Herman Benson We Dedicate This Journal to the Memory of Revella Benson

t eAscain o no eocaypeet Q,, 4 e ga~tai "100" Saudy arh2,19 AfRlNO y0 9j :'y Herman Benson We dedicate this journal to the memory of Revella Benson. We miss her wonderful disposition, her wise counsel, and her deep devotion to the cause. Benson in AUD by Judith R. Schneider There are the outward aspects. The clothes that from time to time reach the high water level of "Casual." The pink flowered rayon shorts for when it's hot. The red suspenders (my personal favorite) for very special occasions. AUD moved up from Herman's two roomettes and a hall "starter" on Union Square to a Brooklyn floor through in a former funeral parlor with stained glass and a private coffin lift. Along the way Herman let go the three legged chairs he found on the street and made serviceable. But our "very authentic" decor (Tony Ramirez's benevolent characterization) still contains some of the leavings of New York including lots of handicapped umbrellas that were too good to remain in the custody of the Department of Sanitation. That's the easy to see, fun to say part. But there's another part - the day in day out. Such as -AUD's recalcitrant copier recently provoked from me a frustrated " What's that ***** little red man [lit on the panel]". Henry's somber and serious reply: "The little red man - he's really trouble. Only Herman can get rid of that little red man." And- "Herman, was there any organized reform group in the Pacific Northwest in the Carpenters in the 60's?" "Herman, would you translate this arbitration decision from Quebec?" "Herman, how do you buy Treasury notes?" "What was the breakdown in the Abel- McDonald race?" "What did you think of the Fagles Odyssey translation? ..." We're now on a restricted two days a week diet of that part. But for those who come for help, and in the construction of AUD to democratize the labor movement -there was and is Herman's powerful mind and unique expression, awesome ability to exclude the extraneous, utter reliability, adherence to principle, back- bone, uncommon common sense. That's the prime part, the chief thing. The other day some IBEW rank and file came by to talk about no work for years and other things. One, passing in search of a place to smoke, let out "Talking to that guy - it's like talking to Yoda." Precisely. Herman Benson's problem by Clyde Summers Herman Benson has a problem. He has had the problem for 40 years. His problem is that he believes too much in unions. He believes that the purpose of unions is to bring a measure of democracy to their members' working lives. He believes that unions can serve that purpose only if they are themselves democratic, and that democracy in unions requires the protection of voices of dissent within the union. He believes that those who question, criticize or oppose prevalent policies or incumbent officers are the leaven in an otherwise sour loaf of bureaucratic domination and control. For 40 years he has devoted himself to helping protect and promote that leaven in the loaf. For that we honor him. Herman Benson has a problem, but it is not really his problem, it is the union movement's problem. It is the unions' problem of entrenched administration, officers who would silence those who criticize, repress those who oppose, and manipulate union procedures to maintain control - all with the self-certain confidence that they know what is best for the members. For 40 years, Herman has sought to prod, cajole and shame the union movement into facing its problem and correcting it. For that the officialdom of the labor movement has not honored him. Herman's great contribution has been in providing a working symbol of the moral imperative and practical importance in union democracy. He has provided a place where lonely union reformers can turn for understanding, encouragement and needed help. Because of him and his successor, Susan Jennik, the AUD is widely known and respected among union reformers, and a hair shirt for union officials. A secondary but significant contribution is less widely recognized. When Herman began union dissidents could not find a lawyer who would defend their rights in court. Management lawyers, of course, could not be used because they bore the mark of Cain, and union lawyers could not help for they would most surely lose their union clients. Two outstanding exceptions in New York were John Harold and Burton Hall. Today the AUD has built a network of lawyers to whom union reformers can turn, and who will pursue cases regardless of fees. That network extends from coast to coast. It most likely would not have developed without Herman's work. Herman's problem, for all his work, still exists. Democracy has been restored in some unions, and more union members assert their democratic rights. But many unions have not yet heard the message, or even seen the handwriting on the wall. They still consider those who press for more democracy in unions as fools or foes. Last year, in response to a call for "rebuilding the labor intellectual alliance," Herman, a working intellectual who had devoted 40 years to keeping alive the core purpose of the labor movement but who had been shunned by its leaders because he believed too much in union democracy, proclaimed the creed which had sustained him and should sustain us. "Support to labor does not necessarily mean endorsement only of what emanates from its leadership. Unions will inspire enthusiastic public support when they battle for justice and democracy, when they defend workers against corporate greed; but union officials are not exempt from public criticism when they undercut the democratic rights of their own members. True solidarity with labor entails solidarity with those who fight within the labor movement for fair elections, fair hiring halls, for union democracy, against corruption, even when it is directed against the establishment." Now Herman's problem is our problem. May we do a fraction as much to resolve it. Herman Benson, the friend we needed by Larry O'Toole, leader MEBA, Members Advocating Democracy During a lifetime one meets one or two individuals whose character and integrity make them stand above the rest. I am fortunate to know such a person. His name is Herman Benson. I first heard of Herman in 1972 when I read a newspaper article about the election for President of the United Mine Workers. The article told how Herman Benson, who headed the Association for Union Democracy, helped Arnold Miller get a fair election with his challenge to the incumbent president, WA. "Tony" Boyle. I first met Herman in 1990 when the Marine Engineer's Beneficial Association's (M.E.B.A.) reform group, the MAD Committee, began organizing a challenge to the corrupt regime of the incumbent president, Gene Defries, for the 1990 election. I had kept the newspaper article about the Mineworkers' election in my file since 1972, because I knew the day would come when a person such as Herman Benson might be helpful to MEBA members seeking democracy in our union. So in 1990, 18 years later I called New York telephone information. To my surprise AUD was still in operation and to my greater delight Herman Benson was still there. I drove from my home in upstate Connecticut to AUD in Brooklyn. The office was filled with old filing cabinets, dim lighting and men and women busy on phones. I saw dedicated people working with little or no resources aiding members with union democracy problems whose solution appeared hopeless. I couldn't help at first but be skeptical of an organization whose people worked with limited assets, on issues which seemed so intractable. I found out that it was Herman Benson's tireless leadership that inspired those dedicated workers. Herman had a rough demeanor but walked with an air of confidence. His face was that of someone who had been through many tough situations but survived. His straight way of talking told me that he could help us; his eyes said that I could trust him. Herman was familiar with MEBA and all of the maritime unions. He did not hold back when he described the obstacles that we would have to overcome. His pamphlet, How to Get an Honest Union Election, became a guidebook for the MAD committee. In addition to his advice, knowing that his organization was there as a guardian when the odds were against us, encouraged the MAD committee to continue. The MAD committee candidates won in the 1990 election, but it took two more years before MEBA members were in full control of their union. Defeated officials of the Defries regime were found guilty in federal court of racketeering and mail fraud and received four to five years in jail and heavy fines. MEBA owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Herman Benson and AUD. Life with Herman by Susan Jennik First met Herman Benson around 1976. I was working at the J.J. Case Co. in Racine, Wisconsin and was a something dissident member of the UAW. As I was planning a trip to New York City, my fellow malcontents instructed me to visit AUD and seek an audience with someone on staff, or even the revered Herman Benson. With great trepidation I made my way to Park Avenue South. There, amid cardboard boxes, battered file cabinets, and a few manual typewriters, was an elderly man shouting to someone on the phone. He motioned to me to find a place to sit, which I did by moving some papers off a chair.

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