Darth Maul for TWU President
Darth Maul, wasn't such a bad guy. He was just miss understood. He's a lot sexier than Darth Sidious. More honest too. After all, he did take on two Jedi at once. Lila Hacket left the caucus and supported Darth Maul last convention. The rest of us in B.C just couldn't trust Darth Maul after he signed his name suing the delegates. However, in the spirit of honesty and reconciliation, lets look at what really happened because history is repeating itself and Darth Sidious is doing the same thing Bruce Bell did as we speak. Only this time it'sot just Bruce Bell.
Before Buzz Hargrove got involved Bruce Bell was fine. Or at least everything the TWU said was on the money. "Job security is the hill to die on." "No one goes back until we all go back." Buzz Hargrove fed Bruce Bell the poison kool aid and Bruce liked it. He liked it so much he embraced corporate policies to threaten, silence and harass political opponents within the Union and the membership.
Back to Darth Maul. Darth Maul was at the secret barbecue. In fact it was held at his house. Not that it was a crime, it's just denying it was dishonest. If you support Bruce Bell then let the members who elect delegates know. Then there was the court action. The members were pissed at Bruce Bell for two reasons. First for selling them out and cramming a mail order revote when scabs got ballots at work and were bussed in to vote while Union members in rural areas who didn't get a ballot were not allowed to vote. It was a dirty deal.
The members were also pissed at Bruce Bell for his secret meetings and secret affiliations with CAW. Mergers are done by way of vote of the membership not by backroom deals with EC members. Something had to be done to stop it. One way was for two thirds of the delegates to sign a recall petition. They didn't have two thirds of the delegates that would sign. They had a simple majority. Yet there was great concern among the workfloor. Many locals sent in resolutions asking Bruce Bell to resign. He read the resolutions and said no.
The delegates followed their constitution and had enough signatures to call a special convention. The purpose of the convention was to deal with the members lack of faith in the TWU president Bruce Bell. The secret meetings with the CAW made it urgent that things be dealt with. At the special convention, a nonconfidence motion was submitted and passed by a simple majority. Nonconfidence motions are not new. They happen in the Canadian Parliament all the time and most Canadian Trade Unions including the TWU follow Bourinot's Rules of Order.
Here's the twist. Instead of acknowledging the huge concern of the members in Bruce Bells leadership and doing the honourable thing which would have been to resign and run again in another election he coveted power and said no. Technically he was right. All the motions in the world asking him to resign did not mean he had to resign. That's basically what the court action was for and proved. Don't get me wrong. I think what Bruce Bell did was slimy and cheap. He should have resigned and run again like what had been done before.
But no Bruce Bell was a dictator who would not be pushed around or told what to do by the members he was elected to represent. The special convention and the nonconfidence motion were valid. There's more than one way to skin a cat and just like with the Windows operating system, there is more than one way to accomplish a task. Yet the judge saw the passion of the political animosity and was worried a hostile take over might be as bad as an incumbent dictator. After all, the members could just elect a new president next term.
The urgency was the uncertainty that surrounded the secret back room deals with the CAW. The nonconfidence motion was made and instead of doing the honourable thing and resign, Bruce Bell decided to sue the delegates that made the motion. Bizarre but true. Darth Maul signed the court application suing the delegates. That did not sit well with me or many others. Many saw it as a violation of trust. Here's another way to look at it. One political party was in power. Another political party receiving support from yet another political party wanted to seize the opportunity to get the power they coveted. Darth Maul and a few others felt that if the delegates wanted to recall Bruce Bell there was a procedure in place. They needed two thirds of the delegates to sign a recall petition. They didn't have that so they felt they were trying to circumvent the constitution and due process.
Now we all know that special conventions are allowed in the constitution and that nonconfidence motions are nothing new. I asked about this nonconfidence motion with a Jedi friend from CUPW National Office. He was amazed. He said that the right thing to do would be to resign but with a recall provision in place the nonconfidence motion wouldn't win in court. We can debate the legitimacy of the court decision until the cows come home. I believe the nonconfidence motion was valid. I also see wisdom in supporting the democratic process and dealing with these issues through normal elections.
Having said that can I forgive Darth Maul for suing the Brave 66? Yes I can. Lila could because Lila had seen what Darth Sidious had become. He had used the oportunity to seize power and became just like Bruce Bell. Today we see the same situation repeat itself with the same urgency. The mob squad has taken over and have crucified Lila Hacket, a true solder of Rome, and many others. Threats of legal action for expressing opinions which differ from theirs is common. Priority in spending and clear financial accountability is a valid concern. Political retaliation has split the caucus twice and they are running scared. As a result they are twice as dictatorial in a desperate attempt to keep power.
At least with Bruce Bell there was a certain amount of uncertainty about how much he was letting his closest people in one. Colin was from Alberta and likely not that close to Bruce's inner secrets and backroom deals. With Darth Sidious there is no doubt. The new mob squad are all active participants.
What is the solution? Run new candidates against them in the coming election. If Lila's old caucus can team up with George's caucus to defeat Bruce Bell, then Lila's old caucus can team up with Colin's caucus to defeat George Doubt. It's as simple as that. If this Union is going to move forward which I know can, it needs to have leadership from more than one political party. That is how you make members feel included not shafted. When members feel shafted they get defensive and lash out.
The new EC is not all bad. What they are doing is wrong. Those that can see that and can change may be kept. Those who cannot see that and continue political retaliations and a host of bizarre activities up to and including a union locking out another union, then those people need to be replaced through the democratic process.
My solution is to elect Darth Maul for TWU president. They say the company gets the Union it deserves. Likewise the Union gets the political opponents it deserves. If Darth Maul became TWU president then we would see a balance of power returned to the EC. The chosen one would indeed restore balance to the force as prophecied so long ago.
Darth Maul for TWU President!
Finian and the Fianna Fail