How much control do the local unions have in contract negotiations as opposed to control from Detroit?
All. Bill Casstevens gets maligned a lot by many people, and so does the UAW International. However, the bottom line is that the central bargaining committee controls what goes on in negotiations. Politically its real easy for Jerry Brown to use Bill Casstevents and the UAW International as a scapegoat. Bill Casstevens can make suggestions and can do some behind-closed-doors negotiating, but the central bargaining committee has to vote to okay his suggestions. I don’t know what the current numbers are, but it used to be that Local 974 had so many members that they overwhelmed the other locals; so is Local 974 wanted something, they shoved it in some of the other local unions’ faces. The local unions, and particularly Local 974, have a tremendous influence over what goes on. I really feel that the UAW, particularly on a local level, is trying to save face. They also feel that is Caterpillar is able to dominate negotiations to the point (in my opinion) that they have so far, the that’s a
