Oct 02, 2008 - 12:58 PM

By Melissa Mancini and Jeff Mitchell

OSHAWA -- Recent endorsements of an NDP candidate by Canadian Auto Workers officials in Oshawa have led an activist to accuse the union local of breaching rules limiting political involvement.

Alan Clarke, who in the mid-90s spearheaded an effort to limit Local 222's support of the NDP, said a rally at the union hall, along with endorsements by local president Chris Buckley, is in contravention of a binding referendum supported by CAW members.

Mr. Clarke was sharply critical of a Sept. 24 rally at Local 222's Phillip Murray Drive hall during which Oshawa riding NDP candidate Mike Shields -- a former president of the local -- appeared. During the rally Mr. Buckley called on union members to vote against the Conservative government and held up Mr. Shields as a viable alternative for Oshawa.

CAW President Ken Lewenza also urged members to vote strategically to oust the Tory government before Mr. Shields spoke to the crowd.

Some people present wore "We Like Mike" buttons.

While Mr. Buckley argued he wasn't specifically endorsing a candidate or party, Mr. Clarke contends the event at the union hall was a clear endorsement by the union.

Mr. Shields's very presence in the hall contravenes the spirit of the 1993 referendum, in which a majority of CAW members who voted supported the ban on political endorsements, Mr. Clarke said.

"There's no way they should have had (Mr. Shields) in," Mr. Clarke said.

"It was just a rally."

He accused Mr. Buckley of flouting the referendum results.

"It sure looks like they, as the CAW executive members, are supporting (Mr. Shields)," he said.

Mr. Buckley dismissed the claims, saying the union isn't financially backing Mr. Shields's bid and therefore is not breaching the referendum.

"This is not about promoting a political party," Mr. Buckley said. "When Ken Lewenza was in Oshawa last week we were not promoting a political party. We are promoting one of our own members in his bid to be elected to Ottawa to represent Oshawa."

The Sept. 24 rally was part of the union's ongoing "Made in Canada Matters" campaign to highlight issues facing the manufacturing sector, Mr. Buckley said.

Mr. Clarke has taken his union to task on this issue before, most notably during the federal election of 2006 when he protested Mr. Buckley's public endorsement of then-NDP candidate Sid Ryan by circulating pamphlets at the Oshawa GM plant.

That action led to charges being laid against Mr. Clarke under the Canada Elections Act, and a lawsuit by Mr. Ryan.

Mr. Clarke was acquitted of the Elections Act charges after a trial in Oshawa earlier this year. The lawsuit -- Mr. Clarke countersued Mr. Ryan -- has yet to be resolved.