On May 5, 2009 Steve ''Rank and File' Downs wrote an E-mail which went out widely. In the e-mail he called the rally on April 24, 2009 with 2,500 Local 100 members a sign of weakness. He called for a Joint-Executive Board Meeting to deal with the critical situation facing the local. Steve called for enforcing all Safety and operating rules to put pressure on Management. Like any self-respecting T.B.O.U. member he had a lot to say last spring and also like any self-respecting T.B.O.U. member he had nothing to do with mobilizing the membership or participating in last spring’s successful fight against layoffs.
Now this spring he's pretty quiet. The local has had only one rally so far with just 500 members; he doesn't call this a sign of weakness. Steve doesn't call for a joint Executive Board meeting. The Local comes out with virtually no information to the members, the' Working Class Hero' sees nothing wrong with this. He doesn't call for enforcing all Safety and Operating rules; on the Safety rules he must know that Tony Utano, the defacto Number Two Officer in the local has told officers not to stop unsafe jobs. What gives? Is the Rank and File persona just phony shtick to discard when you're in with the Top Officers?
- A Member from Track-
6 comments:
Great Post,I looked up hypocrite in the dictionary and there was Downs' picture.
Hey,maybe you guys are being too hard on Brother Downs.Samuelsen almost never speaking with the members,callng off the, mass membership meeting,half the members never seeing fliers about rallies or LobbyDay,no information going out to the members,maybe this is the new and improved Rank and File strategy.
Where ifs the organizing at the workplace,Downs talked about?
Just got turned on to this blog and have to say this post and it's two comments hit the nail on the head enough for me to chime in.I thought imagine Toussaint was still president and he'd done exactly what Samuelsen is doing,Downs would be denouncing this and writing a Manifesto or two against this inaction.I guess no mobilizing of the members,no activity out in the field,I guess this must be the Rank andFile strategy for the 21st Century Train Operator,B Division
A week from now it will be around one thousand of our brother and sister members unfortunately will be on the layoff rolls..Where is the Rank and File and Union Democracy Guru in all this?QUIET AS A MOUSE.A guy who normally runs on one speed,all opposition all the time.Here is the time for such a person to be out front and say something.Downs saw givebacks everywhere when Toussaint was President,which didn't exist.Now this huge amount of members are laid off without a trace of a fight being put up and quiet from Downs.I guess Samuelsen giving him a big job,Training the new shop stewards bought Downs approval.What's Downs teaching the folks keep quiet,you see something say nothing.
I agree with comment two,you guys are maybe being too hard on the self-styled rank and file and union democract guru.Come on,it's got to be hard on Downs giving his approval to a supposedly Fight Back strategy that consists of a piece of legislation that relies on Democratic Party politicians,given his hatred of Democrats.On top of that it's dubious it will pass,Imagine how he'd be knocking this strategy if Toussaint was pushing this and no mobilization of the members and no fight-back strategy on the job.Himself and folks like Marty Goodman would be denouncing this to the high heavens.
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