HEADLINE NEWS SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
Open Letter to the Entire UBC Membership
Brothers & Sisters;
McCarron & Team had no “Reform Candidates” for competition at the 2010 UBC Convention so there was no need for an election so the dictatorship will continue and a new round of consolidation of power will no doubt be coming. More Councils and a lot more local unions will find themselves on his chopping block until only a mere handful of loyal EST’s & the UBC GEB have consolidated TOTAL-CONTROL over the membership.
This type of leadership style reflects organized crime, not the rank and file representative structure put into place by the founders of our union in 1881. In the oath we swear upon joining the UBC, we swear that we have not been, nor will we ever be members of the Communist Party. This is a totalitarian form of government in which members are RULED TOTALLY by the party leadership and those opposed to them are imprisoned or executed as enemies of the state, I hope that you appreciate these two examples!
McCarron is the first and ONLY UBC President as is his team in the UBC’s 129 year history to “restructure” and completely reverse the very principals of our founding Fathers. The founders placed ALL powers within the local union’s membership for two reasons:
1. It served as a “checks and balance” system to prevent corruption at any top level because it only took a majority of the locals in any area to cut off funding (per-capita taxes), to the newly formed District Councils or the UBC itself; DIRECTLY by the local members. (McCarron has placed the cart before the horse making us a corporate top down union where he is the CEO.)
2. DIRECT-ELECTION of ALL officers and representatives at all levels by majority vote of the local or UBC membership to hold those in power ACCOUNTABLE to the will of the people. Under the old system he and his teams would not have survived direct re-election. That is why they have gutted member’s rights by re-writing our Constitution & Laws. Former KC EST Terry Davis and Doug McCarron were cut out of the same fabric; it is only a matter of time until they share the same fate!
Members all across the Brotherhood need to link up with the reform-movement to return our right to vote at all levels. Educate yourselves as to what is really going on in the UBC, and GET INVOLVED. We need to UNITE as one membership against these tyrants by using the free flow of information making this a National effort to inform each other, Federal agencies and Congress of this Un-American mistreatment of union workers by the UBC.
Right now we are fighting individually in different jurisdictions, which play into McCarron’s plan of DIVIDE & CONQUER! Federal agencies too are dealing with our complaints in the same way and are not linking up at a nationwide level to investigate the UBC. They need to look at the last 18 years of abuse of power in overview as did U.S. Attorney-General Robert Kennedy. To remove this cancer at the national level we must fight NATIONALLY as one, combining all of our evidence and efforts as one force to defeat them.
We need national media coverage to place the spotlight on them and members should begin writing letters at their local level to bring attention to these vampires. The battle in the New York District Council is the key to fully expose the fact that open corruption was ignored by the UBC despite YEARS of member complaints which in my opinion proves that they were both supportive and complicit in supporting these crooks. This is the SECOND time under McCarron’s RULE and proves beyond a doubt that APPOINTING instead of direct elections by the members breeds CORRUPTION!
The UBC I joined almost 30 years ago was democratic and I had RIGHTS. No one told me that 18 years later that they would be STRIPPED AWAY because no one in their right mind would have joined then or now! America has been fighting two wars now for almost 10 years to give others freedom, a democratic form of government, freeing them from dictators. What a slap in the face to all our troops who have fought, bled, been crippled, or died overseas, just to come home and see the McCarron UBC!
Here in KCMO the majority of TERRY’S TEAMATES have been rehired by St. Louis to represent the same members they actively SCREWED over to keep their $118,000 a year jobs. His son, Travis, has been offered a job with the UBC in Washington, DC and Daddy retired with his multi-million dollar retirement. Is this the change in leadership to right 16 years of abuse by the Davis Team? Is this McCarron justice to bump Travis up the UBC ladder for throwing a high explosive into a crowd of 1635 Retirees or payback to Daddy for his years of LOYALTY?
Now these guys come to meetings telling the members that they want to start anew, the past is past, Terry’s gone, and they are going to work their ass of for us! How STUPID are you people that buy into this line of crap? These are the very same men Terry used to disrespect and shout down any member who questioned his rule. They are not the solution; THEY were his TEAMATES that actively helped him steal your RIGHTS and should have been shown the door just like their fearless leader and Son should have.
We should have an immediate free and fair membership election of ALL KC BA’s and staff here instead (McCarron won’t allow that) and members should push for a complete replacement of CDC staff at ALL locals here. RESPECT should not just be given, it is EARNED in my book and actions speak louder than mere WORDS especially when the first words out of their mouths should have been a public apology for their past sins!
The merging of our District Council out of existence prevented a public UBC investigation of the facts as to WHY Davis was removed from office. Now word is that he simply retired; which is it? The merger prevented the first free election of CDC E-Board officers by the members and prevents those officers being held responsible for overseeing Davis too. The merger fired all the duly elected CDC delegates here but, McCarron will now handpick the new delegate body even though he doesn’t know a single one of them.
The reasons for this sudden MERGER as stated in the KC Star newspaper do not comply with the UBC Constitution for just cause for such EXTREME total destruction of the membership’s right to self-govern their own council. Why were we not placed under UBC supervision FIRST,, like NYC has been twice, where real union corruption has taken place? Because it is all about CONTROL, not fairness.
