Oops.
You’d think the members of Houston Teamster Local 988 would be proud of their new 16,246 square-foot union hall. Instead they are embarrassed that their local built the hall using all nonunion labor. Local officials told construction union leaders that union contractors cost too much.
“I just can’t believe the cost issue outweighed the right thing to do,” said Dale Wortham, president of the Harris County AFL-CIO.
When the news hit the front page of the Houston Chronicle, Local 988 quickly became the disgrace of the Texas labor movement.
“No one is happy about it,” said Paul Dunnam, IBEW Local 716 organizer. “There are serious solidarity issues here, unions are supposed to support each other,” added Richard Shaw, secretary-treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO.
When the Teamsters went on strike at UPS in 1997 (UPS is the largest single jurisdiction in Local 988), the rest of the labor movement rallied around our strike, giving us unprecedented support and solidarity. Local 988 spit in the face of that solidarity. Last year it withdrew from the local AFL-CIO.
Members of Local 988 have a plan to redeem their local and the good name of the Teamsters in the eyes of Texas organized labor. They have formed “The PRIDE and POWER Slate” to run in the fall elections and unseat the current executive board, who have brought dishonor upon their union. |
