Reformers win in UPS local once headed by Ron Carey

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Teamsters for a Democratic Union (http://tdu.org) has some interesting news to report.

In the 7000-member UPS Local 804 in New York, the insurgent reform Members United slate won all top positions with 68% of the vote. In earlier years, Ron Carey had headed the local but after he left, it drifted into the hands of a weak leadership. The campaign to take back the local gained steam in 2007, when insurgents succeeded in defeating a proposed concessionary contract by a 3 to 1 margin. Tim Sylvester, the new president who got 2348 to the defeated rival's 1091, said, "We're committed to [a] reform program and tapping the power of an informed and organized membership."

TDU contributed to the reform victory. The newly elected secretary treasurer, Jim Reynolds, is a longtime TDU leader; Ken Reiman, just elected a business agent, is a member of the TDU International Steering Committee. The new officers will cut their salaries by $35,000 each and use the money to finance a program for educating members and stewards and for contract enforcement.

In the 1,000-member Local 814 in New York, the opposition New Directions slate took all spots by a 72% majority. Jason Ide, who headed the winning slate, won by 406 to 154. Campaign issues centered around contracts negotiated by the previous leadership that permitted employers to hire new workers at reduced wages and without pension and welfare benefits and weak contract enforcement. Local 814 member Walter Taylor, who helped organize several reform campaigns, is a member of the TDU International Steering Committee.

The Local 814 election was by mail ballot, supervised by Election Services Solutions, an outside agency. In a minor sidelight on the proceedings, Election Services, in line with its standard practice, informed candidates that the union had added 50 names to the election rolls after the initial ballots had been mailed. In compliance with New Direction's request, these ballots were segregated as challenged ballots. However, New Direction's winning margin was so large that the challenged ballots were never counted.

In Puerto Rico Local 901, the principal officer, German Vazquez, faces internal union charges of embezzlement brought by the Independent Review Board. IRB investigators found that he improperly took four pay raises totaling $55,532. This incident is the latest episode in a scandal saga that has wracked the local. Last April, the U.S. Labor Department sued to void the local's election of October 2008. The National Labor Relations Board is processing charges against the local, accusing it of expelling three members and fining them $10,000 each in retaliation for their filing the election complaint. The 4,400-member local represents workers at some 100 sites around Puerto Rico.