Rank-and-file members of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) should demand that the leaders of their union either settle their differences and get on with doing the job they were elected to do, or request that the Department of Labour conduct new elections to put in place an administration that would place the welfare of the union's members above their personal feud.

Actually, it may be too late for the acrimonious battle that has erupted between the top executives of the union and eight members of the union's executive council to be resolved amicably, therefore holding new elections may now be the only alternative.

Indeed, it is now clear that union president Roy Colebrook, secretary general Leo Douglas and treasurer Basil McKenzie, who were suspended by the executive council members several weeks ago, are determined to defy that action, based on their claim that the suspension was unconstitutional, and that president Colebrook is the only person sitting on the executive council who can call an official meeting.

An indication of just how bitter this dispute has become is the unprecedented "firing" of Lionel Morley, the union's second vice-president in charge of Grand Bahama, as an employee of the union, although Morley retains his position as second vice-president, to which he was elected.

Treasurer McKenzie confirmed yesterday that Morley was fired as an "organizer some months ago," and he sought to justify his dismissal by claiming that "being an elected member of the union does not mean you have to work for the union."

Of course, whether Colebrook had the authority to fire Morley is another matter. For one thing, Colebrook himself was elected by the same members who elected Morley, and if he has the power to fire Morley, then who has the authority to fire him?

We certainly think that this power rests with the executive council, which has voted to suspend Colebrook. But he is refusing to abide by that suspension because he says they do not have the constitutional right to suspend him. Something definitely is wrong with this scenario. Is Colebrook suggesting that no matter what he does, he cannot be suspended unless that decision is made at an official meeting that he calls?

We have noted editorially on more than one occasion that this power struggle within the BHCAWU has something to do with the fact that it is arguably the richest trade union in the country. With a membership estimated to be around 7,000 people who each have $10 a week in dues automatically deducted from their salaries, the union collects more than $3 million annually in dues.

Questions as to how this money is being spent were raised by the executive council when they suspended the three top officers. This surely is a serious enough matter for each member of the union to demand that they be given some answers as to how their dues are being spent, aside from being used to pay hefty salaries to its executives. Top executives in the union reportedly are among the highest paid "professionals" in this country, with the president's salary reportedly in the high six figures.

Keep in mind that all the executives in the union were once employed in the hotel industry, at jobs that paid only a small fraction of what they now make as union leaders. That's certainly something for the dues-paying members of the union to ponder as this squabble among executives of the union continues to play out in public, and then take the appropriate action whenever the next election is held.