Massive Rally Pits Two Local Unions On Opposite Sides

By Charles Jaco FOX2now.com

ST. LOUIS, MO A huge union rally Tuesday in Forest Park is the latest salvo in what's shaping up as a nasty civil war between rival labor unions in St. Louis and it could mean trouble for organized labor. Several thousand workers from various St. Louis unions were joined by union workers from throughout the Midwest and by union leaders from Washington D.C. They're angry because the St. Louis carpenters union has formed a brand-new local, specifically for electrical workers.

That work has always been handled by the international brotherhood of electrical workers, the IBEW.

These union members and their leaders angrily charge that not only are the carpenters trying to raid their union but that the carpenters new electrical workers local is paying far less than other union electricians get.

There were hints today that other unions may retaliate and go after the carpenters union, maybe raiding their union, maybe refusing to work with carpenters union electrical personnel on jobs. This sets the stage for a potentially ugly confrontation with the carpenters union.

"The thing that has always helped the labor movement in general and the building trades in particular is a sense of unity and what we call solidarity. And when that starts to fall apart, it hurts everybody" said Jim Spellane from IBEW Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"The carpenters are doing this and I'm just afraid it's just going to escalate and there's going to be actions on the job sites" Robert Soutier of the St. Louis Labor Council told FOX 2's Charles Jaco. "There has to be. I could see workers refusing to work with certain workers on job sites walking off jobs."

The local carpenter's union officials office was closed due to a water main break. There is still no word back from the Brotherhood of Carpenter's National Headquarters in Washington.

Also see Mass rally protests renegade St. Louis trade group.