Day 138 - 20 Jun 95 - Page 57
1 did not know who these people were, nor did the NLRB know
2 who these people were, because they were not a national, a
3 union, not even a local union that -----
4
5 Q. You mean they did not know who the Fast-food Workers Union
6 was?
7 A. Yes, it was a surprise to me and, as I found out, it
8 was a surprise to most people, and there was a hearing.
9 One of the conditions that a union has to pass in order to
10 be put on the ballot, in order to have an election (and
11 I do not mean to get into legal technicalities), but they
12 need to be a labour organisation within the meaning of the
13 National Labour Relations Act.
14
15 Q. Do they have to be registered for that purpose?
16 A. No. It does not require registration as you would find
17 in Europe.
18
19 Q. But they have to satisfy certain conditions?
20 A. That is correct. As part of that process, you often
21 times need to get a hold of their constitution and bylaws,
22 and when we received in the hearing the constitution and
23 bylaws, it was of ACORN, is what we received.
24
25 Q. You mean it was not a union constitution at all?
26 A. No, they said: "This is the only thing we have".
27
28 Q. What did the constitution tell you about the nature and
29 purposes of ACORN?
30 A. It indicated that ACORN originally was founded in the
31 southern part of the United States, and its principal
32 purpose was to represent people in communities concerning
33 certain social issues. It also -- a thing that alarmed us
34 was that it was principally a white organisation, if you
35 will, developed in our south, and I do not want to get into
36 the history of the US ---
37
38 Q. No.
39 A. -- in discrimination.
40
41 Q. Assume we know a bit about the history of the southern
42 states of the United States in the 60s and 70s.
43 A. If I might for a moment, the environment in Detroit in
44 the -- Ralph Kelly was black. 80 per cent -----
45
46 Q. I was going to ask you, Ralph Kelly is black, did you say?
47 A. Yes, and 80 per cent of his employees were -- in the
48 constitution and bylaws it said: "Organise among white
49 workers, white people. Only as a last resort, bring in
50 minorities" and that did not sit with us very well at all.
51
52 Q. What was the majority of Ralph Kelly's employees, what
53 colour were they?
54 A. They were black.
55
56 Q. By what percentage? I think you did say, but I missed it.
57 A. About 80 per cent.
58
59 Q. I think you told us earlier that in Detroit, at least, it
60 is heavily unionised or a union tradition area?
