team 150 Operating Engineers. Concerned Operators Unity Party. Sisters in the Building Trades.

See our Rank-and-File links page: http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/RNFLinks.htm

Friends, please post and circulate widely. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. In Memoriam: Henry Zeiger
2. New Audio -- Ed Stier on confronting corruption in the Teamsters
3. AUD offers petition to end the "right to reject"
4. Former AUD staffer chronicles the "Best Team in Football"
-----------------------------------------


1. In Memoriam -- Henry Zeiger: former AUD staffer, Ex-NYC taxi driver,staunch
workers advocate

We regret to inform our subscribers that Henry Zeiger, former AUD staff person
and coordinator of our Workers Rights Project for several years, passed away
late last year. The following observations and remembrances are a testimonial to
his dedication to AUD and to workers rights in general... See the full article:
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/137-In_Memoriam_Henry_Zeiger.htm
<http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/137-In_Memoriam_Henry_Zeiger.htm>

2. New Audio -- Confronting Corruption In Labor Unions: Ed Stier

On October 14th, 2006, AUD held a conference in New York City to address these
questions. One of the featured speakers was Edwin Stier, the Court-appointed
trustee for Teamsters Local 560 and director of Project RISE, an internal union
program to root out corruption in the Teamsters union. The audio of his talk is
now posted on the AUD site. In it, Stier describes his efforts to confront
corruption and bring about lasting change. Deep cultural change is needed to
remove corruption in a union, says Stier, but what does it take to bring it
about?

You can also hear the question and answer session with Stier, James
Jacobs, and Herman Benson.

http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Education/audconffightingcorruption.htm
<http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Education/audconffightingcorruption.htm>

3. AUD offers petition to end the "right to reject" -- electricians press IBEW
to defend union hiring halls.

In response to calls from IBEW members, AUD offers four proposals for
action that some IBEW members feel might get the international union
moving on the campaign to end the "right to reject":

1.  Circulate a mass membership petition throughout the IBEW directed to the
international office asking it to:
a. Remind all members and locals of the two convention decisions on
right to reject and informing them that the international intends to
comply with those decisions.
b. Remove from the list of mandated contractual provisions the section
granting employers the unrestricted right to reject
c. Report periodically to the membership on what steps it has taken to
carry out the convention mandate.
d. Inform construction locals that the international stands ready to
provide advice and assistance to locals which want to negotiate and end to the
offending provision.

2.  Request all regional vice presidents to support the petition and
raise the issue at the international executive board.

3.  At local meetings, propose a motion to endorse and circulate the
petition.

4.  If your local is strong enough, as part of a campaign to eliminate
the provision, ask for the backing of the international when your
contract comes up for renewal.

If you or your local takes any kind of action to press for the change,
inform AUD so that we can pass on the encouraging news to others.

See the full article at
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/136-Electricians_press_IBEW_to_defend_\
union_hiring_halls.htm
<http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/136-Electricians_press_IBEW_to_defend\
_union_hiring_halls.htm>

4. Former AUD staffer chronicles Cleveland Browns.

Andy Piascik's new book The Best Show in Football. The 1946-1955
Cleveland Browns: Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty asserts that the
Browns of 1946-55 were the greatest dynasty in pro football. Piascik
examines the correlation between their success and their being the first
integrated pro sports team of the modern era. With a foreword by Ara Parseghian.

http://nflhistory.net/thebestshowinfootball/
<http://nflhistory.net/thebestshowinfootball/>

(AUD's RSS feed -- http://www.uniondemocracy.org/rss/rss.xml
<http://www.uniondemocracy.org/rss/rss.xml> )

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. New Audio --Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions

2. What's AUD worth? Letter from Kurt Richwerger

-----------------------------------------

1. New Audio -- Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions:

• What can be done to fight corruption in labor unions?
• What is the role of the government and law enforcement?
• What is the role of union members?
• What has been tried? What has worked and what hasn't?
  

On October 14th, 2006, AUD held a conference in New York City to address these questions. Eleven speakers with an extraordinary range and depth of experience assessed fifty years of efforts to rid unions of mob influence and corruption.

AUD has begun posting the audio from this conference, starting with presentations from Judith Schneider, Herman Benson, and James Jacobs.  Next up: Edwin Steir.

We welcome you to listen to the presentations and discussion and encourage you to blog, discuss, and debate them. Got a discussion list, forum, or blog and want people to talk about the conference on your site? Let us know.  We will post a link. (Thanks to Ken Nash for recording the conference.)

