To:
All Grand Lodge Officers Elected at the 43rd and 44th
Quadrennial Conventions and all System Officers in the United States and Canada
From:
Joel Myron
Re:
My Dismissal As a Grand Lodge Appointee
Date:
August , 2002
Dear Sirs and Brothers:
I am writing this letter requesting your assistance to correct a substantial
injustice done to me by President Fleming. The injustice is not that he
dismissed me as Director of Strategic Coordination and Research approximately 1
month prior to the expiration of my term or that he failed to reappoint me to
that position for his next term. He has the aruguable right to take both
actions. I am asking your assistance because he directly lied to me prior
to and after the Convention about his intentions to reappoint me about his
intention to retain me, has not to this day talked to me regarding these
actions, and took these actions in a manner that is reminiscent of the most
vicious manner the carriers act towards our members when they remove people
from service. Additionally he lied to some of you prior to Convention and
after Convention regarding his intention to retain me and never informed any of
us that he would simply remove me from service prior to the beginning of his
next term. Directly relying on his assurances that I would continue as
Director of Strategic Coordination and Research, I chose not to take certain
actions to protect my economic and professional future in the months prior to
Convention or at Convention, as I wanted to and intended to, based upon my
record and my own perception of where I could best serve our membership,
continue as Director of Strategic Coordination and Research. I am now in
a situation where I am unemployed and my health insurance runs out at the end
of this month. I served President Fleming and this Brotherhood loyally,
and I and most of you believe, skillfully, since November, 1992 and believe
that I was owed honesty if he felt we should part ways. Simply because
President Fleming has the right to treat loyal and dedicated members/employees
in the most cavalier and dishonest manner possible under the law, a manner that
we would be up-in-arms about if the carrier treated our members in such a way,
does not mean he has the right to treat us in that manner under basic
principles of unionism or under the Constitution and By-laws.
On July 29, 2002 I received a letter from BMWE President Mac Fleming informing
me that I will not be reappointed to my position as Director of Strategic
Coordination and Research. The letter directed me to immediately vacate
my office and turn in all BMWE property in my possession and talk to
Administrative Assistant to the President William Hildenbrand regarding
anything owed me by the Brotherhood. The letter was dated July 26, 2002 .
I was told by Brother Hildenbrand that my termination was effective the date of
the letter, July 26, 2002 .
I had commenced my vacation, approved directly by President Fleming, on July
25, 2002 and was home when the letter came. I had talked to President
Fleming on July 24, 2002 about going on vacation and we discussed that I would
be home for most of my vacation in the event he needed to contact me about the
IBB merger campaign or bargaining on the Wisconsin Central, a newly organized
BMWE bargaining unit whose negotiations I was to be a part of. Not at
that point, or even to this day, did President Fleming inform me that I was not
going to be reappointed.
As he has not talked to me, I can only surmise his reasons for these actions.
Earlier in the year, he told some of you that I was intending to run against
him for President. When these rumors came back to me, I spoke to him
about them and assured him that I had no such intention. I told him that
if I were going to run against him, I would resign from my appointed position
to do so, as I believed it to be immoral to run against anyone in the
Brotherhood while serving as an appointee in his administration. At other
times I heard that he had been saying that I opposed the IBB Merger the first
time around. I mildly supported the IBB merger the first time around.
When I was asked to publicly state my position on the IBB merger, I drafted a
position and gave it to him to read. I told him the position might make
people on both sides of the issue angry, as I supported the merger, but with
significant reservations and both my support for the IBB merger my reservations
about it were in the letter. He read the letter and ask that I post it,
which I then did. I intended my letter to be just one of many postings by
many who were commenting on the issue, but my posting was singled out by
someone at Grand Lodge and made a prominent piece. During the first IBB
merger battle, I stayed out of it for the most part. I did, however, tell
President Fleming days prior to his putting it out for ratification that he was
putting it out too early – that several very pro-merger General Chairmen
told me they needed more time to educate their members regarding the merger.
President Fleming chose to ignore that advice. I gave other advice early
in the campaign that was ignored. I served as an advisor on the merger
committee and made contributions to the original document, such as: (1)
suggesting we had an arbitration clause; (2) suggesting that our merger
agreement didnÕt sunset (end after a certain date); (3) suggesting that the
merger agreement could only be amended by agreement of the IBB AND the BMWE
division; (4) suggesting that on the critical points the merger agreement was
not subservient to the IBB Constitution and by-laws just to name a few.
All of these suggestions, which were not in the document prior to my raising
them, were incorporated into the document. There were also other
suggestions I made at that time that were incorporated into the document.
Given all of this, I was quite upset when I heard that President Fleming was
telling some of you that I opposed the first IBB Merger.
The only other thing that I have heard through the grapevine regarding his
reasons to dismiss me in such a vicious manner is that I Òput Jim Knight up to
running against himÓ. ThatÕs untrue and ridiculous. I told Jim when
he told me he was running that he would probably lose and also lose his
appointed position as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. He chose to
run for his own reasons and ran his campaign as he saw fit. It is true
that Jim is a close friend – I was best man at his wedding and I socially
interact with Jim, his wife and grandchildren. I would not try to
convince a close friend to run for a position I did not think he could win and
give up a position that he has. Another untrue Jim Knight story Mac has
been circulating is that Jim left because he could not get along with me and
that I have a hard time working with others. Jim and I worked well
together and neither Jim or I have had any problems. ThatÕs just Mac
making up stories to explain the inexplicable.
