Office of the GEB
Attorney
Laborers' International Union
of North America
____________________________________________________________
Robert D.
Luskin
GEB Attorney
2550
M Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20037-1350
Phone: (202) 457-6190
To the Members of Local
2:
I write to set the record
straight on the reasons for the substitution of Randy Dalton for Joe Romano as
Trustee of Local 2.
This is not about politics
or personalities. I am substituting Randy Dalton for Joe Romano- just as I had
previously substituted Joe Romano for Dave Schippers - because I believe that
Randy Dalton has the skills that Local 2 needs now to complete the trusteeship
and protect the interests of Local 2. In particular, the local needs interim
leadership that is familiar with the operation of a LIUNA local union and with
the District Council. I have been concerned that while Joe has carried on the
valuable work of his predecessor in reforming the internal operations of the local,
insufficient attention has been paid to protecting Local 2's jurisdiction and to
its interests in dealing with employers. It is also essential that Local 2
function as an integral part of the District Council. But I very clearly did
not, and would not, remove Joe Romano because of personality differences with
the District Council leadership.
In his letter to the
members, Joe speculates that his initiatives to foster democracy within Local 2
"frightened some people in the council" who requested his immediate removal.
Nothing could be further from
the-truth : Joe is justifiably proud of :his many accomplishments as trustee,
including a newsletter, regular membership meetings, a handbook on conducting
local union meetings, and. classes for stewards and others. I explained to him
in terms that left no room for misunderstanding that I expect that Randy Dalton
will foster and expand these initiatives. I will also work to ensure that Local
2 has a greater voice in the District Council, even though its delegates do not
vote during a trusteeship.
I have expressed concerns
about Joe's proposal to appoint interim officers, not because I oppose
self-governance, but because the appointment of interim officers is flatly
incompatible with the LIUNA Constitution and the responsibilities of a trustee
under federal law. In every local that has been the subject of a trusteeship
since 1995, we
have sought to
foster, not prevent the return to self-government by the appointment of business
agents, with increasing responsibilities for the affairs of the local, by conducting regular meetings
of the local union, and by teaching interested members about the skills required
to operate a local union.
Local 2 has made great
strides during the trusteeship, particularly when measured against the state
of
the local
and its members under the control of its corrupt former officers. The GEB
Attorney and the Inspector General did not free Local 2 from the control of
organized crime in order to permit some other group to seize control. Our only
goal is to restore Local 2 to officers chosen by its members in free, fair and
open elections.
Joe's letter to the members states the trusteeship will
or
should end
in November 2000.
He
has never
discussed with me the appropriate date for setting an election, and I have
reached no final decision on the matter. We will set an election as soon as
Local 2 is ready to succeed without outside supervision; your cooperation with
the trustee will hasten that day.
Joe Romano has
made valuable
contributions to the welfare
of Local 2 and its members. I regret that he has mistaken a difficult but necessary personnel decision
as a judgment about reform and
that he has apparently confused his own status with the future of democracy in
Local 2. Our efforts in support of reform in Local 2 preceded Joe's tenure and
they will continue after his departure. Joe deserves our thanks for his
excellent service. Randy Dalton deserves your support and wholehearted
cooperation. And the members of Local 2 deserve and will get an opportunity to
control their destiny.
Yours
sincerely,