Listen at http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Education/audconffightingcorruption.htm

2. What's AUD worth? Letter from Kurt Richwerger

We are pleased to have you on the AUD updates list, we hope the website is useful to you. Please do listen to the conference audio – we think it offers a rare chance to think about a problem too many unionists face. If you value the AUD website and the other work we do, please remember AUD is here and available for you only because we are supported by unionists and others who understand how important democracy is in our unions and in our nation. We depend almost exclusively upon contributions from individuals.

We want you to know that every week at AUD we field emails, phone calls, faxes and letters from union members who do not know where else to turn, perhaps you or someone you know has emailed us. Unionists who contact us may have already talked to their shop steward, their local's business agent, their union president, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, private lawyers, or even contacted their Congressperson about problems in their union.

But rarely have these persistent union members been given real practical information about their legal rights within their unions and support for their confidence in the power of union democracy to make a real change.

For more than 40 years we have helped workers campaign for their rights for fair union elections, non-discriminatory job referrals, equal rights for minority members, and against mob control and sexual harassment. By intervening in crucial court cases with the weight of our experience, AUD has been able to strengthen and implement union democracy law. By telling reformers' stories in our two publications, we provide a voice, and an audience, for those who mayhave found their own union officials unwilling to listen. In short, the service we perform at AUD is irreplaceable, and essential to a strong labor movement. We wish we could do more, but our resources are limited.

That's why we are asking for your support, and encourage you to join us in our mission by becoming an AUD Associate for just $30 per year.* 

Or, by giving just $10 a month, you can join our $100Plus Club and get our publications every month.

If you are reading this, you know our website and we hope that it has been helpful to you. (In fact, we encourage you to email us and let us about your situation, perhaps we will even write it up, with your permission. That is what we are here for.) Even if you wish we could do more for you, this is no reason not tojoin us -- our limited resources prevent us from undertaking projects that we know we could do -- but simply lack the time and money for. With a total budget of just over $140,000, we have to make every penny count, and invest every moment wisely.

So please contribute now. The labor movement is going through enormous challenges and changes. Help us make sure that union democracy isn't overlooked and forgotten.

--KurtRichwerger, Program and Development Director

*IRS regulations prohibit deduction of the first $30 of your total yearly contribution due to the publications received.

http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/joinaud.htm

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. Articles from Union Democracy Review: Internet, Carpenters,
Musicians and more.
2. New Audio: Herman Benson interview on corruption in the NYC Central
Labor Council.
3. New Links: UFCW, IATSE, AFT, UAW.
4. Federal Employee Union Members – enforce your rights and help AUD.

-----------------------------------------

1. Articles from Union Democracy Review:

Round 2 in the internet battle in AFSCME DC37
On September 12th, the AFSCME Judicial Panel issued its decision in a
case involving rank-and-file use of the internet. Cody Childs,
secretary of AFSCME Local 2627, was the only member of his opposition
slate to win … several months later, the local executive board
demanded that he reimburse the local for $2,400 in lawyer's fees that
it claimed were incurred because of his website use around the time of
the election…

On the eve of elections in Musicians Local 802
AUD has been running comments on some of the events in Musicians Local
802 to illustrate how sharp differences of views are sometimes
expressed in a democratic union. The letter, printed below, is the
latest and last before members vote on December 5 for local officers…

Blocking Carpenters move for more bureaucratic power
…After a complaint by Jeff Fearon of Chicago Local 58 and other
members, the U.S. Department of Labor rejected an effort by the union
to make its council structure even more rigid and even less subject to
challenge from the membership. …The key issue in dispute is a
provision in the council's bylaws which requires all aspiring
candidates to have previously served as council delegates for three
successive years to be eligible to run for regional office…

In Detroit: Carpenters corruption is centralized and efficient
International President Douglas McCarron has argued that a
super-centralized system is imperative to end petty corruption in the
union and to make the union more effective in meeting the great
challenges of our epoch…In one odd, limited but not unanticipated way,
McCarron was right...

Hiring Hall Procedures in the Construction Trades
Because so many AUDers confront the hiring hall problem, we are
calling to your attention a Chicago case in which a federal court
Special Master imposed hiring hall requirements on a Pipefitters local
and employers…

Railroad workers on the right track for unity
"We need a union that is built upon democratic control by its members,
not simply one built by amalgamating the respective top-heavy
leadership and bureaucracies of the existing organizations. We need
constitutional provisions that include…direct election of officers at
all levels…the right to recall officers; salary and expenditure
limits; and guarantees of protection for minority and dissenting views."

