Fired United Auto Worker Officers Sue Union to Regain Membership
Five former elected officials of UAW Local 3520, who were fired by their employer Freightliner for a wildcat strike a year ago in Cleveland, North Carolina, filed suit on Wednesday to compel the union to reinstate their memberships in good standing.
The federal case is filed under labor laws which govern free speech, equal rights, and due process in union proceedings.
Freightliner is the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty vehicles in North America. The strike began after the 4-year collective bargaining contract expired on March 31, 2007, and a 100% vote of the bargaining committee and a 75% vote of the strike committee.
The union, which has scheduled an arbitration hearing next month to get the plaintiffs' jobs back, expelled them in February. It claimed they did not file required statements in October certifying their continued eligibility to be UAW members, and they did not pay dues for April and December in 2007.
Known to supporters as the "Freightliner Five," Robert Whiteside, Allen Bradley, Franklin Torrence, Glenna Swinford, and David Crisco functioned as members and officials at meetings throughout 2007 and January 2008. There were no complaints from local union president George Drexel about the certification requirement or dues.
But Drexel has adamantly opposed plaintiffs. He testified against them in a union trial in November, seeking to expel them for "unbecoming conduct" in the strike last year. He also broke the strike, sending a midnight phone message to all members saying it was not authorized by the International UAW, and they could be disciplined.
Inside the plant Freightliner management said just the opposite, that the upcoming contractual Good Friday holiday was canceled, and members were free to strike without discipline. The plant ceased production.
After hearing Drexel's message, members returned to work.
Later the company said a last-minute day-to-day contract extension barred the strike, a claim disputed by the union.
A union committee rejected the charge of unbecoming conduct in November. It held the plaintiffs acted in good faith in the strike, and were singled out unjustly.
Historically the local union has not enforced the UAW requirement to file statements certifying eligibility. The union's Public Review Board in Plymouth Michigan -- the UAW's "supreme court" -- ruled in 2005 that the requirement is so daunting, dense, complicated, and inconsistent that members may rely on the advice of the local financial secretary even if the advice is technically wrong. In this case Shayne Brown, the financial secretary, told the plaintiffs last fall it was not necessary to certify.
As to the dues, the plaintiffs dispute that anything is owed for 2007. But as a cautionary measure plaintiffs paid them anyway before receiving the expulsion letters.
Saying he was guided by the office of UAW International President Ron Gettelfinger in Detroit, Local 3520 President Drexel ordered the expulsions, as did also Brown, without giving the plaintiffs notice, time to prepare, or a hearing.
When the plaintiffs tried to enter a union meeting in February, Iredell County deputies told them to leave, and arrested one of them, Allen Bradley, for trespassing, after he had left the building promptly and peacefully. Bradley is vigorously contesting the criminal charge, which could result in jail time.
Two months ago, the plaintiffs filed a union appeal to Gettelfinger's office, which to date has taken no action.
The case was filed in the US District in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is assigned to Chief Judge James A. Beaty, Jr. The judge is considering whether to issue a temporary restraining order allowing plaintiffs into the next membership meeting to function in their elected roles, on May 17.
The case is captioned Whiteside et al v UAW Local 3520. The case number is 1:08-cv-00327-JAB.
The "Freightliner Five" website is www.justice4five.com.
Contact: M. Travis Payne, Raleigh, NC, 919/828-1456, eandp@mindspring.com
Contact: Ellis Boal, Charlevoix, MI, 231/547-2626, ellisboal@voyager.net