GREAT NEWS: AFL-CIO Facing Major Financial Woes

AP ^ | November 28, 2003 | LEIGH STROPE

[nwrep]

WASHINGTON - The AFL-CIO is enduring a budget shortfall so severe that its own workers are taking two days of unpaid leave to avoid layoffs, even as the labor federation attempts to mobilize its largest-ever political campaign.

Dubbed "solidarity days," the days off were agreed to this past summer in contract negotiations between managers and the union representing about 200 workers at the AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization of 64 international unions. Managers also have agreed to take the unpaid time.

AFL-CIO spokeswoman Lane Windham said employees covered by the Newspaper Guild Local 32035 decided they would rather lose pay for two days than face layoffs caused by a "budget crunch."

Other belt-tightening measures are being taken in response to a dismal economy that slammed many unions with layoffs, and to launch a "do-or-die" election effort next year to defeat a cash-flush President Bush (news - web sites).

The number of potential layoffs was never discussed in the negotiations, said Deborah Weinstock, an AFL-CIO employee and a guild leader. "It didn't get to that point," she said.

Windham said that members of AFL-CIO-affiliated unions have been hit hard by the loss of 2.3 million jobs since January 2001, particularly in the manufacturing sector, which has slashed payrolls for 38 consecutive months.

Defeating Bush in 2004 has become a question of survival for organized labor. Union leaders maintain Bush is determined to destroy the political power of unions, and they see permanent damage in a second term.

"It's safe to say we will put as much as we possibly can of all of our resources into the political campaign," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

Some union presidents have asked Sweeney to trim fat from the AFL-CIO's overall budget and to apply any savings to the federation's political program.

With Bush expected to pocket over $200 million in campaign contributions, "I think we know that to be able to talk to our members and in some cases nonunion voters, we're going to need a lot of resources to be heard," said Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, the largest in the AFL-CIO.

About $5 million was diverted from the labor federation's organizing efforts to help fund what Sweeney said is "the biggest, earliest, most aggressive grass-roots political program in our history."

The federation has about $35 million budgeted for member mobilization and politics in the election cycle, Sweeney said. That's less than the $42 million spent in 2000.

But some union presidents are pushing for a $45 million budget that also would help fund several of the union-run political nonprofit groups that have been created to turn out Democratic voters.

Labor leaders early next year will consider levying on affiliate unions another surcharge of 4 cents per member per month — called a per-capita tax — to raise funds.

"We're going to put together as strong a financial resource package" as possible, Sweeney said.

But the tax hike could encounter some resistance. The same surcharge was approved for the 2002 election cycle — after much grumbling from some unions — and it was supposed to pay for the political program through 2005.

Some unions find they are strapped for cash. The United Food and Commercial Workers, for instance, is pouring money into the nearly two-month labor dispute in California between grocery chains and some 70,000 workers.

The union is drawing from a line of credit on its headquarters building in Washington to help fund strike benefits for workers and to pay for other costs, and it has asked other unions for financial support.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the second-largest union in the AFL-CIO, is cutting spending to raise more money for politics.

AFSCME is suspending raises for its employees in 2004 and directing the six-figure savings to politics, said President Gerald McEntee. Travel also is being restricted, including a ban on first-class tickets, and other cuts are being considered.

"We're telling people for 2004 we've got to postpone a lot of this — this is kind of a do-or-die situation," McEntee said.

[jmaroneps37]

After getting their ashes kicked in 94, it was "We'll spend everything we have to get back the Congress in 96!" They did and and they didn't. In 98 it was the same. In 00 it was the same. In 02 it was the same. In 04 it will be the same. It will continue to be the same until rat unions stop the socialist crap and work for their members' contracts and work place related issues instead. Fortunately, they won't ha ha ha!

[jmaroneps37]

One more thing, if ever there was a time to enforce Beck, this is it!! It would gease the slide of the rat unions right into the sewers!

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

...its own workers are taking two days of unpaid leave to avoid layoffs.

