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From the July-August 2009 issue of Union Democracy Review #180
Steelworker battles for democracy in ILA L. 2038
By Matt Noyes
At 25, Kensey Alsman was a millwright at Bethlehem Steel serving as an observer to get a fair election for Ed Sadlowski in his 1976 insurgent run for international president of the Steelworkers union. Now at 59, having retired, only to see his health care and pension go down with the bankrupted company, Alsman is back in a mill, this time at Beta Steel in Indiana where he is a member of the International Longshoremen's Association, battling for fair elections and democracy in ILA Local 2038.
Local 2038 is an unusual union with an odd structure. It doesn't represent longshore workers but some 500 workers for more than a dozen employers around the Port of Indiana, 300 of them at Beta Steel, a mini-mill in Portage where Alsman works as a millwright. The local is divided into about a dozen divisions, some with as few as ten members, each division with its own set of "officers." A three-person executive board runs the local.
Like many of the low seniority workers at Beta Steel, Alsman is a veteran Steelworker unionist. When he started at Beta, he was appalled at the state of the local. "The union members," he said, "were more demoralized than the people I once worked with at Wal-Mart in Florida and Kentucky. That's saying something, considering Wal-Mart in Florida had an annual turnover rate of almost 100%." He soon discovered what that meant in Local 2038.
First there was the suspect dues increase: In July 2008, Alsman reports, workers voted down a contract only to approve a second package that was even worse. The contract had an odd provision: a tied-in proposition for a "per capita tax" increase that applied only to workers at Beta Steel. Alsman was provoked into action.
After talking with coworkers about what to do, he set up a website to share information and provide a discussion forum. And so Steelbarrel News was born (www.steelbarrelnews.com) a humorous and hard-hitting website. (Update, 9/04/09: According to Steelbarrel News, the Beta Division e-board voted on August 3rd to rescind the dues increase. Questions remain about the fate of the money already collected. - MN)
Then proposed bylaw changes: In November 2008, Alsman proposed a bylaws amendment to extend voting hours in local elections to enable more members to vote. Six months later, in June 2009, Local President Michael DaVaney finally agreed to put it to a vote; but, says Alsman, rather than holding a special local-wide membership meeting as required in the bylaws, he conducted a mail ballot membership referendum. Of some 500 good-standing members, 74 voted (presumably many were division officers.) The amendment was adopted: 53 for, only 4 against, 17 ballots invalid. A victory for democracy? Not so fast! DaVaney declared the vote invalid "due to a lack of majority member participation," a ruling, he said, that was upheld by ILA VP Sierra. On June 24, Alsman filed charges against Local President DaVaney for violating the bylaws and wasting union funds.
This May, Mike 'Kidd Steel' Battista, another Beta Steel member, proposed a bylaw amendment to require officers to get e-board permission before spending more than $500. (The limit now is $10,000!) DaVaney has yet to put the amendment to a vote.
Then, suspect elections: In March, this year, the local held officer elections --- with a strange twist. Only the officers of the various divisions were allowed to nominate candidates or vote! Members in good standing were denied the right to vote or nominate; they could run for office, but only if nominated by officers. Local President Michael DaVaney defends his actions, "[the election] was held exactly like all the others have been, following the historical and traditional practices of the local."
He has a point; until January 2008, the Local 2038 bylaws denied members the right to vote. But, at the direction of the ILA, the local amended its bylaws, bringing them into compliance with the International constitution and the LMRDA which requires direct membership election of officers. Nonetheless, DaVaney's administration ran the 2009 election under the old rules. Alsman's election protest is now before the U.S. Labor Department. He expects it to void the election and order a rerun. DaVaney says the local is cooperating with the DOL and "will follow whatever their recommendation is, as well as the recommendation of our International."
Alsman, who goes by the handle "Webmaster of Steel," continues to organize with his coworkers in the "great American Labor tradition of union activism." Like so many these days, Alsman and most of his coworkers are laid off. There is an upside, he says, it gives him time to help build his nephew's garage and organize for democracy in his union.
[Update, 9/8/09: according to the Steel Barrel News, the U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Local 2038 to "conduct new nominations, a new election, and installation for the offices of president, secretary treasurer and business agent on or before December 17, 2009, under the supervision of the Secretary of Labor and in accordance with Title IV of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA)." In the Post-Tribune, challenger Jeff Kleefisch is quoted as saying "It's hard to have any change when only 42 can vote instead of 600... A lot of people felt they couldn't make any decisions, Now there will be a lot more participation ."]
Other articles on
the ILA:
A
formidable force for reform in the ILA
Steelworker battles for democracy in ILA L. 2038(7/09-8/09)
Mob ousted, reformers
win in ILA Local 1588(3/07-4/07)
In
the ILA: rank-and-file action, government intervention, and a major legal victory
(7/06-8/06)
Feds file
suit vs rackets in ILA(7/05-8/05)
Battling corruption in the ILA: a partial chronology(7/05-8/05)
Reform
movement spreads in ILA (12/04-1/05)
Longshore
workers nearly reject master contract (9/04-10/04)
Question and Answer: RICO monitorship in ILA?
(9/04-10/04)
Who will police the Longshoremen's
ethics code? (1/04-3/04)
ILA Baltimore local threatened with
trusteeship (5/03-6/03)
Nine years without
a contract in ILA Lake Charles Local (3/03-4/03)
Reformers win majority in
harbor workers local 333, ILA (8/9 2002)
AUD at Charleston ILA
meeting (News 4/02)
Charleston Longshore unions win major victory 2/3 2002
"Charleston
Longshore workers lead battle for reform." 8/9 2001
Links to Longshore worker websites
Information and resources for
ILA members on this website.
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