The AFL-CIO has decided to "indefinitely" delay punitive action against the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBC), which stopped paying dues to the labor federation in 2001.

The Carpenters broke away from the AFL-CIO primarily over a dispute in how the federation spends dues money on organizing. According to the federation's constitution, any international union that disaffiliates is not allowed to remain in any subordinate body of the AFL-CIO - which effectively banned the Carpenters from the building trades.

Despite the situation at the AFL-CIO, the Carpenters and the rest of the building trades came to a side agreement last December that kept the UBC in the fold of the Building Trades Department - but without the AFL-CIO's blessing.

Now AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and the Executive Council have effectively decided to cast a blind eye to the rulebook while their talks continue with the Carpenters, the largest union in the building trades.

"The 15 affiliated unions of the Building Trades Department respect the fact that President Sweeney is under a constitutional obligation to take certain actions relative to the Carpenters' affiliation issue," said Building Trades Department President Edward Sullivan. "However, we also appreciate his support of our proposal to hold the mandated disaffiliation of the UBC in abeyance indefinitely. In the intervening time we are confident that remaining issues of concern between the AFL-CIO and the UBC will be addressed and resolved to everyone's satisfaction."

In May 1996 the Michigan Regional Carpenters Council (MRCC) stopped paying per capita tax to the Greater Detroit and Michigan Building Trades councils, effectively withdrawing from those organizations. The MRCC continues to be disaffiliated with all of the state's building trades.

While the Carpenters International Union has re-affiliated with the national building trades, that union left the decision up to local unions to re-join local building trades councils.

"The construction industry is complicated and unique," Sullivan said. "The building trades can only survive with all our crafts united in and strengthened by cooperative efforts. For any of our affiliates to be disaffiliated with the building trades would be at this time detrimental to the construction trades and a setback for the labor movement."