My Friend,
When throwing the type of “in-your-face”, unequivocal sh-t at the ILA leadership of the genre embodied in Carl Biers’ forwarded message, it is always best to do so with each and every one of the facts being unimpeachable and impeccably correct. In that way, the gross inaccuracy of one statement cannot impune the veracity of all the rest. It is not enough to regurgitate the flawed “facts” garnered from other web pages that you have apparently accepted as gospel, and are perfectly willing to pass on to the honorable membership of the ILWU (and others).
As just one example, Biers’ message stated that the highest paid ILA official is their General Organizer. Then, it goes on to inform all of us his name: Leonard Frank.
Under statutes administered by the United States Department of Labor, labor unions are obliged to list the names and gross salaries of their officers on a specific LMS form. That form, a document that is a publicly-available, must be submitted annually to DOL. Had the author taken the time to obtain that document and research its contents, he would have found that the ILA’s General Organizer is not the highest paid officer of that organization. In fact, he would have found that the gentlemen’s name is not Leonard Frank at all, but is rather Frank Lonardo.
I think you get my point.
I’ve spent a career working with the ILA and the ILWU. I greatly admire the international and local unions of both groups. In that space of time, I have found that there are some stark differences between the two groups. Such differences are not necessarily bad. They are just. . . . . well, different. Some of the differences are occassioned by the provisions and tolerances of each respective organization’s constitution and by-laws; others by their respective histories. A commonality both groups share though, is a unwavering commitment to its rank and file membership, racial differences nothwithstanding.
Sometimes, in serving the needs of the greater whole, it is necessary to transitionally compromise on the needs of a select few; even for just a moment or two in time. I have seen and will, I imagine, continue to see ILA, ILWU, IBT, IBEW and all labor groups act in such a plausible, self-preserving way. This is not unique to organizations representing organized labor. The same type of common sense priority is accorded in other business organizations, too.
There is simply too much happening, at the scenes and behind the scenes, in the very complex and ever-changing world of marine cargo handling labor relations, for finger pointing and second guessing to occur. All parties in this equation have their own soft underbellies that can be scored and underscored in attempting to show weaknesses; on all coasts. Is there really any percentage in doing that though?
R. L. Signorino
President
The Blueoceana Company, Inc.
8 Homestead Road
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Tel: 908 766 0560 Fax: 908 766 0534
blueoceana@msn.com
www.blueoceana.com
The only error Mr. Signorino could find in my piece on the Workers Coalition in the ILA is the jumbling of Frank Lonardo’s name. Until I hear further from him, I’ll take that as his verification of the rest of the facts in the piece.
According to the 2000 LM report, which I have in my position and which is available to the public from the Department of Labor, Frank Lonardo earned a salary of $372,301 in the year 2000. That puts him at about $60,000 more than President John Bowers’s salary of $322,284; about $70,00 more than Secretary-Treasurer Robert Gleason at $303,035.
Carl Biers
Association for Union Democracy
500 State Street
Brooklyn NY 11217
(+1) (718) 855-6650
aud@igc.org
www.uniondemocracy.org
“Union democracy for a strong labor movement”
