Who Removed the ‘Ethical Practices’ Clause
From the AFL-CIO Constitution? -- And Why?

By Harry Kelber

 

Someone in the AFL-CIO hierarchy ordered the removal of the “Ethical Practices” clause in the 2005 edition of the Federation’s Constitution, in violation of a series of six codes of ethical conduct adopted in 1957 at the merger of the AFL and CIO.

The removal of this provision in  the Constitution means that union members will have no legal basis within the AFL-CIO structure to  bring charges  against any officer who steals or misuses union funds,  violates union bylaws  or ignores members’ basic rights.

I have e-mailed and phoned  AFL-CIO General Council Lynn  Rhinehart repeatedly to ask her to explain who authorized the omission of the Ethical Practices language in the Constitution. She refused to respond, which may mean she  doesn’t consider the problem important enough to warrant her attention or she has something to cover-up

 The AFL-CIO Executive Council, in 1957 unanimously adopted a constitutional provision that “any trade union official against whom serious charges of corruption are leveled should be removed from office if  those charges are true.”  It didn’t happen to apply to more than twenty then current or retired AFL-CIO’s top  officers who were found guilty  of  insider stock trading as directors of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company  (ULLICO).  They were not removed from union office nor did they receive even a rebuke from the Executive Council.

The 1957 Committee on Ethical Practices decreed that “all audit reports should be available to the membership of the union and its affected employees.”  It said that the trustees or administrators of welfare funds should  make a full disclosure and report to the beneficiaries at least once a year. How many unions today comply with these democratic provisions?  Two of the six ethical codes of conduct adopted by the 1957 AFL-CIO are of special interest as sources of financial corruption: ”Health and Welfare Funds” and “Investments  and  Business Interests of Union Officials.”  

Will Trumka  Act to Rectify the Serious Omission in the Constitution?

I shall be asking AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who was secretary-treasurer at the time the clause was deleted from the Constitution,  to solve the mystery—and to suggest a quick way to rectify the situation.

If there is any evidence that the erasure of the ethical practices  clause was approved by the Executive Council, let’s be shown when and where—and why it was done. Why must members be forced to remain silent if their elected officials act as though they own the union?

As a first step, we suggest that the Publications Department reproduce the 28-page handbook, “AFL-CIO Codes of Ethical Practices” and make them  available   to union officers at every level.  

Every effort must be made to restore the provision on  Ethical Practices into the Constitution at the AFL-CIO’s 2013 convention. But in the meantime, we should select a committee of,  union members to defend the principles and practices of ethical behavior.

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We should not allow AFL-CIO leaders  to rewrite sections of the Constitution as they see fit, especially when they can eliminate the precious few rights that  members are permitted in the Constitution. I shall have more to say about  this fraudulent behavior in future  LaborTalk columns.

Harry Kelber