April 27, 1999
Mr. Gerald McEntee, AFSCME President
1625 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Dear Brother McEntee,
We received your correspondence of April 2Oth, and we will proceed to file charges under the International Constitution. Please accept this letter as a submittal of formal charges against Gary Rodrigues, State Director United Public Workers AFSCME Local 646 and AFSCME Judicial Panel Member, Clifford Uwaine, editor of the Malama Pono and the United Public Workers State Executive Board under the provisions of the AFSCME Constitution Article M Sec. 10 The charges are as follows:
First Charge:
Our rights as members in good standing were violated when Gary Rodrigues and Clifford Uwaine, editor of the Malama Pono in response to receiving a correspondence from you containing the petitions, chose to Write, print, and disseminate to all UPW members through the UPW newsletter, The Malama Pono (March issue, copy enclosed), the article, "The Pilau Bulletin." The article intentionally sought to defame, discredit, misrepresent, and retaliate against members in good standing for raising legitimate questions on the use of UPW funds in regards to a rumored sexual harassment settlement with Georgetta Carrol, the building of UPW Hails on the island of Maui and Kauai, and the use of UPW Staff for the construction and maintenance of his personal residence in Oregon. We wrote Rodrigues (certified mail, 4/3/99, copy enclosed) complaining about this article and its libelous nature, and we reiterated our questions concerning the use or misuse of union funds. We also enclosed a rebuttal (copy enclosed) that we demanded be printed in the April issue of the Malama Pono and mailed to all UPW members. Not only was this not done but the April issue (copy enclosed) contained yet another retaliatory and libelous article, "The Pilau Bulletin," whereby we were referred to as '"the three friends of the Pilau Bulletin." Rodrigues and Uwiane violated tenet #2 of the Bill of Rights for Union Members "Members shall suffer no impairment of freedom of speech concerning the operations of this union." As a consequence of violating the Bill of Rights for Union Members and in creating and distributing this article, Rodrigues and Uwaine violated Article x, Secs. 2A, 2F and 2J of the International Constitution.
In addition our rights as members in good standing were violated, if the State Executive Board advised and agreed to publish and disseminate after reviewing, "The Pilau Bulletin." The role of the State Executive Board in the creation and mailing of this article is open to question. Joe Rodrigues, Vice President of the Oahu Executive Board, admitted in the April meeting that the Board knew nothing of this article until they received it in the mail. He admitted that we raised good questions, and that we had the right to know what was going on," but that he didn't have the answers. He also told me in the presence of others that he felt that the article was "out of line" Given the fact that we raised the issue of this article at the April Oahu Exec. Board Meeting, and still another article was written and mailed to all members demonstrates that the Executive Board has abdicated its authority to both advise and consult with the editor and State Direct or on the publication of material offensive to the members, or simply the State Board is not being given the newsletter to preview and comment on before it is mailed. By permitting the publication and mailing of this material that knowingly libels members in good standing the State Executive Board violated the Bill of Rights #2 and Article X, Secs. 2A, 2F, and 2J.
Second Charge:
Our rights as members in good standing were violated when Gary Rodrigues and Clifford Uwaine used UPW funds to pay for the printing and dissemination of The Malama Pono (March & April issues) containing the false and inflammatory articles (two) both entitled, "The Pilau Bulletin," to all UPW members without the consent of the State Executive Board. Rodrigues and Uwaine violated Article x, Secs.2A and 2B of the International Constitution in not seeking nor receiving authorization from the State Executive Board nor the Oahu Executive Board to spend UPW money to defame and slander members in good standing.
Third Charge:
Our rights as members in good standing were violated by Gary Rodrigues and the State Executive Board when Rodrigues and the State Executive Board passed a policy that sought to retain the Minutes of State Executive Board Meetings 50 that these minutes were inaccessible to the rank and file when requested. Specifically we were told at the January Oahu Division Meeting by Dayton Nakanelua, Assistant State Director, and Clifford Uwaine, Private Sector Division Head and editor of the Malama Pono that the minutes were confidential and not available to the rank and file. Again at the February Oahu Division Meeting, we were told by Oahu Division Vice President, Joe Rodrigues that the State Executive Board Minutes were not available to the rank and file. Joe Rodrigues further said that the State Executive Board had voted on a "policy" that privatized the Board Minutes and that the Board Minutes were not available to the rank and file. Further, we have asked the Oahu Division Executive Board and Rodrigues many times for financial information specific to the sexual harassment settlement, the specific costs incurred in buying the land and constructing the UPW Union Halls on both Maui and Kauai, and the specific cost and circumstances in detail, of UPW staff who went to Oregon for the purpose of constructing and maintaining his home. By not providing us with the financial records nor the minutes of the State Executive Board Meetings, Rodrigues and the State Executive Board violated tenants #6 and #7 of the Bill of Rights for Union Members. This violation, in essence denied us our freedom of inquiry into the approval and spending of UPW funds, and denied us our right to full participation in the decision making process of our union. As a consequence of violating the Bill of Rights for Union Members the State Executive Board violated Article X, Sec. 2A and 2F of the International Constitution.
After supplying you with the background on these issues in January
and asking for your investigative assistance in March, we were
disappointed that the International will not act in their
investigative capacity. We have chosen to pursue this matter
ourselves. We want the International to take jurisdiction in this
case under Article XI, Sec. 10, for all parties charged since
Rodrigues is a member of the Judiciary Panel. We are tradesmen, not
lawyers nor parliamentarians, but know that we intend to do our best
for our union's rank and file in prosecuting these charges. Given the
fact that the International adopted new guidelines on local union
accountability and is taking a more aggressive stance on fraud and
abuse of office, we feel that we are all on trial as to whether or
not we have the will of our convictions as demonstrated by yourself
at the Convention. Clearly these charges are not frivolous, but go to
the core of public perception that unions are autocratic and
corruption is common. We look forward to resolving this situation,
and we look forward to your reply in a timely manner.
Fraternally yours,
Keith Faufata
Angel Santiago-Cruz
Keith Chudzik