I want to start off by saying these are my observations of the debate on the dues increase. I do not speak for any of the other delegates from GMP #17. These are my subjective views, based on the information I had available at the time and the Daily Proceedings notes I received the next day, which were the transcripts from the Monday session.
The debate on the dues increase took place early on in the afternoon session of the first day of the convention, which was Monday, August 4th. An important concept to understand is that the International controls the agenda and how the different resolutions are presented and in what order. Any local union can put forth resolutions to change the constitution if they are put forward in a timely fashion, and I will speak more on this issue at the next union meeting. But of the 18 resolutions that would change or retain the language in the constitution, 12 of those were crafted by the International. Another important concept to understand is that the Law Committee has a major influence on how the resolutions are presented. The Law Committee puts out a report, and in this report they either concur with the resolution as stated, or they voted for non-concurrence, which means they disagree with the original resolution. They may also recommend non-concurrence and offer substitute language to the resolution. Thus, when you vote, you are not voting yes or no on the original resolution, but you are voting on the Law Committee’s recommendation. Confusing? It can be at first.
As I mentioned earlier, the first order of business was the dues increase resolution. President Ryan began with a PowerPoint presentation concerning why the International needed the dues increase. If we go back to March of this year, President Ryan hinted then that he would ask for a dues increase in Horizon magazine:
“GMP officers have represented many of their union brothers and sisters in grievance arbitration proceedings. Sometimes legal assistance has been required and provided by the International Union. These are necessary and costly activities. We are proud to provide the needed service. Our education and research services give valuable assistance to local union leaders. It, too, is a costly effort. All of these vital components of union service have a price tag.”
Then we began to hear the rumors that a dues increase of $6 dollars per month would be voted on at the Quadrennial. I personally did not feel that President Ryan’s reasons he had previously stated in the Horizon were valid enough reasons for a six dollar hike. That and various concerns Local #17 was having with service provided by the International only strengthened my resolve to vote no on the dues increase. When President Ryan gave his keynote speech Monday morning, he hinted strongly that without a dues increase the GMP would not remain viable and independent.
Now back to the Monday afternoon and the PowerPoint presentation.
President Ryan broke it down like this: We currently pay $26 dollars a month in International dues ($16 additional dollars goes to Local #17, which gives us the monthly total of $42). Of this, 50 cents goes into the security fund, also known as the strike fund. An additional $2 dollars per month goes to the Death Benefits department. This leaves the International with $23.50 which goes to their operating expenses. The next slide the International presented was titled “Projected Statement of Operating Funds Without Dues Increase”. Without going into to much detail, the bottom line was that, according to the Internationals projections, by the year 2012, the International would have serious cash flow problems and would have to start selling off assets just to pay the bills. Sounds pretty dire. Remember though, these are projections based on several factors, including an estimated loss of GMP membership of 3570 union members, which decreases dues income, and lower investment income in a bad economy. Then President Ryan gave his projections if the International got their dues increase. These projections were much rosier, with the new operating funds of $29.50 (instead of $23.50). With the increase, the GMP’s finances basically stabilize over the same four year period. President Ryan then explained that the dues increase was the equivalent of 3.6 cents per hour, and that compared to other unions we paid relatively low union dues. For example, the UAW pays $46.61; The Steelworkers pay $56.16, and so on. Overall I thought he made a compelling argument. If you can imagine, trying to analyze all these numbers and projections while the presentation was still being given is a daunting task. I also had the feeling that the presentation created a sense of foreboding and fear of the fallout if the International didn’t get the dues increase, which I am sure was the desired effect. My personal analysis, in retrospect, with the experience of having gone through the process, is that now would have been a good time to use Robert’s Rules and move to postpone the vote to a certain time, perhaps the afternoon session on Tuesday, so that we could analyze the new information. This obviously did not occur.
President Ryan then opened the floor to discussion. I had prepared a speech against the dues increase, so I rose and stood in front of mike #2. I will print the entirety of my speech in my next blog. Many GMP delegates came to the mike. Some indicated that they were afraid that if they didn’t get the dues increase they might have to merge with another union. One member, who works in a “right to work state”, feared that an increase would kill off his local. Others spoke in favor of the dues increase, expressing confidence in the GMP leadership. In all, about 15 speakers stood in front of microphones and expressed their views. When President Ryan called for the question, which is the vote, the “Ayes” clearly outnumbered the “No” vote. But it wasn’t an overwhelming “Aye” vote from the delegates. Remember, to change the International Constitution, you need 2/3 of the delegates present to agree. One important aspect of Robert’s Rules, if you are silent, this means that you consent to the will of the assembly. So if only one fourth of the house expresses their opinion forcefully, either “ayes” or “no”, the three quarters of the house who were silent have essentially consented. Thus the dues increase was passed and you will see an additional $6 dollars a month taken out of your check starting in September of this year.
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