STRIKE!!!! They should picket the evil, rich, people taking their pay from them!!! Where is the protection for these poor laborers. They won't have enough money to buy little Johnnie Christmas presents this year!!! ACK!!! Liberal media where are you?!?!

[nwrep]

Year	% Work force	% Private	% Public	Total members	Private	Public
1948	31.8	34.7	12.1	14,271	13,591.0	680.9
1949	31.9	34.9	12.1	13,935	13,227.3	708.6
1950	31.6	34.6	12.3	14,294	13,550.4	743.8
1951	31.7	34.7	12.0	15,139	14,375.6	763.9
1952	32.0	35.2	12.0	15,632	14,839.0	793.0
1953	32.5	35.7	11.6	16,310	15,540.2	769.8
1954	32.3	35.6	11.4	15,808	15,035.9	772.6
1955	31.8	35.1	11.4	16,126	15,341.3	785.6
1956	31.4	34.7	11.1	16,446	15,641.0	805.0
1957	31.2	34.7	10.7	16,497	15,686.6	811.1
1958	30.3	33.9	10.6	15,570	14,736.0	834.5
1959	29.0	32.3	10.5	15,438	14,591.4	846.9
1960	28.6	31.9	10.8	15,516	14,613.4	902.7
1961	28.5	31.9	10.6	15,400	14,487.3	913.2
1962	30.4	31.6	24.3	16,893	14,731.9	2,161.9
1963	30.2	31.2	25.1	17,133	14,815.1	2,318.3
1964	30.2	31.0	26.0	17,597	15,101.6	2,495.6
1965	30.1	30.8	26.1	18,268	15,637.7	2,631.2
1966	29.6	30.3	26.1	18,922	16,110.8	2,811.2
1967	29.9	30.5	27.0	19,667	16,597.5	3,073.3
1968	29.5	29.9	27.3	20,017	16,782.2	3,235.2
1969	28.7	29.0	26.9	20,185	16,902.0	3,283.6
1970	29.6	29.1	32.0	20,990	16,978.3	4,014.0
1971	29.1	28.2	33.0	20,711	16,460.5	4,250.6
1972	28.8	27.3	35.4	21,205	16,484.9	4,720.9
1973	28.5	26.6	37.0	21,881	16,803.5	5,077.8
1974	28.3	26.2	38.0	22,165	16,780.8	5,384.6
1975	28.9	26.3	39.6	22,207	16,397.4	5,809.6
1976	27.9	25.1	40.2	22,153	16,172.7	5,980.3
1977	26.2	23.6	38.1	21,632	15,875.8	5,756.3
1978	25.1	22.5	36.7	21,756	16,004.5	5,752.0
1979	24.5	22.0	36.4	22,025	16,225.9	5,799.5
1980	23.2	20.6	35.1	20,968	15,273.4	5,694.8
1981	22.6	19.9	35.4	20,646	14,973.6	5,673.1
1982	21.9	19.0	35.2	19,571	14,006.9	5,564.5
1983	20.7	17.8	34.4	18,633	13,222.9	5,410.7
1984	18.8	15.5	35.8	17,340	11,647.0	5,654.0
1985	18.0	14.6	35.8	16,996	11,227.0	5,740.0
1986	17.5	14.0	36.0	16,975	11,051.0	5,888.0
1987	17.0	13.4	36.0	16,913	10,826.0	6,055.0
1988	16.8	12.9	36.7	17,002	10,674.0	6,298.0
1989	16.4	12.4	36.7	16,960	10,520.0	6,422.0
1990	16.1	12.1	36.5	16,740	10,227.0	6,484.0
1991	16.1	11.9	36.9	16,568	9,909.0	6,627.0
1992	15.8	11.5	36.7	16,390	9,703.0	6,650.0
1993	15.8	11.2	37.7	16,598	9,557	7,018
1994	15.5	10.9	38.7	16,748	9,620	7,094
1995	14.9	10.4	37.8	16,326	9,400	6,926
1996	14.5	10.2	37.6	16,269	9,385	6,854
1997	14.1	9.7	37.2	16,110	9,327	6,747
1998	13.9	9.5	37.5	16,211	9,306	6,905
1999	13.9	9.4	37.3	16,477	9,419	7,058
2000	13.5	9.0	37.5	16,258	9,148	7,110
2001	13.5	9.0	37.4	16,275	9,113	7,162
2002	13.2	8.5	37.5	16,107	8,756	7,351

