Darmento's Response To Boyle's Desperation Letter

bonno5id

New Member
Brothers and Sisters,

Brother Boyle's letter to the members is a pitiful display of desperation. I didn't think Tim would stoop to this level. Why is it when incumbent Officers and other Candidates for Union Office have nothing to tell you of what they have accomplished or how they plan to fix problems, that they resort to trash talking? Well, I guess I answered my own question, they have nothing to point to. They have failed miserably. As for his letter, I am ONLY going to respond to this regurgitated tripe once, even if it is repeated by other Candidate Slates. However, before I do, I will say this; The Boyle/Stone slate is comprised of 5 of the current 7 Executive Board Members, as he correctly states in his malicious email. Remember, in their respective positions as Secretary Treasurer and Recording Secretary, Steve Stone, Boyle and all the other Trustee's in office now, have signed and approved every month the Local's Books, Executive Board Minutes and all other business of the Local Union. Yet, they accuse Brother Combine of everything. Obviously, they were all a part of the Local's miserable ineffectiveness. They were the majority of the Executive Board, 5 out of 7 votes! Not only for the past two and a half years, but in fact with regard to Steve Stone, for the last 9 years! If Combine is guilty of anything - so are they. If the membership is disgusted with our Local's leadership, then they are also to blame. So it follows that if you hate the last Contract and the Union Representation you have been getting, you have to know they were all part of it. They can't just blame Combine for everything, they had 5 of 7 votes on the E Board. That, my friends, is a majority. Tim, I'm surprised by you stooping so low as to try and use your boss Combine's campaign strategies. All the more proof that the membership will just get more of the same with the Boyle/Stone Slate. Nothing original, just the same old crap and finger pointing. More charges and counter charges against each other while UPS continues to strip away what's left of our industry leading Contract that my administration brought you in 1996 and 2001.

With respect to Tim's letter, I'm very disappointed in him. I obviously gave him more credit than he deserves. I thought he had more class and sense than he is now showing. I guess the saying goes something like this "if you sleep in the pig pen you will come out smelling like a pig".

First off, Local 2727 is required by the International Union to pay "per capita" to the Joint Council 94. It doesn't matter if any of the Local 2727 Officers are ELECTED to an Executive Officer's position on the Joint Council or not. I was elected Vice-President to the Joint Council 94 by ALL the Teamster Local Union's belonging to the Joint Council. Approximately 6 individual Local's representing about 30,000 members who are also paying "per capita". As a result of my elected position I was paid a small monthly salary, like every other Joint Council Officer nation wide. I did not ask for it, it merely comes with the position. This is the Teamsters Union Brothers and Sisters, the same Union that has been around for nearly a hundred years. It's their rules, their policies and their benefits. EVERY Teamster Local Union in the country must belong to a Joint Council. Read your Bylaws and Constitution Tim. It's the law. And if you are respected and effective in your job as an Officer of your own Local Union, and work effectively with other Affiliate Unions, you will get elected to the Joint Council Executive Board as I was. Last I checked, neither Brothers Boyle, Stone, Combine or anyone else at 2727 is a Joint Council Executive Board Officer. Also, to the best of my knowledge, no Joint Council Officer nationwide has ever refused a salary or worked for free. But, I can tell you this, even with what Brother Boyle has listed as salaries and perks, I did not make what other Inspectors in Ontario or Louisville made per year while I was in Office. When these allegations were first brought by Brother Stone and Combine as a Charge in 2006, my Federal Income Tax returns were submitted into evidence, as well as other UPS Inspector and Mechanics yearly totals. For the record, both myself and Brothers Chatburn and Radtke made less than many Local 2727 members working as Mechanics and Inspectors during our terms of office. That includes the car allowances and other things that Brother Boyle brings up in his letter. Furthermore, the record will also show that Brother Boyle testified at those hearings on behalf of Brother Chatburn, Radtke and myself, that Brother Combine removed and tampered with the Local Unions Executive Board Minutes. With respect to the Local's Treasury, it is true that there is more money in the coffers today than when I was in Office. I'll take credit for both these statements. Why? Because your dues is set by the International Union. It is 2.5 times your hourly rate per month. If you look at the financial statements for the years that followed after I left Office, you will find that because of the huge pay raises I negotiated for you that continued after I left, the Local's Treasury continued to swell. In addition, about 200 members on the pay scale topped out and nearly doubled their pay. While the already topped out mechanics got back to back $2.50 an hour annual raises. The proof is in the LM-2's posted on both Boyle's Web site and mine. If you look at the approximately 1150 head count when I left office to 1135 head count a few years later after I left, you will see a huge difference in what the Union took in for the same or less head count. Less people more dues money. Why, because 2.5 times your hourly pay rates. Money I negotiated! Anyway, what is more important is what the Union spends-not what they take in. Even more important is what you, the members, get in return for your dues money. I produce, and the very capable Slate that I have joined will produce. Finally, Tim speaks to hidden salary's. To that I can tell you, when I was elected as President in 1996, all Union Officers of Local 2727 were paid through UPS payroll, through a reimbursement policy put in place by the International Union back in 1988. It is the same policy used by all former Local 2727 Officers, such as the Tom Dobbins and Leo Disselkamp Administrations. This policy was blessed by the Department of Labor and was used until DOL reporting laws changed some time in 2006/2007. These facts can be verified by calling the DOL and the International Union Auditor's Office.

In closing, I will remind everyone again, I am not going to respond to this type of BS ever again. This is old news that gets recirculated EVERY election when candidates have nothing else to talk about! I can only promise you that my Slate will deliver! And yes, I will not work for free or take a pay cut. I have a family just like all if you, and I will be making many sacrifices to to serve as you President. You will expect my team to get you the best wages, benefits and representation possible as I have in the past. I don't think our reward for that should be we get screwed. I expect we will be compensated for what we can do for you and your family, the same as I have done for you in the past. I recommend you take a close look at the Pop Quiz's on my Web site. It's your choice.... Success or Regress.

Fraternally,
Joe Darmento

Home Page
 
Top