LABOR: Steelworkers1 Revolt

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When the United Steelworkers' convention last September took up a resolution to raise members' dues from $3 to $5 a month—and incidentally hike President David McDonald's pay from $40,000 to $50,000—the union president twice reminded the delegates that he did not want the money, but carefully added: "It's only a penny a man per year." After three votes —by voice, show of hands, finally by standing—McDonald declared the motion "carried by an overwhelming vote." He refused permission for a roll-call vote, and delegates went home grumbling that the meeting was packed with union staff members who had no right to vote.

By last week the dues protest (TIME, Nov. 26) had snowballed into the biggest revolt in the Steelworkers' 20-year history. Spontaneously, over 100 of the union's 2,750 locals have passed resolutions for a special convention to rescind the dues hike, among them the 20,000-man Local 1014 at U.S. Steel's Gary (Ind.) plant, the Steelworkers' biggest unit. Even McDonald's home local 1272 at Jones & Laughlin's southside plant in Pittsburgh passed the protest resolution.

The revolt was uncoordinated, lacked funds and headquarters, had as its leader a little-known rank-and-filer named Don Rarick, 37, for 19 years a worker at U.S. Steel's Irvin works. A fortnight ago Rarick was also named to head the slate that will oppose the McDonald team in the union-wide elections next February. Said Rarick last week: "I dare McDonald to show that he's got as many steelworkers behind him as we've got."

Last week, taking his first official notice of the union revolt, McDonald called in newsmen, testily told them that dues protests had reached the point where they were creating "confusion, turmoil and distrust, and promoting dual unionism." He warned the protestors that their insubordination might well lead to expulsion from the union. Furthermore, even if the "dissenters" mustered a fourth of all the locals, as required by the Constitution to call a special convention, there would still be no such meeting. For the Constitution also held, said McDonald, that special conventions could deal only with "new business"; the dues matter was "old."