Solidarity was the recurring theme of the 41st annual North American Conference of Commercial Unions.

Photos by Dennis B. Doris Jr.

Meeting during a break are, from left: George Novak, Toronto 100M secretary-treasurer and General Board member; Commercial Conference Pres. Machael Marsbergen of Local 100M; GCIU Vice Pres. Lawrence Martinez; and Mathew Wenner, administrator of the GCIU Employer Retirement Fund.

The commercial conference's Sites Committee recommended the venues for the next three annual meetings. They chose Louisville, Ky., for 2002, Boston, Mass., for 2003, and St. Paul, Minn., for 2004. Fred Blevins of Louisville 619M is at the podium while committee members David Setz, left, of Jefferson County 309C and Paul Garcia of Los Angeles 404M stand by. Conference Pres. Mike Marsbergen monitors the report.

Whether dealing with multinational corporation employers like Quebecor or in the political arena, conference speakers emphasized the need to work together to protect the rights of workers and their families.

And it was fitting that the conference site was San Diego, Calif., where Local 432M pressmen at the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper are still fighting for a fair contract from a hostile, law-breaking employer.

To show their support for the pressmen, the commercial conference delegates, led by GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi, joined hundreds of trade unionists and worker rights activists at a rally and demonstration outside the newspaper

At the opening of the conference, Conference Pres. Machael Marsbergen of Toronto 100M introduced host Local 432M Pres. John Finneran to the 39 conference delegates and guests. They heard Finneran, a fired Union-Tribune pressman, describe how the Copley newspaper management implemented a campaign to break every union in the newspaper. Over the past few years, management succeeded in busting a 350-member CWA unit and an 850-member Newspaper Guild editorial group. Now, all that remains are the 140 Local 432M press unit and 50 Teamster truck drivers, Finneran noted.

Despite management persecution of the remaining union members, Local 432M, with the help of the Teamsters and other unions and worker rights groups, has launched a successful campaign to inform the San Diego community about the injustice. Their activities include public service announcements and appearances on television and radio talk shows.

San Diego Local 432M Pres. John Finneran updates delegates on the campaign to win a fair contract at the Union-Tribune.

Finneran promised to the commercial conference delegates that he and his members will stay together and continue the ongoing corporate campaign that has cost the newspaper 30 percent or more of its subscribers and, more importantly, the trust of the community. "We are going to last one more day than management does until we win this fight and win a fair contract," Finneran vowed.

Pres. Tedschi overview

GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi noted that he and his administration are reaching out to other unions and organizations to work together on worker issues.

To make his point, Tedeschi cited the large crowd of about 600 demonstrators from various unions and human rights groups that attended the rally at the San Diego Union-Tribune as one result of this cooperation.

"We are trying to develop good relations with many other unions. I think that our efforts are working well. And we can work together on issues that affect our members," Tedeschi said.

He also spoke about making the GCIU a "player" in political issues that affect members and their families. Although the GCIU does not now have a lot of money to support pro-worker candidates and issues with large contributions, the GCIU can make up for it with active members who can volunteer their time to work on campaigns, Tedeschi said.

"If this union doesn't become a player in politics, we are like a free rider in our shops taking the benefits without helping to support the effort," he declared.

The GCIU leadership must find a way to get money to support deserving political candidates, he said. "I ask your help in finding ways to generate money to help elect politicians who are our friends," he said.

Another Tedeschi administration priority includes working on ways to give rank-and-file members better representation in their locals through the new officer training programs that have already started and will continue across the U.S. and Canada."We want you to have better officers men and women who are equipped to run their locals and give good service to the membership. So, we are subsidizing these educational programs," Tedeschi said.

Smaller local unions in particular suffer when new officers are elected and do not receive the training necessary to perform their duties, he explained.

He also urged delegates to encourage mergers of small local unions. "Merging small locals makes sense since larger, stronger locals benefit the members. I urge locals, particularly those with less than 100 members, to consider the advantages of merger with other locals in their area," he advised.

He brought delegates up-to-date on the sale of the headquarters building in Washington, D.C., ordered by the General Board.

Tedeschi pledged to continue to work to make the GCIU a bigger and better union. And he called attention to the motto the Tedeschi-Deneau team used, "Strong and United," in reminding the delegates "we cannot do it without you."

Union-Tribune update

Local 432M Pres. John Finneran and San Diego Labor Council Secy.-Treas. Jerry Butkiewycz reviewed the situation at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"The Union-Tribune is a bad employer," Finneran led off. He recounted the history of a newspaper with a good relationship with its unions until a new publisher came on board and methodically started to bust unions in the different crafts.

He recounted the history of busting the CWA that represented 350 members and then The Newspaper Guild, with another 850 members. Since the Local 432M pressmen refuse to knuckle under, management has not given them a raise in nine years and refuses to continue with the pension contributions, putting members' pensions at risk.

"Union membership at the Union-Tribune has dropped from 1,400 to our 130 GCIU Local 432M members and 50 truck drivers, represented by the Teamsters," he said. But despite the obvious attempts to break the union, the Local 432M pressmen are holding firm against management at the Copley paper.

In fact, new pressroom hires – signed on by the newspaper to start a union-free pressroom – have forsaken the dark side and joined Local 432M of their own volition.

