Takeover Has Union Veterans Bristling

By Allison Bruce, Ventura County Star, Calif.

Jan. 26–The takeover of a local union that refused to hold elections is a sign of how democracy has broken down, according to some retired members.

Early this month, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union stepped in and took trusteeship of Local 1036 in Camarillo. Local 1036 represented about 3,000 workers in the grocery strike and lockout in 2004, as well as in negotiations with supermarket chains in 2007. Its coverage area includes Ventura County, Arroyo Grande, Santa Barbara and Bakersfield.

Hearings on the trusteeship are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Bakersfield and Camarillo. It was important to make the hearings accessible for union members, including having a Spanish translator on hand, said Shaun Barclay, a UFCW international vice president and Western region director who is overseeing the trusteeship.

The hearings will help determine how long Local 1036 stays in trusteeship, as will Barclay’s assessment of whether the local is operating smoothly.

“It is not my interest to keep a local under trusteeship any longer than necessary,” he said, adding, “It is not my practice to release one prematurely.”

The trusteeship came after the local union’s executive board refused to hold elections as required by its bylaws, the International Union’s constitution and federal law. The local union had been heading toward a merger with Local 770 in Los Angeles. If that merger had gone through, no elections would have been necessary. But Local 1036 members voted against the merger.

In a letter, the local executive board informed the International Union that “there has occurred an irremediable breakdown in the governance functions of Local 1036 which makes it impossible for Local 1036 to effectively service its members” and “it is impossible to conduct fair executive officer … elections.”

The International Union put the local union into trusteeship Jan. 3, removing its executive board members, including George Hartwell, the local union president since 1992.

Though removed from power, some executive board members kept their staff positions, which raised the ire of some members.

Barclay said it is common for ousted officers to keep their staff positions in a trusteeship. Their job duties are modified, but their jobs still have to be done, so they remain employees unless the reason for the trusteeship warrants otherwise, he said.

Hartwell was employed through his position as president, which ended Dec. 31. He is no longer with Local 1036 and could not be reached for this story.

Some say that the local union has been run in a way that doesn’t always serve its members best and often avoids a democratic process — seen most blatantly in the decision not to hold officer elections.

Hartwell was being challenged for the presidency by another union member. It has been speculated that the challenge was why the elections were never held.

Some say that the problems extend beyond Local 1036. They argue that the “old boy network” often leads to actions designed to keep those currently in power from losing their positions.

Several point to what happened to former Local 1036 member Marvin Armas and draw parallels with the current situation.

Armas is now retired and living in Santa Maria. He joined Local 899 in 1958 when he was 16.

In 1986, he was one of several candidates who ran for president of Local 899, going up against a president who was appointed to the position by the previous executive board. He won.

The election was in September, with Armas scheduled to take office in January 1987.

Instead, he was called in and told that Local 899 was going to merge with the local in Bakersfield. Local 1036 was formed, and Armas was out as president.

Armas saw it as the International Union stepping in to maintain control.

“They felt, and still do feel, that they are going to run everything from Washington,” he said. “Their attitude is they do know best.”

Armas started working for Local 1036 in 1988. He wanted to be involved, but often felt he was left out of the process. When he became secretary/treasurer, a position that is usually second in command, Hartwell had two assistants to the president who often were given the assignments he should have had, he said. His name wasn’t even on the letterhead.

He objected to negotiations and deals he felt didn’t serve the membership, and he opposed the decision to pay Hartwell about $100,000 for vacation time and sick leave he hadn’t taken.

“There were things that came up that I was adamantly opposed to that I had no control over,” he said.

So he retired.

Armas said he would like to believe that the next step for Local 1036 is an election. But based on his own experience, he thinks it’s more likely it will be split up and parceled out to other locals.

He’s not the only one who’s doubtful.

Bill Pearson also predicts an eventual merger.

Pearson speaks from his experience as a former UFCW local union president in Minnesota. Now retired, he lives in Arizona and spends a good chunk of his time talking with union members and posting his insights online. He said online blogs finally offer a place to voice grievances in a public setting in the hopes of creating change.

“I loved what I did,” he said. “I was also very frustrated because of the bureaucracy. I was fighting with them as much as I was fighting with employers.”

He echoed Armas’ stance that mergers have been used to keep incumbents in power.

He mentions a 2006 case in Northern California, where a member was running for president of Local 588. That union was joined with Local 1288 and the president of 588 became president of the merged local. There was no election.

As for the president of Local 1288, forms filed with the U.S. Department of Labor show he took home $679,949 in total compensation for 2006. The local union had about 4,679 members before the merger.

Such examples show that what has happened with Local 1036 is not a one-time event, Pearson said.

There is a trend to merge into ever-bigger local unions, with the idea that there is strength in numbers and more resources and bargaining power. But Pearson said growing bigger has made the union less democratic.

“This isn’t what organized labor should be,” he said. “It should be about working men and women fighting for justice on the job.”

Barclay said the whole intent of the trusteeship of Local 1036 is to restore the democratic process there. When the time comes, the local union will be released from trusteeship through a membership vote. Barclay said there has been no discussion of a merger.

Past trusteeships have ended with their memberships voting on a merger or an officer election, he said.

Barclay said his staff has worked hard to keep communication open with the members of Local 1036 and the response has been positive. Any recommendation will be with the members in mind, he said.

“In every case, in every trusteeship I’ve ever worked on, my recommendation is based strictly, completely and entirely on what I believe is in the best interest of the membership long term,” he said.

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