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A MESSAGE FROM THE CREATOR OF UNIONPLAINFACTS.COM:


My name is Horacio Grana. I have been a member of the Carpenters Union Local 1506 since 1972. I have been disabled since August, 1993. In 1979 I had a near fatal accident, which put me out of commission until I went back to the Union in 1985. I befriended some of the Business Agents and shared my Union views with them. These Agents are no longer there. I gave up a lot of personal time to Union activities, such as precinct walks, collecting money for Dollars Against Diabetes, helping out with charity projects, such as Children's Place, and the infamous Picket Lines, which led to my being named the first "JOURNEYMAN OF THE YEAR" In 1990

In May of 1991 I was given a position as maintenance manager with the Carpenters Southern California Administrative Corporation, who manage our Pension and Health Benefits. They are located in the 500-520 South Virgil Avenue buildings, where the District Council is also located. I took care of all their maintenance needs. You may think it was because of the above mentioned activities in which I was involved in, however, it was NOT!!!

Prior to working there, I was working for a contractor, Arcashen, at one of the Hughes buildings in Torrance. I reported Arcashen to the Union for paying my partner and I with a check that had no funds. They were also making us use our own tools and would not give us the appropriate supplies to do our job. I made a big STINK with the Union and, as usual, they did not want to do anything, so I went to the District Council and made a big stink there. The Union sent a Business Agent to talk to Arcashen. They then told me to just ignore everything and not make a big deal out of it. I was fired two days later.

Arcashen, according to the District Council's computer, was on a pending license status (I had also seen court records where the union sued him for not paying Employer Benefits.) This is why I believe I was offered a job at the Administration for the Carpenters. I was then harassed, discriminated, ridiculed and humiliated by the Administrator, Ronald Schoen who has had a prior discrimination/harassment lawsuit with someone who was of a foreign background, just as I am, who was brought from the East coast by the previous administrator to work with the computer system. That lawsuit cost the Carpenters at least $230,000. Check that information in this website.

There are some Business Agents that say I am angry and bitter. They are the ones with the cushy $100,000.00 salary, company car, expense account, $50.00 per meeting they attend, not to mention their two pensions. Why wouldn't they say something like that? They can't open their mouths; they would lose all those benefits. Worst of all, these guys are not there to defend the rank and file average Joe; they are there to help with the political work the Union is involved in and to always say "YES!" to their puppet master, General President Doug McCarron


The reason I have put up this Website is to inform the average Joe and to try to awaken the conscious of some people. Most of the Union leaders, in the first place, they have NO LABORER VOCATION. They are YES men, hiding behind labor leader positions. Half of them are checking how much money they'll get when retirement time comes. They have TWO PENSIONS, unlike the rank and file, who only have one. Some of us even have to hire attorneys in order to receive our Pensions.

There is a list of 1594 members and ex-members that have benefits in the Pension, but they are not even aware of it. Neither the Pension nor the Union tries to find these people to tell them that they will be able to collect these benefits at some point. The Union doesn't inform these people of their benefits, but they spend an infinite amount of time contributing large sums of our money to politicians that we the members don't even support, nor do we approve of these contributions, since we don't vote for our delegates. Did you support any of the million dollars that were contributed to Congressional candidates in 1997. Whether you approve of the candidate or not, whether you approve of the proposition or not, they'll dish out the money, our money, by the bundle. Why should your hard earned money go to something you don't believe in? Are we talking about a Labor Union or Political Organization for Doug McCarron and his cronies


HARASSING PHONE CALLS

On Friday October 30, 1998 at around 11:18 am, I received a phone call from one of the Business Agents of 440L, Chuck Bloodworth. He asked to take his name off this website and to write him an apology or I would be hearing from him.


MY APOLOGY


First of all my phone number is unlisted, so I have no idea where you got it, Mr.Bloodworth. Secondly, you WERE a non-Union contractor and a Union member in arrears when the dictator (Doug "CEO" McCarron) appointed you for the position you currently hold.



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     We research and write our information ourselves. We don't need an Executive Board member of the Department of Water and Power and Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation Committee to write our words for us.


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Horacio Grana was a retired member of the Carpenters Local Union 1506 in Los Angeles.


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Union Plain Facts
PO Box 1780
Thousand Oaks, CA 91358
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h7939@earthlink.net
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