Teamsters Suck In another Union-GCIU
The governing body of the Graphic Communications International Union (GCIU) voted on June 30th, 2004 to approve an agreement to merge with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and send the merger to the membership for a vote.
The Committee to Save the GCIU, an opposition group fighting the merger, stated that the vote actually ended in a tie, with GCIU President George Tedeschi casting the deciding vote in favor of the merger agreement.
The Committee to Save the GCIU's objective was simple: Defeat the bad deal and elect a new negotiating team at the Miami Convention in October, 2004 to work out a merger deal that members could be proud of, with a union that is right for GCIU members.
Jim Kyger, Director, Federal Employment Compliance Assistance, reported that the convention was allegedly in disarray and there are reports that there were several Teamster-people behind the scenes. GCIU officials who are opposed to a GCIU/Teamster merger were not allowed to speak until the very end of the convention. It was estimated by the GCIU Secretary/Treasurer that the international union had only about 18 months left in financial reserves. While this was a driving force for merger, the Secretary/Treasurer was against the GCIU/Teamster merger Kyger wrote.
The merger document was to be published in two successive issues of the Graphic Communicator (the GCIU's newspaper) prior to a mail ballot referendum vote that was to be held in late summer and counting to begin in September 2004.
The merger initially had the blessing of Ken Georgetti and the Canadian Labour Congress until Georgetti found out the Teamster-GCIU merger could have negative political back lash for himself. Go figure.
The counting of mail-in ballots was completed by the GCIU Board of Electors Tuesday Dec. 7th, 2004 and the results tallied.
A Teamster for a Democratic Union (TDU) article reports that Graphic Communications International Union's (GCIU) 60,000 U.S. members voted by a narrow margin to merge into the Teamsters. One large California district council voted heavily for the merger. In the other regions of the country, the vote was fairly evenly split.
Overall, 35,000 members voted out of a possible 60,000, with 52% voting yes, TDU reported.
Most Canadian locals, which voted separately, have rejected the proposal. One local in Toronto and all three locals in Quebec have decided to affiliate with the IBT.
The GCIU will now become a self-governing conference of the IBT effective January 1st, 2005 and continue to function with its own constitution consistent with the Teamsters' constitution.
A Canada Newswire release, says the GCIU, with more than 70,000 active members in the United States and Canada, represents more people working in the printing, publishing, and paper products industry than any other AFL-CIO affiliate.
According to the merger agreement, GCIU President George Tedeschi and other officers will continue to serve GCIU members in their current offices. The GCIU and its locals will maintain their autonomy and identity - including authority over their contracts.
The GCIU national website informs us that GCIU is the third union to join with the Teamsters union in 2004. Brotherhood of maintenance way recently merged with the Teamsters in late October 2004.
GCIU Pres. Tedeschi said he was "extremely gratified that a majority of our active members showed the wisdom and foresight to approve merger with our good AFL-CIO sister union."
Teamsters General Pres. Jim Hoffa threw his few cents into the merger hurrah stating:
"This is an historic moment for the GCIU and the Teamsters. Graphic communications workers exemplify quality work and the belief that workers deserve fair treatment in the workplace-fundamental traits of the labor movement and principles that guide the Teamsters union. This merger will strengthen both unions and allow us to better provide workers with real power on the job and in the political arena."
There were opponents of the merger between the Teamsters and the Graphic Communications International Union but they were not able to affect the outcome. Why was that? Could it be due to the manipulation of GCIU officials?
The Teamsters fired back at merger opponents accusing them of muddling the issue by trying to create confusion to prevent members from voting in their best interests.
With the right information, the Teamsters argue that the choice was obvious. A vote in favour of the merger of the GCIU with the Teamsters is a vote to protect your future and your family's future!
Mergers are rarely voted down by members, although it is not known if members really get all the facts in union mergers and understand future ramifications.
As with corporate mergers, unions seek mergers for reasons that glossed over and have more to do with the interests of the leaders than the members.
Harry Kelber in his article Union Mergers Rarely Bring New Strength Or Promote Worker Loyalty and Solidarity writes:
When the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CI0) merged in 1955, the move was hailed as marking a new era of union organizing and growth. At that point, the new AFL-CIO had a total of 104 national unions with a membership of 15,912,000 dues payers.
Today, the AFL-CIO has slimmed down to 64 national unions, with every merger heralded as giving added resources and strength to the combined labor organization. But after 49 years, the total AFL-CIO membership stands at only 13 million, nearly three million less than at the time of the merger.
Is this latest merger madness by the Teamsters simply another grab for market share? Are the Teamsters and GCIU secretly reforming the AFL-CIO? Is it a financial fix for a union with limited reserves and or is it a self-serving pension scam by GCIU officials? Could the merger enthusiasm have anything to do with the Teamsters Retirement and Family Protection Plan?
The Committee to Save the GCIU writes:
"This one's a beauty. Three years in and you're fully vested. So - it appears that as long as we merge no later that January 1, all of our General Board members will be eligible by the end of their current terms."
"That would include President Tedeschi, Vice-Presidents Martinez, Lacey and Grabhorn, and Board Member Correll, at a minimum."
"This is really quite an amazing coincidence - and how fortunate for them, since they have all assured us repeatedly that there's nothing in this for them personally."
Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) have already welcomed their new brothers and sisters across North America into the Teamsters Union and have invited all GCIU members to meet like-minded Teamsters by joining TDU and working for democracy and the very highest trade union principles within the IBT.