Volume 49 Number 2437
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 Page 807
ISSN 1523-5688
Lead Report

AFL-CIO Executive Council Grants Indefinite Extension For Negotiation of Carpenters' Reaffiliation

The AFL-CIO Executive Council Aug. 6 granted an indefinite extension of an earlier deadline to negotiate with the 525,000-member Carpenters and Joiners of America the reaffiliation of that union with the federation.

In a statement on the Carpenters issued by the federation, there was no mention of a deadline or responsibility for a specific person or organization to resolve the matter. The executive council said it will monitor the situation and "reconsider this matter when appropriate."

Edward C. Sullivan, president of the federation's Building and Construction Trades Department, in an Aug. 7 statement said the department was gratified to have gotten the support it sought regarding additional time to negotiate AFL-CIO reaffiliation terms with the Carpenters. Sullivan recognized that Sweeney had "a constitutional obligation to take certain actions" regarding the Carpenters' affiliation issue.

Under an order in an Aug. 1 letter to Sullivan from AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney, BCTD was told to disaffiliate the Carpenters by no later than Sept. 15 (49 CLR 775, 8/6/03). Sweeney stated in the letter that in the months of negotiations following this year's executive council midwinter meeting, he had "reluctantly concluded" that Carpenters President Douglas McCarron had no interest in reaffiliating with the federation. In view of this, Sweeney said the AFL-CIO constitution prevented the Carpenters from being affiliated with BCTD, a subordinate entity.

The Carpenters withdrew from the federation and the BCTD two and one-half years ago in disagreement over federation organizing and spending priorities (47 CLR 129, 4/4/01), and reaffiliated with the BCTD last year.

The AFL-CIO constitution requires that affiliates of federation trade departments also must be AFL-CIO affiliates.

Expecting a federation ultimatum on the constitutional issue during the executive council's August meeting, the presidents of BCTD-affiliated unions in June had agreed informally that their construction industry interests would not be compromised by federation organizational requirements. In effect, BCTD as a department was prepared to separate from the federation and operate as an independent entity, much like the National Heavy and Highway Alliance, union sources said.

Preferring not to make good on this unstated policy, BCTD's Sullivan in an Aug. 3 written response to Sweeney asked for more time to resolve the Carpenters matter. BCTD followed up with a proposal to the executive council asking for the reaffiliation deadline to be moved up to September 2005.

Construction Interests Recognized

Following what union sources said was a protracted and intense debate in executive sessions Aug. 5 and 6, the executive council said in its statement that the Carpenters' AFL-CIO disaffiliation issue had caused "significant concerns for members of building trades unions whose jobs depend on working closely" with members of the Carpenters.

The executive council recognized in its statement that "disaffiliation now causes significant problems for the construction unions and for the Building Trades Department, because they must choose between enforcing the requirements of the AFL-CIO constitution and causing enormous discord at the job sites, or permitting the Carpenters to continue to violate the basic principles of trade union solidarity."

Sweeney was praised by the executive council for having taken "every reasonable step to try to remedy this problem. We applaud his efforts and his patience. We once again call on the leadership of the Carpenters union to rejoin the house of labor."

No deadline for resolution of the matter was mentioned in the executive council statement.

No Time Limit Set for Reaffiliation

BCTD's Sullivan said he was gratified by the executive council's decision "to hold the mandated disaffiliation of the [Carpenters] in abeyance indefinitely."

"In the intervening time we are confident that remaining issues of concern between the AFL-CIO and the [Carpenters] will be addressed and resolved to everyone's satisfaction," Sullivan said.

Market share gains made by building trade unions "depend on continued unity and cooperation" among building trade unions, Sullivan said in the statement. "For any of our affiliates to be disaffiliated with the building trades would be at this time detrimental to the construction trades and a setback for the entire labor movement."

Sullivan called the pull-back of the disaffiliation order by the executive council "a giant step in ensuring labor solidarity during this critical year."

By Brian Lockett

Copyright © 2003 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.
Reproduced with permission http://www.bna.com

---

CUBC home page