Once again ILA leaders lacked vision and voted down a LWC resolution calling for direct election of officers. The resolution would have meant that every union member would get to vote for their officers by secret ballot. Leaders would have to campaign for your vote in the region they seek to represent.

This would strengthen our union, forcing officers to address issues affecting the membership. It could also head off the possibilty of government oversight of our union.

(To see how your delegates voted click here)

No Contest
It was the usual behind the scenes jockeying to run an uncontested slate. After lots of talk about running for President, it appears that General Vice President Benny Holland was given a $70,000 raise in exchange for not running for the number one or two spot.

The LWC ran a candidate as a protest to prove how the system works. Even if a candidate has stood for what is right, he or she has no hope of winning without the nod from top ILA brass. This is why we need direct elections of officers.
See side bar for nominations speech

No Accurate Count
Part of the problem is that the ILA relies on locals to report their membership. This means there is no accurate count. Two locals, the MMP and the UMD, controled 80 votes and only have one person each casting those votes.