'Very ugly business' says union expert of local Ironworkers union dismissals
CBC
It's been one week since the Ironworkers Union Local 764 in Mount Pearl was taken over by the New York-based international office, and senior executives were let go.
Sources have told CBC news that someone from the local union alerted the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers that something was going on.
On Jan. 8, the international union sent a letter informing local members the union was putting them under trusteeship, and dismissing local officials.
A trusteeship is a clause in a union's constitution that gives them "the ability to take over a local if they deem it necessary," said York University labour expert Steven Tufts.
According to Tufts, a trusteeship involves suspending or removing elected officers at a local, and placing a trustee to govern affairs while they get things in order.
"In most cases, it's not invoked without a great deal of thought because it's very ugly business," said Tufts.
The international union wouldn't comment, but according to their communications director Courtney Attig, there is an open investigation.
"We prioritize our members' interests and are working diligently to resolve the issue," said Attig in a statement.
What Tufts found interesting about the letter is that it didn't say why the trusteeship was happening.
"The labour movement is very insular when it deals with these issues. It's not transparent. Even though these are supposedly democratic institutions, a lot of it is done internally," he said.
Tufts said there are many circumstances that can lead to trusteeship, but often it's because of financial mismanagement or financial corruption.
"It could be sometimes just incompetence or misspending, and sometimes it could be stealing or corruption," he said.
Another reason could be political corruption, where local leaders are either hindering democratic processes to stay in power, or are not representing workers, said Tufts.
He also said trusteeships can be used to manage union dissent and control power, or to stop a union raid.
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