One for you, sixty-five for us.
UFCW Local 1977 Execs Belly Up to the Trough
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Two years ago the Executive Officers from UFCW Local 1977 bellied up to the Trough. At a low key meeting in February of that year, they received the blessing of the local's executive board for 6-digit salaries and "happy retirement" packages worth about $200,000 (in addition to substantial pensions). They've been at the trough ever since, feasting and gorging. In the face of a storm of protest from angry members, they steadfastly defended their self-serving behaviour. They pleaded their case on the Local's Internet site. They blamed the CAW. They absolved themselves of responsibility: It was the Executive Board, after all, that had voted them the increases. They hired - at their members' expense - a PR guy to spin for them in the local media. When the protest showed no sign of quieting down they brought in - also at their members' expense - an independent fact finder to find them right. Last month marked the one year anniversary of the release of fact finder's report. In honour of that shameful event, we're going to formally induct the Local 1977 exec officers and into the Trough.
To put the shamelessness of the Local 1977 execs in perspective, it's helpful to understand the context in which the gorging began. Although their new improved executive compensation package had been quietly approved in February, it did not become widely know until many months later.
In the fall of 2000, workers at 46 Zehr's stores in Ontario walked of the job after negotiations for a new collective agreement fell apart. The 7200 mostly part-time, mostly low-wage members, voted 96% in favor of a strike. They had just come off of a 6-year concessionary contract and were being asked to accept another 6-year deal - with a wage freeze by a company that is part of the highly profitable George Weston empire. Four days into the strike, the company coughed up a marginally better offer. Local officials urged them to accept it and after several days of intense lobbying, the workers ratified a 6-year agreement that would give them an average increase of 1% in each year. This article provides some insight into how the deal went down.
While 1% was the best that Local 1977 executives claimed they could do for their members, they did a whole lot better for themselves. On the heals of the mediocre deal they urged the members to accept, the word was suddenly on the street that the Local's top officials were getting salary increases of 65%!
- Brian Williamson, President and CEO of the local got a pay hike to $118,300 from $72,000.
- Scott Penner, secretary-treasurer, went to $109,200 from $66,000.
- So that the execs didn't get lonely at the trough, a new executive vice-president position was created with an annual salary of $101,400. The position was filled by Al Mclean, a former union rep who previously earned about $60,000.
- And as if that wasn't enough, the e-board also made changes that would allow the three senior executives to get 150% of their annual pay as severance if they retire with 20 years of service.
- On retirement, they would also each be entitled to a new car - a nice one.
The official story was that the increases were recommended by a consultant who the Exec Board had retained (at members' expense) to study the compensation packages of senior local officials and make recommendations for adjustments. The consultant was none other than Clifford Evans, former UFCW Canadian Director, and no stranger to the Trough. After an exhaustive review, Evans recommended the exec-o-size pay hike to bring the Local 1977 officers' salaries in line with those of Execs at UFCW Local 1000a. The big kahunas at 1000a had been earning 6 digits since 1996 when they inked a concessionary deal with Loblaws for over 10,000 of their members. It was only fair.
Local 1977 members were outraged. Over 1,400 of them signed a petition asking that the increases be rescinded. They tabled a motion at a General Membership Meeting to that effect. But CEO Williamson ruled their motion "out of order" on some basis that has never been explained. International union honchos who attended the GMM were supportive of CEO Williamson. They said that the anti-Trough motion did not comply with the International Constitution. What was the proper procedure for tabling such a motion? The honchos wouldn't say.
News of the mammoth pay hikes made it into the local media. CEO Williamson was not amused. He sniveled self-righteously about the flack he and his boys were taking. A statement by CEO Williamson on Local 1977's web site in September 2000 made it clear he'd had enough with this meddling on the part of his members.
"Our Executive Board has been attacked as spineless cowards who are just rubber stamps for the officers. Our negotiating committee has been attacked as incompetent and not working in the best interests of the members."
"I also deeply resent that Clifford Evans is also being attacked. This is a man who has done more over the last 40 years for the members of UFCW in general, and the members of Local 1977 in particular, than any ten people you could name. It's extremely unjust that the integrity of such a man is being questioned."
You can read the whole petulant piece here.
When the local media got on his case, CEO Williamson hired a consultant (an ex-UFCW official who at one time publicly criticized the UFCW for holding rigged elections ) to do his snivelling for him:
From the Kitchener-Waterloo Record: "...in an interview yesterday, media consultant Bill Reno said it's the union leaders themselves who feel "attacked and betrayed" since details of their whopping salaries and benefits were made public. "They're not quite used to this," he said. "It sort of came out of the blue."
Finally, when no hired broom seemed capable of sweeping the protest under the rug, the UFCW came to the rescue with a rent-a-judge. Don Franks, a retired OLRB vice chair and labour arbitrator, was brought in (at a cost of about $10,000) to conduct a fact-finding mission into the new improved compensation packages. Fact-finder Franks spent a few days listening to submissions from UFCW officials and issued a 10-page report that stated that the boys had every reason to belly up to the trough.
Basing his findings entirely on the submissions of Cliff Evans who had recommended the increases in the first place, Franks found that the Local 1977 execs were "grossly underpaid" and so, deserved a 65% increase in pay. Not that it had anything much to do with the issue, but Franks also found the local media a bunch of troublemakers. He wrung his hands about the CAW lurking in the bushes. He completely ignored the contentious retirement perks "because I didn't think they were really very significant." He even found that the 1977 execs were sort of a noble bunch of guys:
"While it is beyond the scope of my mandate to validate these claims, my impression is that the Local's executive is truly motivated by these ideals and has been continuously striving to achieve them. I wish them well."
And with that, rent-a-judge Franks rode off, $10,000 to the good. Williamson, Penner and McLean took his word for it. It was good and right for them to be at the Trough.
And the Local 1977 members? They got to pay for it all and they're still paying. But hey, they got theirs didn't they? The even voted for it. Said CEO Williamson after they did their duty at the ratification meeting, "We are very proud of our members at Zehrs. They showed stamina and class when it was most needed."
Good going Brian. Too bad we can't say the same for you.
"We have a medieval king in the form of Cliff Evans and a bunch of little fiefdoms underneath him," Reno said during his election campaign in 1988. "His knights are the paid business representatives pillaging the countryside. It's all done on the backs of the serfs, the workers." - Bill Reno, in the Toronto Star, 1988