Dear Fellow Union Carpenters,
For your knowledge and reference, below is my "Admonishment Speech" which I read to the LU157 2010 UBCJA General Convention Delegates and attending members at the Local Union 157 Regular Meeting, Monday, 2010 August 23.
Daniel J. Franco
LU157, UBCJA
---
Abraham Lincoln stated in his State of the Union message of 1861,
which I wholeheartedly agree, that "Labor is prior to, and independent
of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have
existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of
capital, and deserves the much higher compensation."
I will take this a step further by stating that actual persons are prior
to[, and] independent of, organizations, companies, and, in
particular, corporations and can not exist without actual persons.
Our union is not a business, as many union officials may think it is.
It is a brotherhood , a family. Of course, all families have to [be]
prudent about their finances, time and resources but they do not and
must not trump our humanity.
McCarron carries himself and speaks as though he were a CEO, a
corporatist, a boss, a business owner. He does not speak as though he
were a union leader, as a unionist, [and] not as a brother in a
family.
You appear to accept McCarron as an infallible genius god of our union
or are absolutely terrified of him. The GC Delegates are either
deluded or cowards.
As I've said before, voting for McCarron and Co. is voting against the
betterment of the membership.
Having voted for McCarron, it appears that you've drunk too much of
the McCarron [K]ool-Aid .
Having voted for McCarron was approval of and support for all his
bullying, egotism, and elitist tactics and actions.
By voting for McCarron:
You have chosen your unsustainable paychecks over the members.
You have chosen your forced mergers and dissolutions of local unions
and councils.
You have chosen trade raiding.
You have chosen embezzlement.
You have chosen corporate-unionism.
You have chosen assessments and larger fines.
You have chosen disaffiliation with labor organizations, such as the
AFL-CIO, and now Change to Win, upon his whim.
You have chosen the allowance of the AFL-CIO charter a new carpenters union.
You have chosen oligarchy, almost to the point of dictatorship, over democracy.
You have chosen the continuation of the UBC as an employment agency
rather than a labor union.
You have chosen the destruction of democracy in the UBC.
You have chosen competition between the members, pitting one member
against another, rather than cooperation.
You have chosen against the members.
What I choose is knowledge and wisdom over ignorance, fear and vanity.
I rather stand-up in harms way for the betterment of the members than
to slither on my belly.
I choose to fight the fights that need to be fought, not just the ones
I know I can win. I rather go down fighting against tyranny than live
as a slave.
Know that you are not our owners or employers. You are our
representatives. You have made decisions without our input. You have
made decisions against our approval.
In closing, which side are you on?
Daniel J. Franco
LU157, UBCJA
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