THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 10, 1995 TAG: 9501100302
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
The blue-collar labor union at Newport News Shipbuilding has agreed with the Department of Labor to rerun the election of some of its leaders.
The new election is the result of a member's challenge to the April election of the president, vice president, recording secretary and one of two guard positions in Local 8888 of the United Steelworkers of America, said Judy Boyd, the union's subdistrict director.
The election has been scheduled for Jan. 31, just days before the union's contract with the Peninsula shipyard expires on Feb. 5. The Steelworkers represent most of the 12,500 hourly laborers at the shipyard. The local won't disclose its actual membership.
The shipyard and the union are negotiating a new contract, and the company has said it is seeking concessions as it attempts to restructure in the wake of declining ship orders from the Navy.
``I just hate the fact that I have to deal with this right in the middle of the election,'' said Thomas Crudup, president of local 8888.
Crudup is concerned that the election will take away from the time he can spend on negotiations.
Boyd, who heads the negotiating committee, is not concerned that the new elections could detract from the negotiations. The elections and the negotiations are separate, unrelated processes, she said.
The union local agreed to rerun the elections to avoid a lengthy, disruptive inquiry into the charges, Boyd said.
The April elections were challenged by Raymond H. Coppedge, the incumbent president who lost by a 26-vote margin to Crudup, Crudup said.
The exact reason for the challenge remained unclear Monday. Coppedge alleged that Crudup hadaccess to the names of some voters that Coppedge didn't have access to, Crudup said.
Coppedge could not be reached Monday.
``It has not been established by the Department of Labor that violations have occurred that would have effected the election process,'' Boyd said.
Representatives of the Labor Department did not return telephone calls seeking comment Monday. The union's agreement is with the department's Office of the American Workplace.
The rerun election is only open to those who ran in the first election, Boyd said.
Other Local 8888 leaders elected in April who now face another election include Vice President Theo Howard, Recording Secretary Jan Hooks and Guard Cephas Clayton.
While the timing is bad for Crudup, he's taking a ``may-the-best-man-win'' approach. ``If the people do not feel like I've done enough in my eight months as president, that's a decision they have to make,'' he said. by CNB