A Message from Bill Lebo

I am a 26 year rank and file member who has a long history of fighting for membership rights! Brothers and sisters now is the time for all members to decide on change!

You have a voice, this is your union, be sure to use that voice when you get your ballot in the mail. Your ballots will be sent to you by the American Arbitration Association on November 21st so you should be receiving them shortly thereafter. Please use you’re your voice, when you get your ballot, be sure to fill it out properly and send it in right away, the ballots must be received by the Council by 5pm December 15th, so don’t let them sit around the house or they will get lost or forgotten and your voice will fall silent.

 There is a lot of work to be done in order to repair the damage that has been done to our Council and to our Union by decades of corrupt Union officials. Our organizing department has to be looked into and changes made. This must be done, we need to work harder to regain our market share in order to put our members to work so that they can properly support their families, and this will also increase the hours going into our ailing funds. Our health benefits are in trouble and need to be repaired without loss of benefits to our members, our pension plan, while not in as poor a condition as the welfare plan needs to be stabilized. The out of work list needs to be changed to a modified shape hall system that is fair to all members and to the contractors. Our apprentice school needs to be revamped and rules for on the job training for apprentices need to be set and enforced. Stewards, representatives, as well as apprentices must be trained in our trade jurisdictions, our contracts, and contract enforcement. Given the chance by you, I along with the rest of our team vow that we will work tirelessly to bring our Union back to a state that we can all be proud of; we need a Union that is fair to all members, not just the chosen few. I promise to listen to the will of the membership, and I promise to guide the delegate body to do the same. I promise to take the welfare of all Local Unions into consideration, no matter how large or how small. I vow to fight for our jurisdictions, unionized labor, and democracy. I believe the membership must have the right to vote on their contracts, dues and assessments by secret ballot. I promise to make sure there is transparency in all council dealings at all levels. As President I will make sure that the delegates come back to the members with matters of importance before they vote, so that the members can debate the issues, and direct their delegates. As President I will call for a roll call vote on those issues so that you will know how your delegates voted. I ask you for your vote not just for myself but for my whole team because I firmly believe we can and will get our Union back on track to being the best Labor Organization in the world and that’s what our members deserve. For years I along with other members of our union stood up and fought for the democratic rights of our membership against the tyrannical rule of our General President Douglas J. McCarron. I was the Vice President of the Carpenters for Democracy years ago, we endeavored to educate and inform the membership of their rights, and some of us took the battle to Federal Court. I myself went to Washington DC and testified before Congress on the Impediments to Union Democracy. My beliefs and determination have not changed since those days. Now is the time for you to make a difference, now is the time for you to take back your union and as a candidate of the RANK AND FILE TEAM I am asking for your vote to help us, help you do just that, take back your Union.