Union Leaders Approve Plan For AFL-CIO’s Future
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WASHINGTON – Union leaders who govern the AFL-CIO voted yesterday to support President John Sweeney’s plans to boost organizing efforts and continue political activities for pro-labor candidates and policies, but leaders representing a coalition of five dissident unions voted against Mr. Sweeney’s proposals.
The coalition of unions challenging Mr. Sweeney picked up strength yesterday when the main national carpenter’s union joined the effort to challenge the AFL-CIO. The carpenters’ union broke away from the AFL-CIO in 2001.
After the meeting of the 54-member executive council, Mr. Sweeney met for about 90 minutes with leaders of the dissident group.
The AFL-CIO, which represents almost 60 unions with 13 million members, has substantial differences with the five dissident unions, which represent more than 5 million of that total.
The dissident unions – the Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, United Food and Commercial Workers, Unite Here, and Laborers’ International Union – joined in mid-June to form an alliance called the Change to Win Coalition.
“Today’s executive council meeting was another exercise in reinforcing the status quo,” said a coalition statement.
Union leaders for the AFL-CIO and the dissidents spelled out the different directions they think the labor movement should go, and they agreed to talk more in the future.
“Things are moving in a positive direction,” Mr. Sweeney said later. “We have to iron out the differences we have and provide the resources to do these programs.”
Mr. Sweeney’s plan includes a $22.5 million organizing fund, with up to two thirds of the money, $15 million, to be returned as rebates to union affiliates that have met high standards in changing their union to organize. The dissidents want to commit about three times that much money to rebates to unions for organizing.
The dissident unions want to focus more on organizing and on being the voice of workers, saying the AFL-CIO has been too focused on politicians.
Mr. Sweeney maintains that the AFL-CIO must try to build union strength at the same time it commits substantial resources to political efforts on behalf of pro-labor candidates and legislation.
