Part of McLaughlin Reforms
Power-Sharing Vote For Labor Council

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council delegates will vote June 25 on a new constitution that would transfer more power from the president to the executive board, in the wake of former CLC President Brian M. McLaughlin's indictment on charges including massive embezzlement from the organization.

BRIAN McLAUGHLIN: Abuses spurred reforms.

The new set of rules would restrict the president to one 3-year term and would shift the power to hire and fire staff and create new working committees from the president to the executive board. The positions of secretary, treasurer and first, second and third vice presidents would be eliminated, with an executive vice president as the only other officer. An executive director would serve as the chief operating officer, appointed by the president and approved by the board. Both of the top elected officers would be unpaid.

'An Historic Change'

"This is a historic change," said State AFL-CIO President Denis M. Hughes, who was centrally involved in the process. "It makes the council more responsive to the needs of the labor movement in the city. It will open up the decision-making process, add transparency to the decision-making process and give financial transparency."

DENIS HUGHES: 'Making CLC more responsive.'

The CLC's nominating committee will propose Gary LaBarbera for president. Mr. LaBarbera has been president of the Teamsters Joint Council 16 for the past three years. He was appointed as a trustee of Teamsters Local 282 in 1996 to oversee the clean-up of the reputedly mob-run local. Jack Ahern, business manager of Operating Engineers Local 30, will be proposed for the role of executive vice president.

Last year's scandal, which produced the indictment of Mr. McLaughlin for stealing money from the CLC and other union bodies, rocked the council and led to the creation of a committee last September to draft a new constitution. The changes would fundamentally "put more eyes on hiring and policy decisions," in the words of one insider. The executive board discussed the proposed changes to the constitution at its winter meetings and ratified the changes March 20. The national AFL-CIO approved the changes in late May and CLC delegates received the proposal the following week.

ED OTT: 'System has checks and balances.'

"It is an effort to share some of the functions and power over a broader spectrum of the leadership," said CLC Executive Director Ed Ott, "so it's not so concentrated in one person. It sets up a system of checks and balances."

Ethical Restriction

Mr. McLaughlin was able to put his cousin on the CLC payroll and launder his salary into his own bank account without anyone being alerted. Under the new plan, hiring would have to be approved by the up-to-35-member executive board. The executive director would be under the direction of the board. The president would choose up to 10 members of the board to serve on an executive committee, subject to approval of the majority of the board.

A new section includes the AFL-CIO Ethical Practices Code, which prohibits anyone "convicted of a felony involving the infliction of grievous bodily injury, any crime of dishonesty, or any crime involving abuse or misuse of such person's position" from serving as an officer or managerial employee of the council. Mr. Hughes noted that the new section sets up a code of conduct and "a mechanism for dealing with breaches of that code."

The president and executive vice president would be elected by the delegate body. Upon completion of the president's term, the vice president would succeed him or her for one 3-year term upon the approval of the executive board. Mr. Ott said that this proposal was a result of discussions about how to combine term limits with the need for continuity. He added that officials hope the lateral succession will give more members of the board "a much greater chance of getting to the top."

Some labor officials, who asked that their names not be used, said they had hoped more policy-making power would be assigned to the delegate body, such as political endorsements and campaign decisions. As in the past, the proposed document indicates that the only decision-making power explicitly given to the delegates will be on constitutional changes and the election of officers. There is nothing in the document, however, that prevents the delegates body from voting on policy matters, and Mr. Ott said that he was confident that the new process would mean that decisions by the executive board would not only be reported to the delegates, but voted on as well.

'No Divide Here'

Mr. Hughes said it was a mistake to portray a division of interests between the board and the delegate body. "There isn't a separation of will between the leadership and membership," said the state AFL-CIO president, who has been chairing CLC executive board meetings since March 2006, when its offices were raided by the FBI. "The membership is not at cross-purposes with the leadership. When you empower the leadership, you empower the delegates." He noted that most local unions that do not have representatives on the executive board have members of their international unions on the board.

Some delegates pointed to an endorsement of Mayor Bloomberg in the 2005 election by the executive board, which they claim would have been overturned by the delegate body had it gone to a vote.

The executive board is referred to in the proposed constitution as the "governing body," as it had been in the past, and is "authorized and empowered to take such action and render such decisions as may be necessary and appropriate to safeguard and promote the best interests of the council and its affiliated unions ..." It also requires that all resolutions be presented in writing "and be referred to the executive board. The executive board shall act on the resolution and report its action at the next meeting of the council."

Proportional Selection

Delegates are determined on a per-member basis. Unions with 500 members are entitled to 1 delegate, those with 5,001 to 10,000 get 8 delegates, and groups with 15,001 to 20,000 get 10 delegates, plus one delegate for every additional 5,000 members. The new constitution would require 30 percent of delegates to be present for a valid vote, instead of the previous 15 percent.

The document does not explicitly indicate how executive board members are chosen, but currently the board itself votes on whether to admit new members. Current board members include the heads of some of the city's largest public-sector unions, including District Council 37, the United Federation of Teachers and Teamsters Local 237. Private-sector unions include 1199 of SEIU, United Food and Commercial Workers, UNITE/HERE and Local 32 BJ of SEIU. Instead of the previous six officers plus 28 members of council affiliates, the new executive board would include the top two officers plus up to 35 members.

Labor leaders said that the new configuration not only gives the board more decision-making and oversight power, but also breaks down the former duties of the president and spreads them across three positions.

Like a Board Chairman

In the new plan, the president acts as the chairman of the board and is charged with coordinating the activities of the board and transferring its decisions to the executive director. The executive director is a full-time staff member who acts as the chief operating officer and carries out the decisions of the board and oversees the staff. The executive vice president chairs the audit committee and operates as the chief financial officer. In the past, president and secretary were full-time paid positions. Under the new set-up, only the staff, including the executive director, are paid.

The delegates are expected to elect a new president and executive vice president at the June 25 meeting in addition to voting on the constitutional changes.

"This is the first part of what's going to be an ongoing process," said Mr. Ott. "The board is going to go through a strategic planning process and discuss how to get at other changes we might be want to make. This is the first step in what will hopefully be a full overhaul."