ALLIANCE, Neb. — The Alliance arm of the AFL-CIO has voted to evict the United Transportation Union from the labor hall here, according to an report from Xpressnews.com.
Mike Thiellen, local chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, said Thursday the Western Nebraska Central Labor Council voted unanimously to oust the UTU from their offices in the WNCLC headquarters in Alliance.
Local UTU chairman Dick Lloyd declined to comment. WNCLC officer Dwight Chipperfield confirmed the vote today.
The BLE represents the locomotive engineers with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and other rail companies. The UTU represents other trainmen, such as conductors, brakemen, switchmen and yardmasters, as well as members of the bus and airline industries.
Thiellen said the WNCLC voted unanimously on Wednesday, February 20, to give the UTU 30 days notice to vacate the WNCLC’s office building. The motion also forces a UTU officer, Rich Mayland of Alliance, to resign his elected position as treasurer of the WNCLC.
Ken Mass, state AFL-CIO president, said the actions taken by the WNCLC were above the board and legal. “When the national UTU pulled out of the AFL-CIO, UTU locals in Nebraska were not allowed to belong to the state Fed or Central bodies,” said Mass, noting that members of non-affiliated unions are banned from holding elected office in the AFL-CIO. “Along those same lines, only AFL-CIO affiliates can use AFL-CIO facilities or meeting space.”
Thiellen said the UTU was asked to disaffiliate from the Nebraska AFL-CIO in March 2000 when the UTU International disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO. He said the UTU chose to leave the AFL-CIO rather than face heavy fines for raiding another AFL-CIO union, the BLE — trying to persuade their members to leave the BLE and join the UTU.
As a result of the disaffiliations, the UTU will be banned from AFL-CIO railroaders’ conventions, constitutional meetings and endorsement commission meetings, where unions endorse candidates for national and state office. One such event held locally each year, is the WNCLC Labor Day picnic — a forum for many local elected officials and candidates for political office.
“UTU members should speak out and encourage their leadership to get back in the House of Labor,” Thiellen said. “We should be spending our resources on a good contract or safety issues instead of fighting a rogue union.”
Thiellen and Mark Hare, president of the BLE in Alliance, said they would offer a solution to UTU members so they can remain affiliated with the AFL-CIO. “We plan to start a BLE train service division so they can be a part of the House of Labor,” Thiellen said.
When a union is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO it is no longer illegal to recruit their members away to another union, Thiellen said. In fact, it is encouraged to invite them back into the fold.