Federal employees can help enforce members' right to know.
In response to a petition submitted by Arthur Fox for the Association
for Union Democracy, the U. S. Labor Department issued a new
regulation requiring unions to notify members of their rights inside
their unions… A fine regulation, but will it be enforced? Your
initiative as a federal unionist can be decisive in inducing prompt
enforcement. Here's how…

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

2. NEW AUDIO -- Interview with AUD's Herman Benson on corruption in
the NYC Central Labor Council.
In an interview broadcast on Building Bridges, Herman Benson discusses
the charges against CLC President Brian McLaughlin, and issues a
challenge to the Council's leaders: if you are serious about fighting
union corruption, why not conduct hearings into two prominent cases of
union corruption? http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=20496

3. New links: UFCW Reform (see the "UFCW Open Source Manifesto");
Broadway Local 1 (IATSE); Teachers Unite; UAW Rank-N-File E-mail &
Discussion Lists. Find these and other links at
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/RNFLinks.htm

4. Federal Employee Union members: It's now time for federal unionists
to select the organization(s) that they would like to donate a portion
of their paycheck to in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). If this
includes you, of course, you should absolutely check off the
Association for Union Democracy, CFC Code 2205. Why AUD? We just won a
major victory for federal employees, as the Dept of Labor has
published a new rule requiring federal to inform their members of
their democratic rights. Continue to support us and we'll be able to
continue our battle to make all unions more democratic and therefore,
stronger.
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/cfc.htm

(RSS feed -- http://www.uniondemocracy.org/rss/rss.xml)

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. Benson's Blog asks "Where are those missing AFL-CIO Ethical
Practices Codes?"
2. Articles from Union Democracy Review: New DOL Rules; Teamster
Election Rules Flawed; A Round in the Internet Battle; Longshore
Action and Legal Victory.
3. New Links: Teachers, Carpenters, State Employees
4. Renew your AUD membership online.
5. AUD has office space for rent.
-----------------------------------------

1. New on Benson's Union Democracy Blog: "Where are those missing
AFL-CIO Ethical Practices Codes?" "Brian McLaughlin has been arrested
on federal charges of stealing a few million dollars from the New York
City Central Labor Council, from his IBEW Local 3, and from assorted
political committees. These are familiar sources of illicit take. But
from the Queens Little League! That's going too far... As for the
solutions proposed by Denis Hughes and Ed Ott…"

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

2. Articles from Union Democracy Review:

New Dept. of Labor rule requiring Federal Unions to inform members of
their democratic rights. "the U.S. Labor Department issued a
regulation that requires all unions of federal employees to inform
their members of the provision of federal law that protests their
rights in their unions… The DoL action came in response to a petition
submitted by our Association for Union Democracy."

Teamster Convention reveals fatal flaw in election rules. "The
Teamster election rules are not only fatally flawed from the standards
of democracy. They are inconsistent and self-contradictory."

In AFSCME DC37: A round in the internet battle. "union members who
want to say something independent of the presiding administration---
turn with delight to e-mail and websites, the free expression avenues
available on the internet. But conflict is inevitable, sometimes
bitter; because all those freewheeling opportunities for critics make
most union incumbent administrations nervous; they want limits. But
what limits are legitimate?"

In the ILA: rank-and-file action and a major legal victory.
"Represented in federal court by AUD board member Michael Goldberg,
four members of the Longshore Workers Coalition, the ILA reform group,
have won a major victory in the federal appeals court for the Third
District…."

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

3. New links: Alliance of Concerned Teachers (AFT); Carpenters Local
370 Voice; CSEUnited.

Find these and other links at
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/RNFLinks.htm

4. Renew your AUD membership: You can renew your membership online at
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/joinaud.htm#renew. Consider
switching to an automatic monthly donation of $10 a month --
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/Monthlygift.htm.

5. AUD has a small office space for rent: Ideal for writer, small
business or non-profit organization; available for 1 year or longer;
approx 100 sq feet; internet access (DSL), conference room, and shared
kitchen all possible and negotiable. Landlord lives in building.
Contact Kurt Richwerger at 718-564-1114.

Thanks to all who helped make the AUD Conference a success. We hope to
have audio recordings from the conference online soon.

(RSS feed -- http://www.uniondemocracy.org/rss/rss.xml)

Friends, Please post and circulate. -- Matt Noyes

Program for 10/14 AUD Conference on Confronting Corruption in Labor
Unions www.uniondemocracy.org

Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions Rank and file insurgency?
Government intervention? Internal reform? Assessing a half-century of
effort.

