Harry writes things that the elitist, bureaucratic, machine-head bastards can't stand to hear.
Harry got burned for committing the cardinal sin of voicing opinions that did not match the manufactured "truths" espoused by the machine heads.
There is no room for an opposition party within the ranks of so-called labour democracies.
Without an opposition there is no democracy. Without dissent the truth gets twisted or dies.
Does anyone think that Bro_ken would have the nuts to come to Harry's defense?
Harry Kelber Expelled from CWA
AFL-CIO Critic Expelled from Union
Harry Kelber, a long-time labor educator and critic of the AFL-CIO's undemocratic policies, has been illegally expelled from his union, the New York Typographical Union No. 6, now known as CWA Local 14156.
The reason given for the expulsion was a lapse in dues payments of four months, although Local 6 officers openly admitted that they never informed Kelber, either by letter, fax or e-mail that he was behind in dues, as required by the CWA constitution.
Local 6 president Arthur DiLanni wrote the 89-year-old Kelber: "You can only resume active status by applying as a new member or as a member seeking reinstatement, both of which are limited to those currently working in covered employment under contract with Local 6."
Kelber's relationship with the printers' union goes back to 1954, when he worked as a linotype operator at The New York Post. He played a principal role in the historic Local 6 strike of 1962-63, which shut down New York City's major daily newspapers for 114 days, during which he edited the daily strike bulletin.
In 1965, he received an honorable discharge from Local 6 to become a professor at the New York Institute of Technology. He subsequently taught at Cornell University and the Labor College, where he remained a senior tenured professor until his retirement in 1984. In those intervening years, he was a dues -paying member of an independent union, the American Association of University Professors.
From 1984-90, Kelber was education director of Electrical Workers Local 3 and the coordinator and principal instructor of the Trade Union Leadership Institute of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL CIO.
"In the early 1990s," Kelber says, "when I started my newsletter, The Labor Educator, I decided to renew my membership in Local 6, not as a working printer, but in a special category called 'Not at the Trade,' for which I paid dues of $26.67 a month, without any pension, welfare or other benefits . I also paid whatever dues were required by the CWA."
"At no time did Local 6 officers question my membership. They took my dues under the new arrangement for nearly 10 years (even when I sometimes fell behind a month or two)," Kelber states.
On Nov. 30, 2003, Kelber wrote CWA President Morton Bahr, asking for reinstatement to Local 6 and pointing out that Local 6 officers had openly admitted that they never gave him either written or oral notice of his dues delinquency before depriving him of membership.
Bahr's two sentence reply on Jan. 7, 2004 said: "I am considering your letter of November 30, 2003 as an appeal to the decision of CWA Local 14156 denying you membership in the local. We will get back to you soonest."
"I don't know by what authority Bahr decided that my letter to him constituted a formal appeal," Kelber asks, "and why wasn't I informed where and when my case was being adjudicated, so I could defend myself?"
On Feb. 4, Bahr sent Kelber a letter stating that his appeal for reinstatement as a member of Local 6 had been denied. The letter contained several false statements by Local 6 officers, which Bahr accepted as facts. He wrote: "As you have been previously advised by both me and Vice President Boarman the local's bylaws require that in order to be reinstated as an active member, you must be employed within the jurisdiction of the Local."
Bahr, a former student of Professor Kelber at the Labor College, concluded his letter by offering him a consolation prize: an "embossed" CWA retiree membership card.
Kelber is convinced that his illegal expulsion from the printers union is a vengeful response to his constructive criticism of the AFL-CIO leadership and its undemocratic practices. "I have a special feeling of loyalty for Typographical Union No. 6, which had an important influence on my life as a labor activist," he said. Kelber wrote a book about Local 6's struggles, "Union Printers and Controlled Automation," published by The Free Press in 1967.
"After devoting 70 years to the labor movement as an educator, organizer, pamphleteer and journalist, I shall fight the vindictive efforts to deny me my union membership," Kelber vows, "and I hope that union members who believe in the right of dissent will join me in this fight."
Y'know, Harry writes some pretty cool stuff. What he writes amuses some, strengthens some and pisses some off to no end. Say what you will about Harry, he thinks on his feed and doesn't pull any punches.
What has happend to Harry would be tantamount to the premier of a province removing the citizenship of a member of the opposition party for speaking out against government policy.
Talk about oppression. Talk about oppressors. This is outrageous!
"The Secret Code of Union Officialdom" must be broken. Union members must be set free.
What I find really outrageous is that the turds expelled an 89 year old man and for the most spurious of reasons! They seem completely oblivious even to the optics of this situation. Expelling an 89 year old member? How's that going to look? Is it going to make them look like a bunch of tyrants or maybe like a bunch of scared tyrants? Scared of an 89 year old man and his writing?! They have either not thought this through or the optics are of no concern to them. Anything to suppress communications that we don't like. Anything. Shit, which way to the book burnin' or the computer stompin'?
You know what I have noticed about Kelber and his writing? He writes about a lot of the same things that we write about and that other union democrats write about. Democratic unionism, the failure of the biz unions to attract new members, the corruption, the fat salaries, the general malaise that has fallen over what is called the labour movement and so on.
What's really interesting about this is that Kelber is actually from the era before the big malaise happened - the time before the labour relations system was set up and unions were co-opted into the role of management's helpers. It seems to me that his views were probably shaped by the militant rank and file unionism that existed in those days (and that was all but snuffed out with the coming of the system). He recalls a different kind of unionism - one that the mainstream labour lords don't want anyone to know much about (and they've gone to great lengths over the years to distort into something crazy and radical and communistic to make sure nobody takes too much of an interest in it).
Harry is actually quite unique and I think that it's remarkable that he is with us today and continuing his efforts on behalf of working people. Most of his contemporaries (maybe pretty much all of them) from the pre-WW2 era, are either dead, long since retired or were co-opted into the system long ago. It's almost like he's a blast from the past come to shake things up in the year 2004 with ideas about unionism that are a valid and empowering today as they were 50 years ago.
We should get in touch with him. I think he'd be a really interesting person to speak with.
We emailed CWA President Morton Bahr for a response to this article. I guess he didn't have the time or perhaps he just could care less. If you wish to contact Bahr email him at mbahr@cwa-union.org