Extremists Target Unions
Innovative internal reforms are working
well
By Rob Trenkle
Friday, April 17, 1998
Ken Boehm's March 22 op-ed "Pardoning
Corruption" is nothing more than another in the long line of attacks against the
labor movement by right wing anti-union organizations.
I am the business manager of Las Vegas Local 872
of the Laborers' International Union and also was recently elected president of the Las
Vegas Building and Construction Trades Council AFL/CIO. Across the
country, and especially right here in Las Vegas, unions are stronger and better than ever.
Our city is growing more quickly than anywhere in the country and skilled union workers
are the ones constructing the buildings and paving the roads.
What many of your readers don't know about Mr. Boehm is that he
serves as chairman of a very conservative organization called the
National Legal Policy Center (NLPC). NLPC bills itself as a non-profit organization
"promoting ethics and accountability in government." However, its funding comes from conservative, right-wing millionaires such as Richard Scaife and John
Olin.
In addition, Mr. Boehm and other NLPC leaders have ties to an
array of extremist conservative groups such as the Conservative Opportunity Society and
the Conservative Campaign Fund, both of which are closely associated with House Speaker
Newt Gingrich. Their money speaks for their mission: to silence the only voice standing up
for the rights of working men and women -- unions.
Laborers' Union operates under a unique agreement
with the Justice Department to eliminate corruption and organized crime influence from our
union. This innovative internal reform is working and working well. It is making LIUNA the
best, the strongest, the cleanest and the most democratic union anywhere.
Laborers' International Union General President Arthur A. Coia has
denied all the charges filed against him by LIUNA's General Executive
Board attorney, and he anxiously awaits his internal hearing.
Mr. Boehm is another anti-union extremist who
wants to bring organized labor down. I'd say he ought to look at the "ethics and
accountability" of some of his right-wing, millionaire buddies and perhaps his good
friend, House Speaker Gingrich.
Rob Trenkle is business manager of the Laborers' International
Union, Local 872, and president of the Las Vegas Building and
Construction Trades Council, AFL/CIO.