SOME BYLAW AND OUT OF WORK
LIST CHANGES WE NEED AT THE
NEW YORK DISTRICT COUNCIL
OF CARPENTERS
By Gregory A. Butler, local 608 carpenter
As we know, there has been a pattern of undemocratic rule and corruption in our DC going back to the turn of the century. And, for the last quarter of a century, we have had a decline in our control over our jurisdiction. Our union's lack of democracy has contributed to that loss of power on the jobsites.
The key to making our union stronger is to make it more democratic. And, the foundation of a more democratic union is laid by making the union structure more accountable to the rank and file carpenter. This, of course would require a wholesale revamping of our bylaws.
So, here are some ideas about the kind of bylaws we should have, and, also, I have some ideas on what kind of out of work list rules we need.
THE BYLAWS OF THE NYDCofC: Here are some ideas for bylaw changes, listed by article. The articles not listed are the ones I don't feel need to be changed.
SECTION 3: Powers: This article was amended by the McCarron administration to take away the power of local's having their own salaried officers and Buisness Agents, who work at the discression of the DC. This needs to be changed. The local officers and BAs should be on the payroll of the local they serve, and should serve at the discression of the local membership who elected them.
The clerical workers, service workers, professionals and carpenter school instructors employed by the DC should be hired by the authorty of the council or it's designees, and should only be discharged for cause. Also, council staff should have an explicit right to join a union of their choosing, to represent them in their employment dealings with the DC.
SECTION 4 : Council Representation : This clause deals with the delegates to the DC, a body set up by McCarron supposedly to represent rank and file carpenters, to counterbalace our loss of elected BAs.
But, in practice, the first council delegates elected have been largely been local officers or BAs. Hardly "rank and file" delegates.
So, I would require that delegates to the DC be rank and file carpenters, employed in the trade, or on the out of work list awaiting employment. I would bar currently serving BAs and officers, or anybody who has been an officer or BA in the last 3 years from running for this office. The delegates should be journeymen carpenters who have been in the union for at least 2 years, and are otherwise qualified to run for office under Section 31D of the UBC international constitution.
No delegate shall run for any other office during their term, and the term of office should be 3 years. After 2 terms, they should be prohibited from running again, and required to work on the tools, or be avalible for work, for 2 years before they are permitted to run for any other local or DC office.
Sitting delegates should be prohibited from holding any job at the DC or the locals, except for organizer, labor management representative [the people who verify if the union contractors are paying the wage and the stamps] or instructor at the carpenter school.
The delegates, except those employed as organizers, labor management reps or instructors, shall be on their tools, or on the out of work list awating employment, and shall recieve no pay as delegates, but their employers would be required to give them paid release time to do the work of the DC.
I would also expand the number of delegates. Currently, there are 5 delegates for the first 500 members, and 1 delegate for each additional 500 members. I would change that to 1 delegate for each 100 members, so as to broaden the pool of delegates.
SECTION 5 : Powers And Duties of Delegates : I would remove the power of the delegates to finally approve collective bargaining agreements. All agreements should be voted on by the members, and would not be valid unless approved by 50% of the membership voting.
I would also remove the delegates power to appoint and remove labor trustees to the Trust Funds. Those labor members, and the chairmen of the trust funds, should be directly elected by the membership.
Also, the DC's trial committee, instead of being appointed by the delegates, should be elected by the membership. The trial committee would have 1 committee member for every 1,000 members, and be elected at the same time as the delegates, under the same terms.
But, I would strengthen the delegates power over expenses. The delegate body's advise and consent should be required each month before any funds are appropriated to pay any of the DC's bills. Also, the Executive Secretary Treasurer should be required, before each fiscal year, to present a proposed budget, that should be subject to the approval of the delegates.
The delegate body would also approve all hiring, diciplining and firing of staff by the council, approve all professional service or other comercial contracts entered into by the DC, and direct the auditing of the finances of the DC, the locals and the Trust Funds on an annual basis.
I would also create an office of the chairman of the DC delegate body, who would preside over meetings of the delegate body, assign delegates to subcommittees of the delegate body and sit on the Executive Committee.
