GCIU President George Tedeschi

Members of the GCIU General Board left their October session continuing to debate which international would be the best potential merger partner.

The futures subcommittee was to meet in January and give a report to the full General Board at its March session.

The three unions being considered are the Communications Workers of America, the Petroleum and Allied Chemical and Energy (PACE) International Union, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The board first started exploring the possibility of merger in October 2002.

An analysis of information supplied by the three possible merger partners was provided by GCIU legal counsel and an outside auditor to board members the day of the discussion.

GCIU Pres. George Tedeschi said a straw poll indicated that the subcommittee has not yet decided which union the GCIU should formally enter merger discussions with. He said the purpose of the straw poll was to determine whether one union was favored more than the others as a merger partner. He pointed out that merger can proceed only after the full General Board makes a recommendation.

It was agreed that the subcommittee would meet again and report back to the full General Board.