Haynes to Exit Local 237

'Leaving on Top' After 14 Years
Haynes to Exit Local 237

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Carl Haynes, who for the past 14 years has been president of Teamsters Local 237, ll end his 47-year affiliation with the union when he steps down March 31.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT: Carl Haynes, who became president of Teamsters Local 237 after his predecessor was removed from office, plans to retire at the end of the month after 14 years in the job. Mr. Haynes, 73, will retain his positions as an International Brotherhood of Teamsters vice president and director of the international's Public-Sector Division. The top spot of the IBT's largest local will likely go to Secretary-Treasurer Gregory Floyd when the Local 237 executive board votes later this month.

'Time for New Leader'

"I'm not stopping cold-turkey," Mr. Haynes said during a March 6 interview, "but there comes a time when it's important to let new leadership step up. It's nice to go out on top, not by being forced out."

Mr. Haynes began his career making $4,000 a year as a Housing Assistant in 1960, a salary that prompted him to attend union meetings right away. "I thought we were overworked and underpaid," he explained.

In 1961, Mr. Haynes ran for his first leadership position. "There were five or six other people running," he said, "I got 11 votes, a few more than the next guy, so I became chapter leader."

In 1967, Mr. Haynes led the longest strike in Local 237's history. It lasted for three days and the Housing Authority eventually backed down, agreeing to across-the-board pay increases. Sitting behind a massive, clutter-free moon-shaped desk in his downtown Manhattan office, Mr. Haynes recalled, "Back then we had a welfare fund that consisted of one pair of glasses every two years. Now we have one of the finest welfare funds in the City of New York."

Rose Through Hierarchy

He became a business agent in 1968 and was promoted to assistant director of the Housing Division in 1973. Two years later, Mr. Haynes became its director, and in 1977 he was elected a trustee of the local. In 1983 he became vice president before stepping into the top job a decade later.

Mr. Haynes said he is most proud of the gains in members' salaries and benefits over the years, as well as the halting of city efforts to privatize hospital security officers. "Not only did we save their jobs," he said, "but we got legislation that writes it in stone that the title will exist forever."

His tenure in office, however, has not always been a smooth one. In 2004, he narrowly won his re-election race by about 470 votes out of the roughly 10,000 cast. His ascension to the presidency in 1993 happened only because Barry Feinstein was forced to step down after 27 years at the local's helm.

Mr. Feinstein was accused by then-Federal Investigator Charles M. Carberry of improperly spending $500,000 of members' dues money on personal expenses including a penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side. Mr. Feinstein, who had protested that all the expenditures were approved by the Local 237 board, agreed to step down and repay the local $104,000.

Battle to Retain Control

Mr. Haynes was elected president by the executive board, but that same day then-IBT President Ron Carey placed the local under his direct control. The IBT then as now was overseen by a special monitor as part of the settlement of the Federal labor-racketeering lawsuit brought against the international union.

"I was advised that the local was put in trusteeship by Ron Carey because he was not sure of the leadership of the union," said Mr. Haynes, "which was rather unusual since I had been a union member for 32 years and had been in an executive position since '75." The special monitor, Frederick Lacey, had sanctioned Mr. Feinstein despite the Local 237 board's approval of his living expenses because he concluded the board members were so under the control of the longtime president that they would not have dared challenge him.

Haynes's Bargain

At the time, Mr. Carey said the trusteeship was necessary because "the local has not operated with adequate fiduciary oversight." After a heated conversation in Mr. Carey's Washington D.C. office some days later, he and Mr. Haynes came to an arrangement. The trusteeship lasted three months and Mr. Haynes ran as part of Mr. Carey's executive board slate in his 1996 successful re-election bid.

The Federal Government stepped in the following year and removed Mr. Carey and the entire IBT executive board, accusing his team of irregular campaign contributions, just months after the successful nationwide UPS strike. Mr. Haynes changed sides again before the 1998 election when James Hoffa came to power.

"I decided to back Hoffa, and before the regular five-year term was over, I was elected to a position on the executive board," said Mr. Haynes. "I decided to switch my allegiance, and I'm very glad I did it. I think we've made quite a bit of progress under the Hoffa administration."

Mr. Haynes not only survived leadership changes within the union, but has ridden the bumps of successive Republican Mayors since he became president.

'Bloomberg a Surprise'

"As a result of the term limits, where each executive has eight years," he said, "as soon as they know what's going on, they're out of here."

He said that Mayor Bloomberg was easier to work with than former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "I think Bloomberg has been a surprise to most of us," Mr. Haynes said, "He's fair. Giuliani used his authority; Bloomberg is more of a talker, and that's what negotiations are about."

Hanging on the wall behind the outgoing president's desk is a painting of a bargaining session that originally belonged to Mr. Feinstein. It shows men sitting across a table from one another, cigarette butts smoldering in ashtrays and half-filled coffee cups strewn about the table. Some of the men are clutching their heads, others are crumpling up pieces of paper, and a few are leaning back in their chairs with tired, blank stares on their faces. Mr. Haynes said it was an accurate portrayal of late-night contract talks. "I think sometimes people think you have a lot of latitude as far as negotiations are concerned," he said, "but because of the city pattern bargaining, you are always limited, especially with the Taylor Law prohibiting strikes."

Scales Tipped Against

Like other city labor leaders, Mr. Haynes believes that the Taylor Law is unfair, since it imposes harsh penalties on unions for striking but does not penalize employers for their role in provoking a strike.

He says he is optimistic about labor's future nationally, while admitting that unions have "taken a beating over the past 10 to 12 years."

"I don't think the unions should have all the power or the corporations should have all the power," he said. "It should be somewhere in the middle, and if it tips over one way or the other, I think it can be abused. It's being tipped toward the corporate world today."

Mr. Haynes's office reflects his long years of service. Plaques of recognition cover one section of the wall near his desk. There is the first one he ever received from the Social Association of Firemen, now known as Heating Plant Operators, for outstanding service. He also was named Man of the Year by the Irish-American Teamsters in 1996, and the plaque is framed in a green shimmering shamrock. Earlier this month he received one of the accolades he is proudest of: he was given the Trailblazer Award by the Black and Latino Congressional Caucus.

Fewer 5 a.m. Wakeups

Mr. Haynes said that he will continue to be active in international Teamster politics, traveling to Washington D.C. once or twice a month and working from home, but his schedule will be more relaxed. "It doesn't mean that you have to get up at 5 o'clock every morning," he said with a smile. "Maybe one or two days, but not every day."

There are several receptions scheduled in the next few weeks to allow members to say good-bye and to honor his accomplishments.

"It's really humbling to be at these events," Mr. Haynes said. "I'm just proud of what we've done for the members and that we have an excellent staff who will be able to carry on that work."