On Sun, 8 Sep 1996, Michael Perelman wrote:
> Paul, Why?
Michael,
The Buffalo Chapter of the LP endorsed a UAW Regional Director to run for
Congress against Bill Paxon (chair of the Republican House Campaign
Committee and very right-wing; also husband to Susan Moliarni). That UAW
officer is well-respected and/but running on the Democratic line in a
Republican district. The mistake the chapter made is that any endorsement
contravened Founding Convention policy. The Chapter later uanimously
rescinded its vote. In any case, revoking a Chapter Charter can only be
done by the Council, not by an individual--but so what. Anyway, I
reproduce below what I put on the Labor Party list August 23, 1996, for
those more interested.
Thanks for asking. Paul
-----------------
Date: 23 Aug 1996 09:04:36
To: Recipients of conference <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Interim National Council's decision on the Buffalo Chapter
Dear Reader:
As you read the letter below from Tony Mazzocchi of the Labor Party you
may want to keep in mind:
1) The Interim National Council did not censure Tony Mazzocchi for
directly and openly violating Article V, Section 2, of the Labor Party
Constitution when he revoked the Buffalo chapter charter on July 8, 1996.
For such a high responsible official to flout the Constitution of the
Party and get away with it is unacceptable. (Is one reminded of George
Orwell's Animal Farm?) The relevant portions of the Labor Party
Constitution are as follows:
Article II Membership
1. Individual membership shall be open to anyone who agrees
to abide by the Constitution of the Labor Party.
.....
Article V Structure
2. The National Council shall have the power to issue or
revoke party charters, subject to appeal to the Grievance
and Appeals Committee of the Convention as established
in Article VIII, Section 3.
.....
5. The state party organization shall issue or revoke charters
to subordinate bodies/chapters as defined in Section 1 of
this Article. Charters issued or revoked by state party
organizations are subject to review by the National Council.
The National Council retains the right to abrogate the
issuance of such charters if such issuance violates any
section or intent of this Constitution, subject to appeal to
the Grievance and Appeals Committee of the Convention as
established in Article VIII, Section 3.
2) Mazzocchi acted within hours (not even one day) after receiving
unapproved minutes, without consulting anyone in the chapter, except our
secretary-treasurer who had crafted the minutes and forwarded them, also
without consulting anyone in the chapter. (On two other unrelated but
important votes at the chapter meeting, that secretary-treasurer had been
in an minority of one.)
3) While the Buffalo Chapter made an error when it contravened Founding
Convention policy by endorsing Tom Fricano for Congress, the error was
easily corrected and is not a deep one like endorsing Buchanan or
beating up Democratic voters. In fact, to ordinary workers in Buffalo,
having a union-based Labor Party failing to endorse a respected UAW
Regional Director, representing 75,000 workers, against right-wing Bill
Paxon, chair of the Republican House Campaign Committee, is much more
difficult to explain. The Council treats us like 'bad children', even
though many of us are very experienced unionists, union officers, and
long-term organizers (one of whom has organized 12 unions in Buffalo!)
and certainly are familiar with Buffalo reality.
4) Names of Interim National Council members were requested twice of the
National Office before the Council meeting and no response was received.
No mention is made whether the Interim National Council was even given a
copy of the FAX addressed to it on August 14, c/o the National Office, let
alone considered it as part of its deliberations (copy posted separately).
5) Chairing the chapter meeting of June 27, I did not know the motion
was coming up until it came from the floor, did not vote on the
endorsement resolution in question and told several persons immediately
after the meeting that I would have voted against it had it been a tie
vote. In Buffalo, I have already been asked, "why are you and only you a
direct target?" The letter gives no answer.
6) The offending chapter endorsement was unanimously revoked at the August
5 chapter meeting and had earlier been revoked by the National Office.
Taft-Hartley fines, or whatever, cannot apply. In any case, what section
of Taft-Hartley is being talked about by Mazzocchi? I've had enough
experience in the labor movement to know that labor bureaucrats allege
"the law" when they don't like something, but rarely tell you specifically
what the law says. Also, what is the point of having a Labor Party, if we
are so deadly afraid of the what the law might say or how it might be
interpreted?
7) Where does one read in the Labor Party Constitution that the Interim
National Council has any powers to circumscribe election of any officers?
This time it is a Chapter Chair, next time, who?
8) The Labor Party Constitution permits appeal to the Grievance and
Appeals Committee of the Convention. In a July 30 letter responding to
my inquiry, Mazzocchi wrote me regarding appeal rights, "A Convention
date has not been sent, an Executive Board not yet elected and
chairpersons of any committees not yet selected".
P.Z.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Labor Party
P.O. Box 53177
Washington, D.C. 20009
August 20, 1996
Paul Zarembka
Dear Brother Zarembka,
The Interim National Council, on Thursday August 15th thoroughly discussed
the rescinding of the Buffalo chapter charter. The Council voted to
uphold the action of rescinding the charter.
It was emphatically state by unanimous vote that the chapter action in
endorsing a congressional candidate was:
1) A flagrant violation of the program adopted by the delegates to the
Labor Party Founding convention in June, and
2) it put in jeopardy the existence of our organization by the possibility
of Taft-Hartley action against major supporters.
The Council recommends that a charter be reissued under the following
conditions:
1) Former chairperson Paul Zarembka be barred from holding office, and
2) All members of the Labor Party in the Buffalo area be notified of the
council's action and that a meeting be convened by the national office in
the near future for the purpose of electing a new chairperson and
reestabling the chapter.
In Solidarity,
Tony Mazzocchi
