A new era for former OCAW members


AT 4:06 PM. PACIFIC COAST time on Jan. 4, 1999, OCAW members changed their destiny by merging with the United Paperworkers Union.

After various delegates brought up concerns about the merger during the question period, a member made a motion to call for the question. In a voice vote, the majority of the 437 delegates approved the merger.

The new union, PACE International (Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers), is 320,000 members strong. It represents workers in the pulp, paper, automobile parts, appliance manufacturing, cement, oil chemical nuclear and pharmaceutical industries, plus a variety of other sectors including health care.

Former UPIU President Boyd Young will be the International president. Former OCAW President Robert Wages will be the executive vice president. R. J. Christie will be the secretary. James Dunn will be the treasurer. L. Calvin Moore and James K. (Rip) Phillips will be vice president-at-large.

Organizing, mobilizing and educating new and old members will be the priorities for the new organization. At the PACE Unity convention on Jan. 5, President Boyd Young outlined five core principles for PACE: to listen to the membership; embrace the members' needs; educate younger members about unionism, labor history and the need to organize; to organize and train rank-and-file organizers; and to grow through organizing and additional mergers.

"Changing a union to an organizing model takes sacrifice and is sometimes painful," Wages told the PACE delegates. '"The pork choppers are not going to ultimately do this work. You are going to make the difference in this new union."

Members will advise the International executive board through the Rank-and-File Advisory Board Each region elects a delegate and alternate to the board.

The former OCAW executive board members will be part of the Rank-and-File Advisory Board with the exception of John Cochran who has resigned. Steve Landon of Local 2-632 has replaced him, and the alternate is John Lorash from Local 2-952.

Other former OCAW and UPIU members elected to the advisory board at the merger convention were: Bruce Roy (Region 1), Evie Hawkins (Region 1 alternate), Clarice St. Luce (Region 2), John Conroy (Region 2 alternate), Doug Williams (Region 4), Frank Wheeler (Region 4 alternate), Waiter Dart (Region 5), Mike Hancock (Region 5 alternate), Nick Serraglio, Jr. (Region 8) and David Wooten (Region 8 alternate).

Former OCAW members are hopeful about the new union. "I hope we can do more organizing," said Kenova, W Va., Local 3-372 member Flem Stroud. "And I hope we can communicate to the whole country that we plan to set the trend for labor in terms of organizing, defending employees, writing legislation and pushing our Labor Party."

OCAW Reporter, January-February 1999