ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis carpenters union council was dissolved "to increase oversight of operations," the Chicago branch, which has assumed control locally, said Thursday.
Media reports Tuesday said that the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council had been dissolved, and its leader, Executive Secretary-Treasurer Albert Bond, ousted, with the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters taking over locally.
A Thursday statement from the Chicago council said the move would boost its membership by 20,000, to more than 50,000. It also emphasized that the restructuring won't impact the terms of current collective bargaining agreements, including the payment of wages and fringe benefit contributions.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America's general president, Douglas McCarron, said in the statement that "the decision was made as a means to increase oversight of operations, reduce costs, maximize available resources and increase market competitiveness."
And the Chicago Regional Council's executive secretary-treasurer, Gary Perinar, said in the statement that he looks "forward to building a long and productive working relationship with the representatives, staff, instructors, contractors and members of the former St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council."
"This reorganization presents real opportunities to increase our market share above and beyond our 70 percent target goal," he continued. "It's a win for our signatory contractors, it's a win for the communities in which we live and work, and most importantly, it's a win for our members."
A spokesman for the Chicago council, Phil Davidson, referred questions to the union's Washington, D.C., headquarters, which didn't return calls.
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