[ilbegone]

In Southern California, I believe the Carpenter's union to be corrupt and a "union" in name only - interested only in dues to support the union "leadership".

I've spoke with a number of people who are or were members of the Carpenter Union in Riverside, it seems that the jobs nearly all go to "Latinos", most of those of whom I have have had contact I observed to be "English challenged". One, a white guy who could physically pass for a light colored Mexican and has a surname which sounds "Latino" was advised to take advantage of it as an apprentice because he wouldn't be working much as a journeyman otherwise. Note that that hall allows members to solicit their own work - no control.

I believe quite a few of the unions in California to be such. The teamsters in Southern California are all about Amnesty, while Teamster leader James P. Hoffa recently came out with a newspaper commentary which decried Mexican trucking incursion into the United State - practically described Mexican nationals as job thieves.

AFL-CIO Poobah Richard Trumko wrote an article I viewed in Spanish which blasted Arizona's 1070 bill.

Southern California Local 47 IBEW has a Spanish Language insert in its monthly newspaper geared towards non English speaking tree trimmers which often has articles which may enrage the general membership if they were printed in English.

A former director for the IBEW-NECA Outside Apprenticeship has been alleged to favor race over quality concerning awarding apprenticeships, and to give "Latinos" test answers to those who couldn't pass otherwise. I understand the questions were all changed after he left.

Go to just about any construction job in Southern California and see what language is spoken on the job, it often isn't English and I would wager that most were illegal at first.