UFCW Local in California Placed Under Trusteeship

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

CAMARILLO, Calif. — The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said yesterday that UFCW Local 1036 here has been placed under trusteeship following the local's failure to hold elections for new officers. A hearing will be scheduled in the next few weeks at which members of the local will be able to speak for or against the imposition of a trusteeship. Local 1036 represents more than 11,600 grocery workers in Central California. In imposing the trusteeship, the international removed the officers in place, including George Hartwell, who had served as president of the local since 1992, and assigned Sean Barclay, international vice president and director of UFCW Region 8, Western, as trustee, with responsibility to restore democratic procedures to the local, protect its funds and property, and assure that it fulfills its obligations to its members, a spokeswoman for the international said. However, members should see no difference in day-to-day life under the trusteeship, the spokeswoman added. She said the situation that led to the trusteeship stemmed from the decision by members of the local to turn down an offer last October to merge with UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles. Once the merger had been rejected, the local's executive board — which had endorsed the merger — indicated it had no intention of conducting elections, prompting the international to declare an emergency situation and put the local under the trusteeship. The UFCW spokeswoman told SN trusteeships can last for anywhere from 12 to 18 months.

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