Saturday 10/14 10:30 a.m.-- 5:30 p.m. CUNY Graduate Center, 5th Avenue
(at 34th Street), 9th Floor $15 donation. Register online or at the
door at 10 a.m.

Conference Schedule:

10-10:30 Registration

10:30 Greetings-Overview

Part One

10:35-11:55 Confronting corruption in labor unions Herman Benson,
James Jacobs, Edwin Stier

12- 12:15 Questions

12:15-1:30 Lunch (Not provided)

Part Two

1:30- 3:15 Lessons from Experience
Carl Biers, Barbara Harvey, Robert Fitch, Eddie Kay, Susan Jennik,
Mike Sullivan, Eileen Sullivan, and Ed Sadlowski

3:15- 3:30 Break

3:30-5:30 Questions/ Discussion

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions:
Rank and file insurgency? Government intervention? Internal reform?
Assessing a half-century of effort.

Union activists at all levels and government agencies have worked for
decades to drive out the mob and rid unions of corruption. Where are
we? What have been the results, the successes and failures over the
last 50 years? The Association for Union Democracy will address these
questions at an all-day conference in New York City on Saturday,
October 14, 2006. (Pre-Register Online at www.uniondemocracy.org.)

For the first time, rank-and-file reformers, union officers, workers
rights attorneys, court-appointed trustees, labor journalists, and
former law-enforcement authorities will share experiences and examine
the issues. Speakers include:

James Jacobs: NYU law professor and author of Mobsters, Unions, and
Feds, The Mafia and the American Labor Movement.

Herman Benson: Editor of Union Democracy Review and author of Rebels,
Reformers, and Racketeers, How Insurgents Transformed the Labor Movement.

Edwin Stier: Court-appointed trustee for Teamsters Local 560 and
sponsor of RISE, an internal union program to root out corruption in
the Teamsters union.

Edward Sadlowski: Former Steelworker District Director. Served as
trustee over Chicago Laborers locals once in the hands of organized crime.

Barbara Harvey: Attorney representing Teamsters for a Democratic Union
in elections under government supervision.

Susan Jennik: Former AUD Executive Director, attorney, assigned by Ron
Carey to help reform Teamster Local 966.

Mike Sullivan: Former reform leader in Roofers Local 30, once under a
disastrous federal trusteeship.

Robert Fitch: Author of Solidarity for Sale, How Corruption Destroyed
the Labor Movement and Undermined America's Promise.

Carl Biers: Former AUD Executive Director, currently working for the
administrator appointed by the court to oust the mob and institute
democratic practices in International Longshoremen's Association Local
1588.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Center for Urban Research,
Graduate Center, CUNY, and by WBAI's "Building Bridges: Your Community
& Labor Report."

Location: CUNY Graduate Center, 5th Avenue (at 34th Street), 9th Floor
Time: 10:30 a.m.-- 5:30 p.m.
Registration: $15 donation. Space is limited. Pre-registration is
strongly urged to ensure a seat. Registration on the day of the
conference begins at 10 a.m.

Pre-Register Online at www.uniondemocracy.org.

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. New Articles: Battling corruption in the UTU; Schoolbus drivers
demand action; Contrasting views on corruption; Debating union
democracy and Change to Win; Kill the Internet.
2. New Bound Volumes of Union Democracy Review, only $10 each.
3. New Links: Teamsters Convention, Ross and the Union Boss,
Theatrical and Stage Employees; Musicians; United Transportation Union.
4. New on Benson's Blog: Assessing a half century of union reform
5. Thanks
-----------------------------------------

1. New Articles from Union Democracy Review:

Battling corruption in the UTU. "Roger Griffeth, an announced
candidate for UTU international president in the 2007 election, has
charged that Paul C. Thompson, the incumbent UTU president..., tried
fraudulently to make former president Boyd eligible for disability
benefits under the union pension plan..."

NYC Schools bus drivers demand action against indicted officers.
"...So far, not only has the international shrugged off all these
demands; it has given a PR boost to the suspect officers..."

Two contrasting views on union corruption, by William Kornblum. "Two
new books take a hard look at the causes and consequences of union
corruption. Unfortunately, only one... offers a detailed and critical
analysis of what strategies work best to rid the house of labor of its
pernicious pests..."

