William Harrigan's By-Laws Charges & Protest The recent changes to our Constitution and By-laws made by President Healy are an example of what an autocracy represents. For two years my proposals to amend the Constitution and By-laws were ignored, "lost", "overlooked" or simply thrown away. Most of you are not aware that President Healy ignored my By-laws proposals which is, in and of itself,  a deliberate violation of the By-laws. Only his proposals were presented as credible. All of the recent changes benefited him and only him, not the general membership! We are all supposed to have the opportunity to participate in our union's affairs. Below is a time-line of my attempts to participate in our union. I was left with no choice but to to file charges against President Healy and Secretary-Treasurer Larsen because they denied me the basic right to participate in our union. I am forcing our union to become a real democracy. Charges January 27, 2006: I received a letter from Secretary-Treasurer Larsen claiming that he never received my 2005 By-laws proposals and stating that I should send them again. April 26, 2006: I once again sent my By-laws proposals by certified mail (with return receipt) to Secretary-Treasurer Larsen to make absolutely sure that he received them. During this whole time I thought my By-laws proposals were being processed properly. February 13, 2007: I sent a letter to Secretary-Treasurer Larsen inquiring about the status of my proposals. I told him that it had come to my attention that my proposals were not read to the membership at the monthly meeting, as is required by the rules. I received no response. March 30, 2007: I sent a letter to the Executive Board charging President Healy and Secretary-Treasurer Larsen with violating my union rights and requesting an explanation as to why my proposals were never processed. April 9, 2007: I received a brief letter from Secretary-Treasurer Larsen (not the Executive Board) denying my charges. No explanation was offered. April 30, 2007: I sent a letter to I.L.A. President John Bowers inquiring about both my By-laws proposals and the legality of the recent changes. May 2, 2007: At the monthly 333 meeting member Edward Philip tried to read my appeal to the membership, but was prevented from doing so by President Healy. May 9, 2007: I sent my appeal to United Marine Division Secretary-Treasurer William Hennessey. May 22, 2007: After receiving no response, I went ahead and sent my appeal to the I.L.A.'s N.Y./N.J. District Council. May 29, 2007: I finally received a letter from U.M.D. Secretary-Treasurer William Hennessey stating that he was going to refer my charges to the I.L.A. June 27, 2007: I received a letter from I.L.A. N.Y./N.J. District Councilman Ronald Capri that they would hear my charges at a meeting on July 31, 2007. December 26, 2007: Some 6 months later, despite being told by I.L.A. Counsel Elizabeth Alexandra that the committee had ruled in my favor, I received their decision stating that President Healy and Secretary-Treasurer Larsen were not to blame but that the By-laws committee should have been charged instead. And still no explanation as to what happened to my By-laws proposals.  In addition to these letters I had many phone conversations with the I.L.A., as well as their ethics counsel, Judge Mollen. The Judge was hired to oversee the conduct of the I.L.A. because of its troubled past. Even if President Healy and Secretary-Treasurer Larsen were found to have violated my rights it remains very unclear how, or even if, they would they been penalized for it by the I.L.A. Now on to the protest I filed about the recent by-laws changes. Please click the the By-Laws Changes! tab on this site to read a detailed analysis of what the Healy-machine has done to rewrite the rules behind your back. Protest April 30, 2007: I sent a letter to I.L.A. President John Bowers asking if President Healy is going to extend his term by 6 months. May 9, 2007: I received a response from President Bowers informing me that none of the amendments passed extended the President's term. So I assumed that all nominations will be done on time in January. June 6, 2007: I sent a letter back to I.L.A. President Bowers requesting that he clearly state for the record when the election will take place for the Presidency of Local 333 and the other union offices. I received no response. In July received a copy of the new by-laws in the mail. Many pages were missing, especially those dealing with eligibility of members. July 19, 2007: I filed a protest with 333's Executive Board regarding the new changes to Local 333's Constitution and By-laws. These changes affect the eligibility of members that wish to vote or run for union office and should not have happened with an election around the corner. I finally received a complete copy of the new By-laws. The Executive Board never responded to my protest. August 15, 2007: I sent a letter to U.M.D. Secretary-Treasurer William Hennessey with my protest and asked if President Healy was going to be allowed to run split elections. I received no response. August 17, 2007: I sent a letter to the new I.L.A. President Richard Hughes with my protest and once again asked if President Healy was going to be allowed to run split elections. I received no response. August 31, 2007: I sent a letter to Local 333 Secretary-Treasurer Chris Larsen asking if they intended to run split elections. I received no response. September 26, 2007: I received a letter from the I.L.A. stating that they had scheduled a hearing for my protest on October 9, 2007. October 9, 2007: At the hearing neither President John Healy, nor the lawyer defending him (which we all paid for!), would answer my questions about the upcoming Local 333 elections. October 13, 2007: I sent another letter to I.L.A. President Richard Hughes asking if President John Healy would be allowed to run split elections. October 29, 2007: I finally received a response from I.L.A. President Richard Hughes stating that he couldn't comment on the issue of when our election would be held because he wasn't present at the hearing on Oct. 9th. November 13, 2007: I received a letter from the I.L.A regarding my protest. In their report they ruled that these changes don't affect me or anyone I know. They stated that my request was premature and that if members feel disenfranchised during our nominations and election then they should file a protest themselves. I made clear my intentions to take my complaints to the Department of Labor if necessary. Still the I.L.A. would not answer the simple question of exactly when elections for all Local 333 offices will be held. If I'm elected President I promise to make sure that no member of Local 333 will ever have to go through what I've had to endure just to get an answer to a simple and reasonable question. In closing, let me explain that my protest (along with the pressure brought to bear against Local 333 leadership by the Harbor Herald and the K-Sea Info websites) did have the desired effect. Recently, Local 333 officials sent out a letter announcing that our elections would be held on time and that the new by-law changes will not take effect until after this election. Say what you want about me, but I'm not a quitter. And don't forget that you have the power to make sure those changes never have a chance to take effect. Now let's have an election! Thank you for your continued interest and support. William Harrigan - Candidate for President