THE CHIEF-LEADER welcomes letters from its readers for publication.
Correspondents must include their names, addresses and
phone numbers. Letters should be submitted with the understanding
that all correspondence is subject to the editorial judgment of this
newspaper. Letters can be e-mailed to: RSTEIER@RCN.COM or
mailed to: Richard Steier, Editor, 277 Broadway, Suite 1506, NY, NY
10007.

TOUSSAINT'S SCHEME

Toussaint's Scheme

 
To the Editor:

Despite what he's been saying while dragging his feet all these weeks, TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint actually wanted PERB to order binding arbitration. After weeks of using union staffers and resources to try to scare the living day lights out of his own members, he needed PERB to substantiate all his fear-mongering.

Why, you ask? The answer is simple and has everything to do with the re-vote petitioning being conducted against us by our president. Politically, he believes his only way out of his self-created mess is to have the same contract voted on and passed. In order to increase the odds of the same less-than-stellar contract being accepted, he believes that binding arbitration must be an imminent reality.

He will back us all into a corner by portraying the situation as a choice between the old contract or binding arbitration. Acceptance of a re-voted contract will not help him, though. Members who voted no but now vote yes will do so with great animosity toward Toussaint.

Politically, he is in a no-win situation and has nobody to blame but himself. After the contract was rejected, he should have immediately gone back to negotiations to achieve a more acceptable deal. He didn't do so out of fear that his rapidly increasing opposition might have a victory.

This makes Roger Toussaint a political coward. He is not a leader. Leaders do the right thing regardless of who gets the credit. He is more worried about covering up his failure to deliver than the well-being of his members.

Toussaint would rather have Local 100 members suffer by making us regurgitate the same rotten deal we just rejected.

JOSEPH PANKOWSKI, Power Distribution Maintainer