The
Association for Union Democracy: union democracy for a strong labor movement
104 Montgomery
Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA; 718-564-1114; info@uniondemocracy.org
Welcome to AUD.
There is a lot of material here, please explore it. If you need
help or advice with a union democracy problem please start
here.
It's not too late to contribute
to AUD this year. Please give online to help keep AUD on the job -- you may need our help, we certainly need your financial support.
CFC: We hope that Federal Employees will choose the Association
for Union Democracy (AUD) as one of the organizations to receive
your donations under the payroll deduction plan. Please note our CFC Code Number: 11741.
If you have chosen AUD before, accept our thanks for your continued
support. We need you. We would be grateful if you would spread
the word to your colleagues at work. CFC
for the AUD. (10/17/08)Please
give generously.
The Association for Union Democracy (AUD) is a pro-labor, non-profit
organization dedicated to advancing the principles and practices of
democratic trade unionism in the North American labor movement. It is
the premise of AUD
that internal democracy makes unions stronger and better able to fight
for the rights and interests of working people. No other organization
is dedicated solely to advancing the democratic rights of union members.
AUD
is a non-partisan organization. We do not support or endorse candidates
for union office or particular policies within unions. Rather,
AUD supports actions which strengthen
the democratic process, promoting membership participation, free speech
and fair elections, so that union members can transform and lead their
unions.AUD
depends on contributions and has limited resources. We provide educational
assistance and guidance as to legal rights and organizing to union members
fighting for greater control of their unions...(more about
AUD, a definition of union
democracy, to contribute
to AUD)
Give to AUD it's not too late! Capitalism may be collapsing, but AUD goes on - and we need your financial support. See our fund appeal and please give online!
Union officers uncomfortable with online free speech."The cases of retired Marine Engineer Paul
Norman and EMS Helicopter Pilot Mike Cheek, who were banned from official
union online forums, reflect the growing importance of the internet as a new
space for member participation and the contrary efforts of union leaders to
limit discussion to what they consider acceptable." Read
more. (11/13/08)
Irony in the CWA. "The
CWA supports freedom from fear in representation elections. But what's going
on in its internal union elections?" Read
more. (11/13/08)
More on labor’s lasting quest
for ethical practices. Andy Stern has selected James
R. Zazzali, a former New Jersey State judge, to preside over a new committee
charged with the task of developing a code of ethics cogent enough to discourage
SEIU representatives from misappropriating union money. Judge Zazzali is already
occupied with his job as a staff member of the International
Union of Operating Engineers... Read
more. (11/13/08)
In search of legal defense against
illegal trusteeships (on Benson's Union Democracy Blog). ...Is it permissible
for a local union to set aside money, safe from seizure by the international,
so that it can be guaranteed funds to mount a legal defense against trusteeship?
That question has arisen before, not in the SEIU but in the Teamsters union. Read
more. (11/13/08)
California labor intellectuals
call on Andy Stern to respect constructuve dissent in SEIU. "We
in California have, of course, a great deal at stake in the outcome of these
disputes. The trusteeship fears of UHW seem to be very well-founded. While
a clean-up of 6434 may require outside intervention, we believe that a simultaneous,
unjustified take- over of 150,000 member UHW would be a disaster for the California
labor movement (and SEIU nationally)." Read
more. (11/11/08)
In the Cause of Union Democracy,
by Michael Goldberg. "Many important causes cry out for the moral, material,
and legal support of public intellectuals, but few of those causes find their
natural constituencies as isolated and vulnerable as union reformers often
are..." Read excerpts
from this article by an AUD board member and leading union democracy legal
scholar. (11/2/08)
AUD supporter and longtime union
activist and scholar Jeff Perry has a new book out: Hubert
Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918. The biography of
the "foremost Black organizer, agitator, and theoretician of the Socialist
Party of New York, founder of the "New Negro" movement, editor of
Negro World, and the principal radical influence on the Garvey movement."
AUD advisor Bill Fletcher praises Perry's "thorough research and compelling
analysis" and says the book "reads with a draw like that of a study
of a long lost city, rediscovered and offering answers to an incomplete history."
(11/13/08)
This year's Combined Federal Campaign
is underway. We hope that Federal Employees will choose the Association for
Union Democracy (AUD) as one of the organizations to receive your donations
under the payroll deduction plan. Please note our CFC
Code Number: 11741.
If you have chosen AUD before, accept our thanks for your continued support.
We need you. We would be grateful if you would spread the word to your colleagues
at work. CFC for the AUD.
State employees in California and New York can give
to AUD through the California State Employees
Charitable Campaign (look for us in the "Non
Affiliate Organizations" section in the brochure of eligible organizations)
and the New York State Employees Federated
Appeal (SEFA) -- find AUD and our SEFA code in the SEFA campaign's directory
of authorized organizations, under "Association for Union Democracy,"
under the category, "Human and Civil Rights Organizations of America."
AUD's SEFA code number will vary by region of the state.
New Links: Four
for IAM members. Democracy for Bath Shipbuilders, FAQuorum, Minimum Crew,
and The Whole Can. Rank-and-file links
(9/18/08)
"Sisters in the Brotherhoods:
Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York City." Jane
LaTour, journalist, labor activist, and former director of AUD Women's Project,
has a new book based on her long time support and study of women in so-called
"non-traditional" jobs. For more
information.
Office of Labor-Management Standards Makes Contracts
Available Online."The Office of Labor-Management
Standards (OLMS) announces the availability of the Department of Labor Collective
Bargaining Agreement (CBA) File in the Online Public Disclosure Room. Collective
bargaining agreements...are now available to be viewed and printed."
With two exceptions: contracts covering fewer than 1,000 workers, and contracts
covering railroad and airline workers. See the Online
Public Disclosure Room. (11/12/07)
To end the employers' arbitrary "right to reject"
-- Electricians press IBEW to defend union hiring halls.In
response to calls from electricians frustrated by the international union's
failure to act to end the "right to reject," AUD offers four proposals
for action. See
the proposals here. (1/19/07)
"Request Help" page.
For unionists seeking information or advice with a union democracy problem.
With a new "Request Help" form that will help AUD better assist
you. An important resource for union members, please bookmark and link directly
to this page. See the page here. We have
also reworked the Contact AUD page.
Volunteer for AUD.
Work with AUD staff on online projects: translation into Spanish, indexing
and database entry, graphic/web design, web surfing and other skills needed. See our volunteer page.
Spread Union Democracy:
get a bundle of 20 copies of Union Democracy Review for $20.00 to hand out
to coworkers. Order here.
If you find this
website helpful, send AUD a generous contribution. We cannot continue
to provide this service without support from unionists and civil libertarians
like you. You may need us. We certainly depend upon you.
Donations to AUD are tax-deductible.
Disclaimer:
the information presented on this website is general and intended for
educational purposes. It is not a substitute for practical legal advice
on any specific situation.
Use the following credit line on the materials you use: "From the
website of the Association for Union Democracy. www.uniondemocracy.org. Email:
info@uniondemocracy.org. 104 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA;
718-564-1114"