[cksharks]

I spit all over my screen. :-}}

[rabidralph]

Does this mean they may have to intimidate voters on election day without pay??!!

[hgro]

What a shock. The comrades are not so good at managing finances.

Not when their crooked, corrupt leaders are stuffing their own products with money ripped off the workers.

[surely_you_jest]

In a few years after Sweeny has retired(or we can hope be thrown out of the job), people will look upon his tenure as a overall disaster.

Personally, I hope Sweeny stay on a good, long time, and continues to bleed these guys white, until all of their lines of credit and other financial assets are gone, and they have absolutely nothing to show for it. Then, and only then, will it be time for Sweeny to go. Or join Hoffa. Whatever.

[Ben Hecks]

"The affected AFL-CIO workers should form a union."

....or get a good trial lawyer and file a class-action lawsuit against the AFL-CIO.

[JNB]

Having been in situations where the pendulum has swung far too much to the empolyer side, I see that there is a need for unions, but at least the AFL-CIO just does not care about workers in the trenches, all they care about is pushing whatever fashionable program upper middle class againg hippies want to push, even if it is against the intrests of the workers inm the trenches. I know many Freepers bitterly disagree with the need for unions, but they exist(at least on paper) to support the workers and stand up for workers), but in reality as another poster said, today they are a organisation of elites who have views supporting abortion, opposing gun rights, supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants(a postion that ironically further rots the postion of private sector workers and any attempt to unionise there), but yet lacked the will to take so called pro worker Democrats to task when the the approvale for Chinas addmitence for the WTO was up in congress in the summer of 2000.

[AZFolks]

I really have empathy for the workers who have been laid off. However, this story has two sides. The AFL-CIO has made American labor (and subsequently American made products) very expensive. I read an article in USA Today comparing American auto salaries with foreign auto salaries. The Americans averaged $50 per hour. This is just too much for unskilled labor. Our only hope is to move American workers into high tech jobs but there are not enough Americans taking advantage of the opportunity. My son got a masters in math and confided in me that he was the only candidate in his group who had English as his first language.

[JNB]

The pension costs are one reason why US laor for auto making is so high, in terms of take home pay, the median pay is in the $25 hr range, good pay, but less than what Japanese and European auto workers make per hour, and no I am not saying $25 hr is bad at all, just saying the uS is not the only high cost labor market.

As for the US educational feild, that is another whole ball of wax in why so few American students take the science track at universities, though many universities seem to have a bias against American born citizens in their effort to become more "worldly", also the fees at many universties have gone up far more rapidly than inflation for at leats 20 years, pricing many students out of universities.

Also for the last 20 years, the percentage of Americans getting 4 years degrees has not gone up much, still at around 25%, and that reality is not going to change. Political reality states that if jobs for even skilled labor for people with 2 year or technical school degrees dry up, and the only good paying jobs are in feilds that require 4A+ year degrees, somthing will give down the road. The present situation with the employment picture and how the economy is currently being ran is not politically sustainable in the long run.

Lastly, and this was soley due to the Clinton admin, specifically Robert Rubin, the moronic strong dollar policy put in place in late 95, and ramped up during the Asian crisis in 97, in no small part designed to mask the impact of inflation(and help Clintons poll numbers), played a far larger role in pricing American products out of many markets. I remeber in 95, there were many news stories about the revived American industrial base, and 95 was the last year of the weak dollar policy.