Exchange on union democracy and Change to Win, with Don Taylor and
Herman Benson. "[Taylor:]...for some reason, many in the labor
movement accept today's atomized status quo. Some even applaud it-like
the folks at Union Democracy Review, who seem to think workers'
ability to change between unions like trading in an old car for a new
one is more important than building power."

Danger of democracy on the Internet? Kill it!  "Web sites run by
unionists independent of any established officialdom are mushrooming
all over the country...Too many union leaders are nervous, those who
are accustomed to a monopoly of access to their membership. Seeing a
threat, their instinctive reaction is to look for ways to curb the new
weapon..."

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

2. Two New Bound Volumes of Union Democracy Review: Volume Six covers
the years 1997-2000; Volume Seven covers 2001-2005. Special Sale: $10
each ($35.00 for all seven bound volumes dating back to the late
1960's). Offers a unique insight into the history of the struggle for
union democracy and reform.

See http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Resources/resourcehome.htm

3. New links: Teamster 2006 Convention Proceedings (unofficial site);
Ross and the Union Boss; A.J. Muste Memorial Institute; 600 In Focus
for IATSE members; and Remove the Corruption Campaign (UTU). NOTE: our
recent article on Local 802 has provoked a lot of feedback. We will
soon publish some of the letters to the editor; in the meantime, visit
Concerned Musicians and MEMBERS Newsletter to see some of the
democracy in action in Local 802.

Find these links and others at
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/RNFLinks.htm

4.  New on Benson's Union Democracy Blog: Assessing a half century of
union reform, A discussion piece by Herman Benson. "After decades of
union reform effort, aimed at combating corruption, ousting organized
crime, and strengthening internal union democracy, where are we?"

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

5. Thank you. Thomas S. Holman who died several years ago, left $499
to AUD in his will. He was a construction worker. We are grateful for
his longtime support. To make a bequest to AUD:
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/memorybequest.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)

Friends, please post and circulate. Thanks, Matt Noyes

1. Best Rank-and-File Websites
2. New Articles: IBEW's and the Internet; ATU 1181 refuses to act
3. Links: NYC Transit, Airline Workers, Tramps, Uncharted and more.
4. "You gotta do it for yourself…"
-----------------------------------------

1. Pipe Trades for a Democratic Union, Members for Democracy, and
Pilots Defending the Profession win AUD's Best Rank-and-File Website
Contest 2005.

Collaboration, free speech, "we are the media," online communities,
the internet's long tail, self-organization... if you want to see the
new internet being built, the websites and blogs of rank-and-file
unionists are a great place to start. The large informal network of
rank-and-file and reform websites is a workshop for union democracy,
social software, and union regeneration.
AUD's annual Best Rank-and-File Website Contest offers a tour of the
work in progress. This year's contestants reflect the richness and
diversity of the rank-and-file web, the current best practices, and
some trends in its evolution…

Read more:
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/112-2005%20AUD%20Website%20Contest%20Results.h\
tm


2. New Articles: IBEW and the Internet; ATU refuses to oust officers
accused of mob domination.

Whose IBEW is it? An Electrician on the Internet.
Ed Hill, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, has a problem. IBEW members have been taking their union's
name in vain on the internet, putting its name, initials, logos, and
even its constitution online without the union's permission....

ATU international refuses to oust Local 1181 officers accused of mob
domination.
When members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 in New York City
learned that their top officers had been indicted in federal court…,
they appealed to their international president, Warren S. George,
asking him to remove the accused officers, put the local under
trusteeship, and prepare for a fair election… They were jolted to read
his reply: "We are, of course, well aware of the recent indictments…
Notwithstanding those actions, the officers and executive board
members and stewards are continuing to effectively carry out their
obligations and responsibilities on behalf of the membership they
represent..."

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

3. New links: Transit Workers for a Just Contract; Airline Workers
United; SacLightRail.com (IBEW); Tramp Tools (IBEW); Uncharted.ca and
Members for Democracy Archive (formerly UFCW.net); Coalition for
Membership Empowerment (PEF); Sunlight Science (IATSE); Vote Down the
Contract (IATSE).

http://www.uniondemocracy.org/AUDLinks/AUDLinks.htm

4. "You gotta go down and join the AUD..."
Give AUD $10 a month and you will help keep us on the job, reporting
on union democracy struggles, providing free advice and support,
running our informative website. As a member of our $100 plus club,
you'll get our newsletter for core supporters. But, as the old song
says (sort of), "Ain't nobody else can do it for you, you gotta go
down and join AUD by yourself!"
http://www.uniondemocracy.org/Home/Monthlygift.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)