Over the past few years, Local 432M and other unions have waged a campaign in the media and by rallies to convince area residents to cancel their subscription to the paper and have dropped circulation by an estimated 30 percent. In addition, union members are meeting with advertisers to convince them to drop their ads in the paper, Finneran explained.

The success of the campaign is a credit to the solidarity of the GCIU and other unions, he added. Other locals have adopted 432M and raised the funds to allow the San Diegans to keep up the fight for justice.

"So, thanks to you, we are not ready to give up in San Diego. When people ask me when the confrontation will end, I tell them we will last one day longer than Union-Tribune management and until we get a fair contract." Finneran said.

Butkiewicz told the conference delegates that every union in the region knows about the struggle and is fully supportive.

"This fight against union-busting is not only about San Diego; it is about whether unions can exist in any town," he said. He noted that organized labor is flexing its muscle in the area and is moving to elect friendlier local politicians who can work to ensure worker rights at the Union-Tribune.

An example of the growing awareness of pro-worker voters is evident from recent elections, Butkiewicz said, in which "not one candidate endorsed by the Union-Tribune was elected."

"Another great thing about this struggle is that it has brought us all together -the GCIU, the Teamsters, the teachers, nurses, and many other groups. I am sure this growing awareness will bring us victory," Butkiewicz said.

Pension fund reports

The administrators of two GCIU pension funds reported that all is well with their funds despite the current economic downturn.

G. L. "Chip" Griesbauer, administrator of the GCIU Supplemental Retirement and Disability Fund, noted that his fund is "actuarially sound" and now paying $8 million per month to 16,000 retirees and beneficiaries.

He reminded delegates that the pension funds hold pre-retirement planning programs to prepare members for retirement. "Many members do not know about these programs, and you should try to schedule one for your particular regions. It helps the members and lets them know about the many benefits you have negotiated for them over the years," Griesbauer said.

Mathew Wenner, administrator of the GCIU Employer Retirement Fund, joined his colleague in suggesting union leaders plan retirement seminars in their locals.

He urged local leaders to consult with the pension plans to develop specific wording for pension payment provisions in contracts. "Our audits of contract payments show that vague wording can cause a problem with collections and leave underpayments from employers. To prevent this, you can call us to get specific contract language that specifically states the obligation," Wenner said.

Commercial Conference business

Acting conference Pres. Machael Marsbergen of Toronto 100M read a list of officers of the GCIU commercial conference. They include himself as president; George Michael Parrish of Washington 538C as secretary-treasurer; George Osgood of St. Paul 1M as vice president; Rita Naidopoulos of Toronto 1M as sergeant-at-arms; John Savage of Vancouver 25C as the Canadian representative; Wesley Wicks of Washington 1C as eastern representative; Richard Street of Louisville 619M as southern rep; Mike Huggins of Indianapolis 17M as midwest rep and Paul Greene of Denver 404M as western rep.

Marsbergen welcomed three guests – James Hilden of Milwaukee 23N and the Newspaper Conference and Robert Bryan of Cincinnati 128N and Ellis Davis, secretary of the GCIU Specialty Conference.

Bryan told the delegates that the unrelenting fight with the San Diego Union-Tribune is important because "backing up is a psychological process that is hard to stop." He congratulated the 432M members for their corporate campaign that is costing the company millions. "When you get into (management's) billfold deep enough, they listen, so keep it up," Bryan said.

Conference Secy.-Treas. George Michael Parrish reported the conference books were in order and the conference had a bank balance of more than $13,000.

The Sites Committee delivered their recommendations to the conference for future conferences. City and host local were: The 42nd conference in 2002 to Louisville, Ky., hosted by Local 619M; the 43rd conference in 2003 to Boston, Mass., hosted by Local 3M; and the 44th conference in 2004 to St. Paul, Minn., hosted by Local 1M.

Legal matters

San Diego 432M attorney Richard Prochaszka detailed the legal situation between the local and Union-Tribune management and imparted some wisdom for other local leaders facing phony decertification petitions pushed by management.

Since a favored Union-Tribune tactic involved refusing benefits and raises to union members and offering these improvements to non-union employees succeeded in bringing decertification of the CWA and newspaper guild units, it is important to file unfair labor practice charges early, he advised.

A pending ULP charge prevents any action on a decertification petition, and, since the standard on triggering decert actions was recently relaxed to benefit management, local unions must rely on the regulation to save their unit, Prochaszka emphasized.

"Unfair labor practice charges become more important since they block decertification moves in their tracks and allow the local to use all their energies to get negotiations back on track," he said.

At the end of the first day of the conference, the delegates rode a bus to join more than 500 other demonstrators to protest management stonewalling at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

They joined protesters from many other unions and worker rights groups including the Teamsters, the Machinists, the AFT, and many other unions and student and human rights organizations.

GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi, right, and his Executive Assistant Richard J. Whitworth, left, meet with Teamster Western Region Vice Pres. Jon L. Rabine, second right, and Teamster Newspaper International Rep W. Edward Cox during the big rally at the Union-Tribune. About 600 persons rallied outside the newspaper on July 13 to let management know they still want justice and a fair contract. Members of the GCIU and Teamsters were joined by teachers, nurses, machinists, postal carriers, and other unions, as well as citizens and students supporting worker rights.