The proposed chairman would also chair the committee that bargains our contracts, with the balance of the committee elected directly by the membership in a special election 12 months prior to the expiration of the contract.
There would be 1 bargaining committee member for every 1,000 carpenters, plus there would be at large bargaining committee members for the cabinetmakers, dockbuilders, timbermen, floorlayers, millwrights, trade show carpenters and civil service carpenters. These committee members would serve under the same terms as delegates, and would also be rank and file carpenters who hold no other office.
There also would be an out of work list committee, which would be directly elected by the members. There would be one delegate for every 1,000 members, plus at large out of work list committee members for the cabinetmakers, dockbuilders, timbermen, floorlayers and millwrights. Trade show carpenters would have 4 at large out of work list committee members; 2 for the Javits Center, 1 for the hotels and 1 for the piers. These committee members would be elected under the same terms as delegates, would be rank and file carpenters who hold no other office, but would serve full time. They would be compensated at the same rate as a journeyman carpenter working a 35 hour week.
They would work the phones distributing the jobs and add members to the out of work list. They would also maintain a daily updated list, showing who was on the list, at what position, and would also maintain a list, showing which carpenters were sent to which employer which particular day. These lists would be posted at the enterance to the carpenter school at 395 Hudson, would also be faxed and or emailed to every local to be posted at their offices and would be accessible to members via automated telephone system, and by being posted on a website.
This chariman would be elected by the members from the ranks of the delegates, using the present election format where the delegates are elected in September, the DC executive committee in December.
SECTION 8 : Executive Committee : The current DC executive committee is composed of the Executive Secretary Treasurer, [known as EST, for short ; our principal officer, as per the McCarron Restructuring], President, VP, three Trustees, Warden, Conductor and one Executive Delegate from each of our 10 locals. I would expand that committee, by including the proposed Delegate Body Chairman described above, a Financial Secretary, a Out of Work List Committee Chairman, who would be directly elected by the members, a Director of Organizing, also directly elected, a Director of Communications, who would also be directly elected and a Director of Apprenticeship and Training, who also would be directly elected.
The EST will recive the same rate of pay and benifits as a carpenter general foreman, working a 35 hour week. The President, VP, Financial Secretary, Trustees, Out of Work List Committee Chairman, Director of Organizing, Director of Communications and Director of Apprenticeship and Training will recieve the same rate of pay and benifits as a carpenter foreman, working a 35 hour week. the Warden, Conductor and Executive Delegates would reciever the same rate of pay and benifits as a journeyman carpenter, working a 35 hour week. The Delegate Body Chairman would be an unsalaried post, as that carpenter would be a rank and file member, released from their job with pay to do the work of the DC.
The duties of these additional posts are as follows:
Financial Secretary : Recieve all moneys owed to the DC , draft all checks and orders for accounts payable by the DC and present a monthly appropriations bill of monthly expenses to be paid out, which shall be presented to the Delegate Body for it's approval. The Financial Secretary will also assist the EST in preparing the annual budget, and presenting the budget to the Delegate Body for it's approval.
Out of Work List Committee Chairman : Supervise the operations of the out of work list, and the posting of the lists.
Director of Organizing : Supervise the organizing department.
Director of Communications : Supervise the publication of our monthly DC newsletter, The Carpenter, assist the locals in pubilcations of their newsletters, create and supervise special bi monthly newsletters for trade show carpenters and civil service carpenters, create, supervise and update on at least a monthly basis a DC website, supervise public relations with print, broadcast and internet media and supervise lobbying at City Hall, Albany and Washington.
Director of Apprenticeship and Training : Supervise the NYC DC of C Labor Techincal College, our school.
In addition, the Executive Delegates would be assigned full time jobs to go with their salaries. I would propose that one ED be assigned to work on grievances full time, one ED be assigned to assist the out of work committee, three EDs be assigned to organizing, two EDs be assigned to assist the Director of Communications, one ED be assigned to assist the Director of Apprenticeship and two EDs be assigned to assist the Labor Management Representatives in enforceing contractor benifit fund payments. Which particular ED would do which particular assignment to be decided by the EST, with the advise and consent of the Executive Committee, and with the approval of a simple majority of the Delegate Body.
