Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 22, 1994 TAG: 9403220190
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Carey said he will ask the union's board of directors to revoke the charters of the conferences, which have been a part of the Teamsters since 1937. Each is headed by a Carey opponent. He will not seek dissolution of the Canadian conference.
``The area conferences are dinosaurs from a bygone era,'' he said in a telephone conference with journalists who follow organized labor.
He said the conferences were ``part of a feudal system, based on local and regional fiefdoms'' and had been ``fertile ground for corruption and mob influence.''
The conferences, all headed by long-time Teamster insiders, coordinate organizing and collective bargaining efforts in their regions.
It was Carey's most forceful strike against the union's old guard since taking office two years ago. Some backers have criticized him for not acting earlier.
Detractors decried the move.
``We're going to fight it,'' declared Walter Shea, chairman of the Eastern Conference.
He said a contingent of seven people from the International union had come to his office asking to monitor operations and audit books. The group included four ``big guys'' who were ``probably here for intimidation,'' he said.
``This is the voice of a very desperate man,'' Gene Giacumbo, a Teamsters vice president and member of the executive board, said of Carey's move.
Carey acted as preparations were being made to count ballots from a dues referendum opposed by all four U.S. regional conference chairmen.
Fearing that the union's strike fund will go broke by summer, he convinced the board to approve the referendum to finance a bailout. Results are expected by the end of the week.
He said an estimated 500,000 people voted, more than cast ballots when he was elected. Opponents say that is a sign the referendum is headed for defeat.
They accused Carey of seeking to abolish the regional conferences to punish their leaders. He denied the move was punitive.
Carey will ask the 19-member board to dismantle the conferences at its April 19 meeting. He will likely get approval, because most board members won their seats on his slate.
Carey said he expects the matter to end up in court.
On another issue, Carey said Teamsters members who work in the freight-hauling industry were voting overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if a new contract agreement is not reached with the trucking industry.
He said the union had received $50 million in loan guarantees from other unions and $30 million from a labor-owned insurance company to provide strike benefits if there is a walkout.
The union said the vote, taken last weekend, was running 93 percent in favor of strike authorization.
A trucking industry statement released in advance of the vote said that ``not too much should be read into this action because the Teamsters routinely conduct strike authorization votes.'' The statement also said the industry was looking forward to ``resolving the final issues'' at stake.
The current agreement, which covers 120,000 people, expires March 31.
by CNB