In his first interview since he was voted out as president of one of Colorado’s largest unions, Ernie Duran Jr. said Thursday he will step down when his term expires at the end of the year even if his planned challenge of the election results hasn’t been resolved.
Duran said he would continue his fight against the results of the election, however.
Duran’s re-election bid was marred by allegations of nepotism and misuse of union funds under his watch. Members this week elected rank-and-file challenger Kim Cordova as their new president and approved her entire slate of officers and board members.
“I’ve always said it’s a democracy,” said Duran, the longest-standing president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union, which represents 23,000 members, including 17,000 grocery-store workers.
Duran vowed not to use union dues to fund a fight to effectively overturn the wishes of his own membership and seek a new election.
“Anything that’s related to the challenge will be personal money,” he said.
That contradicts remarks made Wednesday by his daughter, union attorney Crisanta Duran. She said some union dues would be used to fund the fight because defamatory claims were allegedly made against the “organization as a whole.” She said the dispute will initially be filed with the UFCW International Union in Washington, D.C., and then with the U.S. Department of Labor if action hasn’t been taken in three months.
Ernie Duran said the challenge will cost an “insignificant amount” of money. In 2007, Duran, his daughter and his son earned six-figure salaries working for the union, according to Labor Department records.
The UFCW Local 7 is negotiating new contracts on behalf of King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons workers. King Soopers and Safeway workers are in the process of voting on a contract offer.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