The Executive Committee would lose it's role as the committee that automatically controls bargaining with the employers to the directly elected bargaining committee chaired by the Delegate Body Chairman. The Executive committee would also lose it's power to appoint fund trustees, as those posts would now be directly elected by the membership.
SECTION 9 : District Council Offices : Paragraph A :The terms of the EST, President, VP, Financial Secretary, Warden, Conductor, Chairman of the Delegate Body, Chairman of the Out of Work List Committee, Director of Organizing, Director of Communications, Director of Apprenticeship and Training and Executive Delegates would be for 3 years. There would be a limit of 2 terms, and the officeholder would have to spend 3 years on their tools before being elegible to run for any other office.
SECTION 9 : Paragraph B : Employees of the DC would be inelegible to run for any office, unless they left DC employment and worked as a carpenter for 3 years. Otherwise, all candidates have to have been journeymen carpenters for 2 years before running for office.
SECTION 10 : Duties of the President : In addition to the current duties of the office, the President will assist buisness agents and stewards in the arbitration of greivances against the contractors, supervise the DCs lawyers in any litigation, NLRB cases or court action the DC may be party to and assist the organizing department in organizing non union carpenters. The President shall also serve as acting EST in the event that the incumbent EST dies in office, dissapears or is incarcerated. However, there shall be a special election within 60 days of such a vacancy, and the President, as acting EST, shall not be elegible to run for that office, and will return to their previous office.
SECTION 11 : Duties of the VP : The VP will, in addition to the current duties of the office, will assist the organizing department in organizing non union carpenters and signing up their employers. The VP will also be next in line for sucession, under the provisos outlined above for EST sucession. Any other Executive Committee posts that should become vacant as a result of death, dissapearance or incarceration will remain vacant until a special election is held in 60 days.
SECTION 12 : Duties of the EST : This post, at present, has dictatorial powers, that need to be drastically reduced.
Paragraph (A) : The EST will continue to supervise the operations of the DC office, with day to day management provided by the Financial Secretary. However, all of the duties of the EST that were previously the function of the Recording Secretary and the Treasurer shall be transferred to the Financial Secretary.
The EST's power to hire and fire Buisness Agents shall be revoked, as the BAs will henceforth be elected by the local's they serve.
The power to recomend the hiring of DC clerical employees will belong to the Financial Secretary, but the Delegate Body will have final approval over hiring, and the Chairman of the Delegate Body will have charge over dicipline and firing, with final approval by the Delegate Body.
Organizers will be hired by the Director of Organizing, with the consent of the Delegate Body. Diclipline and firing of organizers will be based on the recomendation of the Chairman of the Delegate Body, with final approval by the Delegate Body.
Paragraph (B) : The EST will cease to automatically be a delegate to UBC conventions, the NYS Building Trades Council, the state and national AFL-CIO and other bodies. Those delegates will be elected by direct membership vote, based upon the rules for Delegate elections.
The EST will cease to automatically be chairman of all negotiating committees. That responsibility will fall upon the Chairman of the Delegate Body, and the directly elected Bargaining Committee.
The EST will cease to automatically be a Trust Fund Trustee, as union trustees, and Trust Fund Chairmen, will be directly elected by the membership.
SECTION 13 : Duties of Warden and Conductor : In addition to their present very minimal duties, the Warden shall assist the Labor Management Fund in collecting benifit fund delinquencies from contractors and the Conductor shall assist the Organizing Department in organizing non union carpenters and signing their employers.
SECTION 15 : Hiring Hall or Job Referral System : The out of work list will be administered by the above described directly Elected Out of Work List Committee, supervised by the Out of Work List Committee Chairman described above. The list shall be administered in the above described manner, and the committee will also appoint the proposed chief stewards and shop stewards.
The out of work list committee would also administer the new system wherby we would no longer have a 50% company man/50% local man workforce by jobsite, but a 90% local man, 10% foreman and leadman force by contractor.
