January, 1999
Labor Party Press
Constitutional
Debate
(story continued from page eight)
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| Photo ©Michael Kaufman, Impact Visuals |
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On the convention’s last day, delegates finally
got to address an issue some of them had been talking about in the hallways all convention
long: when the next convention would be.
The subject was put on the floor by Larry
Adams, elected chair of the convention’s Constitution Committee. But first, Adams
summarized the intent of the proposals his committee had not adopted or referred. He noted
that a proposal calling for a youth section was incorporated into the report of the
Organizing Committee, and that all three convention committees recommended that the Labor
Party should try to ensure that youth are represented on the Labor Party’s Interim
National Council.
Delegates passed several proposed changes to the Labor Party Implementation Agreement. One change
was particularly substantive: it gave each of the five chapter representatives on the INC
one vote rather than one-fifth of a vote on the Council.
Then Adams turned to the issue of convention timing. The Labor
Party’s Executive Board had requested a change in the Constitution to allow the INC
to determine the date of the next Labor Party convention. The Constitution Committee
rejected this open-ended approach, and proposed instead that the convention would be held
"at least once every five years."
Adams said his committee was aware that conventions take "human and
financial resources that need to be devoted to implementing our program." However, he
said, "the open-ended convention date was not acceptable. And so we tried to
reconcile these different interests."
LP Organizer Tony Mazzocchi explained the Executive Board’s
reasoning: "This convention is about twice the size of most union conventions. The
material resources it took are very obvious. We had three people working on this
convention, while a union might have 30. Our proposal is not a device to prevent
democratic expression — it’s a proposal to allow the party to function and to
carry out our program. I spent seven months on the convention when I should have been out
in the field organizing support."
OCAW District 8 President Mark Dudzic proposed an amendment to the
Constitution Committee’s proposal calling for a convention in three-and-a-half years,
in the spring of 2002. Argued Dudzic: "I have the deepest respect for what’s
involved in setting up a convention like this, and the work it takes by the national
office, the state Labor Parties and chapters. But that’s a pragmatic issue,
fundamentally. I think there’s an issue of principle involved here: I’m very
concerned about setting a precedent at this crucial period that will restrict our ability
to demonstrate our democratic will."
Adams announced that the Constitution Committee accepted Dudzic’s
proposal as a friendly amendment. OCAW president Bob Wages said, laughingly, "Well, I
think you just redefined what a friendly amendment is, but we’ll take it."
After some discussion, delegates voted strongly in favor of the amendment,
and the next convention was set for the spring of 2002.
The convention closed shortly afterwards, with delegates throughout the
hall clasping hands and singing "Solidarity Forever."
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