Towards the end of the pre-Convention meetings, when I signed the new IBB
Merger Agreement, President Fleming and I had a confrontation because I thought
he was publicly stating at that time that I didnÕt support the merger. We
went into his office and talked for a long period of time. When we left,
I believed we had discussed all of those things and all had been put to bed.
We again discussed the above issues and I told him that I believed I could
better serve the BMWE as Director of Strategic Coordination and Research than
as President and had not intention of running for President. He told me
he believed me and that he intended to keep me in that position assuming he won
as President. Subsequently he came to Washington , DC and came into my
office. He told me there was a rumor being circulated Òby the other sideÓ
that he was going to can me if he won. He told me it was propaganda by
the other side designed to weaken him and I should simply ignore it –
that it was his intention to keep me on if he won. I believed him at that
time. I also told him at that time that the Amtrak situation had heated
up and required my monitoring and it would be better if I stayed in DC rather
than go to Convention. He said heÕd think about it and later agreed, so I
didnÕt even go to Convention.
Again, as he has not explained to me why he did what he did, I can only surmise
these were his reasons. Perhaps he thought I functioned too
independently, but I was always loyal to his administration and have functioned
in this manner since the day he appointed me. He should have at least
discussed this with me if he had a problem with my performance.
Periodically I am hearing dribs and drabs of what he has been saying about me.
He says I didnÕt file vacation schedules at the beginning of each year.
YouÕd think I just started last year instead of having worked there for nearly
10 years. I discussed this with him the first year and he agreed that
because my schedule is so unpredictable, I should take my vacations when work
permits. Other staff do the same thing, but now itÕs an issue.
I chose not to call him after receiving the letter on July 29, 2002 for 2
reasons. First and foremost he had already lied to me and to some of you.
I didnÕt and donÕt think I can believe what he has to say. Second he
fired me in the most harsh and arbitrary manner possible, reminiscent of some
of the horror stories we periodically hear from the carriers. He has made
it clear where heÕs at now that he lied himself into the Presidency.
Obviously he thought if he told me or any of you before Convention that he
intended to can me, he might not have received the 880 some odd votes over 50%
that he received at the Convention. So he chose to lie instead
You all know my record – from my involvement in PEB 229 and the Railroad
Retirement Occupational Disability battles to the Amtrak battles, to winning
retroactive per diems on the UP, to making certain that we received all of the
national increases PEB 229 provided during the CSX implementation to making
certain that our NS membership received the benefits of Feb. 7 when NS tried to
claim we werenÕt entitled to them, to the Òbed and breakfastÓ on BNSF, to the
improvements on CN and CP properties to winning a ÒCadillacÓ sub-pay benefit on
Conrail and many, many others, I have been a significant player in all of those
improvements for our members. We did it together as a BMWE team, and I
donÕt take credit for them myself. But I certainly was and have been a
major contributor in all of those battles and many, many others. If I did
any or all of the things President Fleming perceives, I still didnÕt deserve
the callous and vicious immediate dismissal by mail. Having not done any
of those things and receiving this outrageous treatment is simply being
punished for serving him and the BMWE loyally. You all know me. Do
you really believe I deserve to have been treated in this manner, even if he
had the legal right to do so?
What I say for me regarding this cavalier treatment goes for Brother Swanson
and Sister Creswell also. They, too, were dismissed by letter, finding
out about their dismissals when their credit cards or phone cards no longer
worked. People who have provided dedicated and loyal service to the BMWE
over a long period of time do not deserve to be notified by mail and simply put
out in the street with no consideration. One of the main reasons BMWE was
organized was to stop such treatment by employers. Even if he has the
legal right to act in such a manner, he should not based upon some legal mumbo
jumbo. ItÕs as simple as that and itÕs a major infringement of basic
principles of unionism and how our union treats its own. He evidently
believes he has the right to lie to me and to some of you, to make promises
upon which I relied at a substantial detriment to my own financial and
professional well being, and to then act in a manner that would embarrass some
of the carriers our members work for. He believes he can act in violation
of basic principles of unionism and the BMWE Constitution and By-laws.
How do you think he is going to act when he confronts things he doesnÕt like
during his term of office?
I have not decided what, if anything, I intend to do about the situation.
As I am not independently wealthy (even if I am a Jew), I need to look after my
immediate needs. I realize there has been tremendous political upheaval
over the past year and I have done my best to stay out of that upheaval and
represent our members. However if weÕre going to move into the future, we
should do so as a serious, dedicated union who believes in and acts on the
principles we espouse. A President who could take the kind of actions
President Fleming took in the manner we were dismissed is incapable of
providing that kind of leadership. Running our union based upon
intimidation and fear will simply lead us to destruction. And as I will
not have the same access to you as he does, you will hear a constant theme
about how awful IÕve been that I will not have the opportunity to respond to.
Just remember, he lied to many of you, not just to me, Paul and Sue.
These will be hard decisions for most of you, and I apologize for having to
move forward in this manner. I have been a member of the BMWE for over 30
years and would not support the kind of action President Fleming took against
us against loyal, dedicated members of our union. That it has happened to
me makes it even harder. Political expediency must bend to basic
principles of trade unionism and our Constitution and By-laws.
Thank you for reading this letter and I hope we as a union has the courage to
live up to our creed.
In solidarity,
Joel Myron