Remove 2 TWU VPs Over 'Late' Dues Payments;
Claim Disputed, Say Int'l is Colluding With Toussaint

By ARI PAUL

The Transport Workers Union of America removed two of its vice presidents who are Local 100 members Oct. 24 for allegedly not paying dues. The two VPs denied they were delinquent and said their removal continued an effort to punish critics of Local 100 President Roger Toussaint.

JAMES C. LITTLE: VPs set bad example.

International President James C. Little brought charges against Vice Presidents Ainsley Stewart and William Pelletier in September for failing to pay their dues on time to Local 100, which has been without dues check-off since June 1. The union's international executive council ruled at a meeting in Atlantic City that the two had fallen into bad standing and must be removed from office.

'Hate to See This'

"It's unfortunate because I've known these guys," Mr. Little said. "I believe they're good officers. I hate to see this."

While the two men argued that they had paid all their dues and showed receipts to prove it, Mr. Little maintained that even if the two had settled their debts to Local 100, it was irresponsible of them as officers to have ever fallen behind in dues payment when the local was without dues check-off, and that they had not been in continuous good standing.

AINSLEY STEWART: 'Convicted on hear-say.'

"It really didn't have to do with the monetary issues," Mr. Little said of the removal. "It had to do with the timeframe."

Mr. Stewart, who ran against Mr. Toussaint in last December's election, believed that the Local 100 president had pressured the international to remove him.

"It's all part of the corrupt scheme, actually," Mr. Stewart said. "The trouble with this here is that, one, nowhere in the constitution it says that they can take your title if you are in bad standing."

No Dues, No Office

The TWU of America constitution states that a member in bad standing cannot hold a union office and that if the member settles his or her debt then that member is back in good standing. Local 100's own paperwork offers conflicting information about Mr. Stewart's dues payments. Only one memo from a Local 100 staffer had alleged he was in bad standing, and a union list of members in good standing included Mr. Stewart. Mr. Pelletier also noted that if he and Mr. Stewart were in bad standing, Local 100 had a constitutional obligation to inform them by certified mail, which did not happen.

"Little went on a hear-say letter, not any factual determination from a due-process hearing within Local 100," Mr. Stewart said.

Mr. Stewart said he and Mr. Pelletier were targeted because they had questioned Mr. Toussaint's handling of union finances, in particular demanding details about the sale of the local's Upper West Side headquarters. He added that Mr. Toussaint had retaliated against numerous individuals who had asked how the union was managing its budget since dues check-off ended or questioned his leadership, including several shop stewards and Local 100 Maintenance of Way Division officers.

"Once you ask about union finances, you face Toussaint's wrath," Mr. Stewart said. "They're not going to get away with this here."

A spokesman for Mr. Toussaint declined to comment on the matter. Mr. Little brushed off accusations that the removals were politically motivated.

"I'm not interested in the politics of the local," he said. "I'm really not."