It was deja vu all over again last month when AFSCME Local 2401 was forced to re-run the election of its officers due to yet another protest by one unhappy member. Not suprisingly, the results were almost exactly the same as the election last June:
President: Sabrina Brown (current president) – Winner! -90 votes
Juan Abraham (challenger) – 16 votes
Vice President: Stella Dorn (current vice-president) – Winner! -85 votes
Charles Barbour Jr. (challenger) – 19 votes
Recording Secretary: Roger Scott (current recording secretary) – Winner! – 84 votes
Twila Mitchell (challenger) – 19 votes
(Secretary-Treasurer, Wayne Enoch, ran unopposed and was not affected by the re-run)
The election results clearly show that the Local 2401 members who know what’s going on in their union are behind the current leadership. President Sabrina Brown’s motto for the election was “Can’t stop us now…we’re on the move!” and that has clearly been the case since she took the reins of 2401 three years ago. There have been battles won, and battles lost in that time, but AFSCME Local 2401’s president has shown that she is a leader in fighting for justice for DC’s working class…and a thorn in the side of anyone who tries to get in the way of that justice. The voting members of 2401 clearly see that, and have given President Brown and the rest of the leadership three more years to work on such issues as:
-Higher pay for DHS SSR’s
-Arbitrations
-Extensive changes to Local 2401’s Constitution
-Federal Law Suit Pending Hearing/ Health Care Finance.
-Signed Agreement with OAG
The protest to the election was initiated by the challenger to President Brown who, in the last election, also got a mere 16 votes. The protest and re-run was seen as frivilous by many in the local, who complained that their membership dues were wasted (for each election, the members have to be notified by mail, which costs the local somewhere around $1000 for printing and postage). The challenger (who has filed numerous protests against the local for various reasons since he was dismissed from the local 2401 Executive Board for non-attendance of meetings) has also filed a protest of the re-run election (more dues wasted??)
When will it end??
Be sure to give your congratulations to your leadership team for a job well done!
DC Union Power 