UBC Sec: 6-D states that the UBC “shall have the right to establish supervision over and to conduct the affairs of any subordinate body (including the removal of any or all officers of such subordinate body) to correct financial irregularities or to assure the performance of collective bargaining agreements and the responsibility of the subordinate body as a bargaining agent or to protect the interests and rights of the members or whenever the affairs of the subordinate body are conducted in such a manner as to be detrimental to the welfare of the members and to the best interests of the United Brotherhood”. Merging is the big hammer in the tool box; WHY? How does taking away our rights of self-government HELP us out here, and WHY does the membership have to pay for the sins of ONE man?
My local is 106 years old and was one of the founding locals of our District Council to deal directly and locally with our member’s business. Now our delegates will drive 4 hours one way to attend meetings in St. Louis. I would ask my Brothers & Sisters in St. Louis how they would feel about things if the shoe was on the other foot and Terry Davis got to take you over for the same NON-REASON? What happened here could very well happen to you some day too! Perhaps the KCMO, Kansas and outlying area members should THINK about how good this is for us or are you willing to just LAY DOWN and take it in the shorts AGAIN?
I will repeat I have NO problem with St. Louis; mine is with McCarron’s decision to outright destroy our council without just cause and denying the membership’s vested rights to correct any problem we may have had but, apparently WE had no problem according to his own words and press releases!
YOU members had better start thinking, talking, and speaking up about this at meetings, jobsites, etc. Start attending other local’s meetings, get on the net, post your comments on this website (you can do so without giving your name or e-mail) that’s why it is here but, do SOMETHING!
For the first time in 18 years you’re free to speak and you have power to make changes if you will stand together for once to make a real change. When I called for a rally in 2006, 500 members showed up with one weeks notice but, we will need thousands this time if you want to send a message to the UBC, the media, and our city. Would you be willing to take the time, spend the gas money, and commit yourself to attend for just one day? Only YOU can make that choice. Time is running out and we need to know if this is possible. The power of the union is in its sheer numbers of members and it serves as protection for those individuals too when they UNITE!
I send my best to those FIGHTING for FREEDOM, JUSTICE, & MEMBERSHIP RIGHTS in New York City, British Columbia Canada, Chicago, and ALL the others within this Brotherhood over the last 16 years. WE will be successful if we can unite and work as ONE! Perhaps our efforts will cause the silent majority to sprout a pair and JOIN US! Information is power and AMERICA is going to hell in a hand basket because the common people refuse to make a stand against those in power.
It is past time that WE take this union and our COUNTRY back. I firmly believe that any public or union official who breaks the public trust should be punished more severely than any common criminal who steals because they are usually well paid and educated and their crimes affect thousands of innocent working people, may they rot in hell!
I have heard that Terry Davis has retained his position as LU#714’s President and that Keith Winn is now running the KC St. Louis District Council office here; how convenient for them both and then add Baby-Bear getting a promotion and you have a crap cocktail! I cannot believe that 714’s membership apparently has NO SHAME by allowing Davis to preside over their meetings after his REMOVAL from office and the loss of our UBC District Council Charter and areas. Where is your pride? You will allow him to continue to preach his hate and intimidate members even though his removal from office proves he lied and tried to outright destroy an entire local union, its trades and membership in his 16 year rein of terror!
He stripped you of your voting rights, he charged you twice the going dues check-off rate illegally, promoted nepotism (his family first), made himself a millionaire off your sweat, and laid waste your entire council but, you treat him like a King mourning his passing!
The UBC’s continued support of these individuals in positions of power only proves my point of corruption at the highest levels to cover-up, NOT investigate, the truth and punish the members here instead. As long as they have access to power or a platform to spew their lies, our freedoms are in danger of their influence to do harm. Does NOT the very loss of your council prove anything to you people? It is time for you to clean your own house by kicking DADDY out of office and retiring him to the curb where he belongs. It is high time that ALL of our remaining locals identify the TEAM supporters within them and hold them ACCOUNTABLE for their actions against member’s RIGHTS by running them OUT of office and back to their tools to face the very workers they misrepresented for years.
It should be apparent to ALL that JUSTICE has NOT been served here by the UBC’s own actions of retaining TD, Son, & TEAM in continuing positions. It should be APPARENT that facts are being withheld from us, investigations are not forthcoming, and that CHANGE is a falsehood so that they can maintain THEIR total control over our membership by using the very same TEAM by renaming it ONLY!
I want REAL CHANGE back to the time when the locals and their members had the POWER to VOTE and make policy, not forced to grovel at the feet of their MASTER’S and told to shut-up and PAY YOUR DUES!
WE built this City with our own hands and if WE are smart enough to do that, WE are smart enough to RUN OUR OWN UNION too! How many years have WE paid for NO service from these people now rehired? How many of us remain out of work while they continue to be employed on our dime? When have YOU had ENOUGH of being treated like a mindless ATM machine sucking every dime out of your hard earned pay for their benefit? Tell me when will YOU stand-up as American UNION members and say enough is ENOUGH? ACTIONS speak louder than words; it is time to UNITE and FIGHT for what is RIGHT for all UBC members and the time is right NOW!
Douglas M. Cornett