[Attached below is a proposed list of out of work list rules changes]
SECTION 16 : Appointment of Stewards : As outlined in my eariler Contract 2001 proposals, the DC would have a new catagory of steward, the chief steward. The chief steward would be assigned to any contractor with more than 25 carpenters, and would veryify that the contractors hired and laid off in conformity with the contract and out of work list rules. The chief stewards would also verify that the employers are paid up in their benifit funds payments. Also, the chief stewards would handle arbitrations of dismissals.
These chief stewards would be appointed by the Out of Work List Committee, and would serve 6 month terms, so as to prevent undue influence by the contractors on the chief stewards.
The Out of Work List Committee will also appoint shop stewards, who will serve at a jobsite until the contractor pulls off the site. The stewards will enforce employer compliance with the contract, verify union membership of carpenters employed on the site, protect the jurisdiction, verify that deliveries of carpenter material are unloded by union labor, investigate grievances, take greivances and dismissal cases to arbitration, and otherwise carry out the work of the DC on the jobsites. In addition, the shop steward will do whatever carpenter work they are asked to do by the contractor, time permitting.
The Out of Work List Committee, acting jointly with the Labor Technical College, will adminster training programs to certify members to be stewards.
SECTION 17: Collective Bargaining: Collective Bargaining Agreements with the contractors shall be bargained by a Bargaining Committee directly elected by the membership, as described above, and chaired by the Chairman of the Delegate Body.
Proposed agreements shall be submitted by the Bargaining Committee to ratification by the membership, by direct ballot. The proposed agreement will be presented, in full, in printed form, to the membership, and sent to their homes by mail, 60 days before a ratification vote. It will take a 50% majority to pass an agreement.
All negotiating sessions with the employers will be open to attendance by the membership.
SECTION 18 : Trust Funds : All Trust Fund union trustees, and the chairmen of the funds, shall be elected by the membership.
SECTION 29 : Representatives and Organizers : All Buisness Agents shall be elected by the locals they serve. All organizers will be hired by the Director of Organizing as outlined above. The DC will cease to hire and fire BAs.
SECTION 32 : Amendments : Scrap existing amendment language. The bylaws can be amended by petition of the membership, signed by 1% of the membership, and with final approval by referendum by the membership.
THE NYCDC JOB SOLICITATION REGISTRATION AND REFERRAL SYSTEM WORK RULES :
The major change here would be a swich from the 50/50 system, where a contractor has to have, in theory, 50% of the labor on a site be from the hall, to a system where the employer would hire 90% of his/her workforce from the list, basically everybody except a small core of foremen, and would move those carpenters so hired from site to site, as long as their was work available. Layoffs would be by seniority, discharge only for good cause,with good cause to be determined by arbitrator's ruling. Shop stewards would continue to be assigned by jobsite by the Out of Work List Committee, who would take the place of the current Dispatchers, who are clerical employees of the DC.
Rule Changes:
Rule 6 : Members will be able to dispute list position any weekday, from 7AM to 8PM.
Rule 9 : If an employer rejects a carpenter for alleged "lack of skill", that carpenter will remain on that employers payroll, and will be enroled in journeyman classes to study that particular carpentry skill. No apprentice can be rejected by an employer for "lack of skill" as an apprentice is supposed to be learning the trade in the first place, and that is not a valid reason to reject an apprentice.
Rule 10 : The out of work list will be posted at the Labor Technical College, and will also be available for review by automated telephone system and online on the DCs website. The list will be updated daily, and a list of daily job referals, with name of member and name of employer, will be posted in the same manner, and also updated daily.
Rule 11 : All employers will be expected to conform with federal, state and local affirmative action rules, even on commercial jobs. So, the Out of Work List Committee will work with the stewards and Buisness Agents to maintain a contractor workforce that is 28% minority, and 6% female, as per New York affirmative action rules.
These are some major changes, and would take a major struggle to enact. But, if we ever did achieve these proposed changes, we'd have a much stronger, and far more democratic, DC.
Thats it for now.
Be union, work safe.