Largest Union Decides to Bolt AFL-CIO

AP ^ | July 24, 2005 | RON FOURNIER

[West Coast Conservative]

The AFL-CIO succumbed to division Sunday, with its largest union deciding to bolt the 50-year-old federation and three others poised to do so in a dispute over how to reverse organized labor's long slide.

The four unions, representing nearly one-third of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members, announced they were boycotting the federation's convention that begins Monday, a step that was widely considered to be a precursor to leaving the federation.

They are part of the Coalition to Win, a group of seven unions vowing to reform and modernize the labor movement — outside the AFL-CIO if necessary. But many union presidents, labor experts and Democratic Party leaders fear the split will weaken the movement politically and hurt unionized workers who need a united and powerful ally against business interests and global competition.

The Service Employees International Union, with 1.8 million members, plans to announce Monday that it is leaving the AFL-CIO, said several labor officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the developments.

The Teamsters union was likely to disaffiliate at the same news conference, they said. Two other boycotting unions signaled similar intentions: United Food and Commercial Workers and UNITE HERE, a group of textile and hotel workers.

"Our differences are so fundamental and so principled that at this point I don't think there is a chance there will be a change of course," said UFCW President Joe Hansen.

Without directly saying so, coalition leaders seemed to be establishing the group as a newly minted rival of the AFL-CIO. "Today will be remembered as a rebirth of union strength in America," coalition chairwoman Anna Burger said.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, expected to easily win re-election over the objections of the dissidents, suggested the dissidents were spoiled sports, leaving after their demands were not met.

"It's a shame for working people that before the first vote has been cast, four unions have decided that if they can't win, they won't show up for the game," Sweeney said. The rhetoric was unusually personal, in part because dissident leader Andy Stern of the SEIU is a former protege of Sweeney's.

Gerald McEntee, president of a government employees' union with more than 1 million members, accused his boycotting colleagues of aiding labor's political foes. "The only people who happy about this are President Bush and his crowd," he said.

Rank-and-file members of the 52 non-boycotting AFL-CIO affiliates expressed confusion and anger over the action. "If there was ever a time we workers need to stick together, it's today," said Olegario Bustamante, a steelworker from Cicero, Ill.

The boycott means the unions will not pay $7 million in back dues to the AFL-CIO on Monday. If all four boycotting unions quit the federation, they would take about $35 million from the AFL-CIO, which has already been forced to layoff a quarter of its 400-person staff.

Two other unions that are part of the Change to Win Coalition did not plan to leave the Chicago convention: the Laborers International Union of North America and the United Farm Workers. They are the least likely of the coalition members to leave the AFL-CIO, though the Laborers show signs of edging that way, officials said.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the seventh member of the coalition, left the AFL-CIO in 2002.

Leaders of the dissident unions say the AFL-CIO leadership has failed to stop the steep decline in union membership. In addition to seeking the ouster of Sweeney, they have demanded more money for organizing, power to force mergers of smaller unions and other changes they say are key to adapting to vast changes in society and the economy.

Globalization, automation and the transition from an industrial-based economy have forced hundreds of thousands of unionized workers out of jobs, weakening labor's role in the workplace.

When the AFL-CIO formed 50 years ago, union membership was at its zenith with one of every three private-sector workers belonging to a labor group. Now, less than 8 percent of private-sector workers are unionized.

The dissidents largely represent workers in retail and service sectors, the heart of the emerging new U.S. economy. Sweeney's allies are primarily industrial unions whose workers are facing the brunt of global economic shifts.

A divided labor movement worries Democratic leaders who rely on the AFL-CIO's money and manpower on Election Day.

"Anything that sidetracks us from our goals ... is not healthy," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the House campaign committee.

In the 2004 campaign, unions ran nearly 260 phone banks and mailed out at least 30 million pieces of political literature in 16 states, mostly on behalf of Democrats.

Experts said the split might deepen labor's woes.

"Employer opposition to organizing might increase and I think that political opponents might feel emboldened, because they would see it as a sign of weakness," said Gary Chaison, industrial relations professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

Others said competition might be good for the labor movement.

[LenS]

Child labor was cracked down on years before the unions came to power. It was the voters that stopped it. Not some union thugs.

[Lancey Howard]

I wonder if some of these unions want to go back to the roots of what unionization is all about and forget the political nonsense? There are plenty of union people who strongly disagree with the Democrat Party's goal of bringing European-style secular socialism to America.

[SteveMcKing]

"Leaders of the dissident unions say the AFL-CIO leadership has failed to stop the steep decline in union membership."

Have they considered not murdering their members?

[Col Freeper]

I was born in 1946. Everyone in our family, including the 7 kids, picked and hoed (sp?) cotton, as well as picking peaches, cherries, oranges, and any other type of labor for food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

Not once did we ever assume, or request, that some union guy would, should, or could "rescue" us from that honest work.

We gradually stopped doing that kind of work when better paying work came along, but we supplemented even that with summer migrant worker type jobs.

As far as the government employee unions, in my experience, they are nothing but cover organizations for the incompetent, "I'm a victim" employees enjoying taxpayer funded jobs/benefits, without either appreciating their jobs, nor providing good service to their customers, the American public.

Firing an incompetent Civil Servant is an exercise in futility that few American taxpayers could even remotely understand. But I do think they understand that the "union protections" for federal employees are not there to "improve the service, or the civility" of those employees.

I applauded President Reagan's action to fire the Federal Aircraft Controllers who went on strike. I wonder if you did, or would have?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I wonder if some of this split might have to do with Sweeney being a socialist.

[Almondjoy]

Oh sure.. child labor.. factories that could be compared with death camps.

Sure the power of the unions were never needed.

And George Washington was a puppet of France.

[SALChamps03]

Well, I am not ready to say all unions are bad. I think what you have here is the pendulum effect. Before unions (many years ago) employers were notorious for abusing workers and taking advantage of them to the nth degree. But, as unions became ever more powerful, it is in fact many of them that are now sticking it to employers as bad or worse as the employers ever did before unions existed. It may be to the point where they are destroying the goose that laid the golden egg.

[SALChamps03]

There was never a legitimate purpose.

I am not sure I would go that far. Do some research on how employees were treated before unions. It is unfortunate that unions have in many cases become as corrupt as employers ever were.

[durasell]

Get kids off the streets and back into the coal mines and fields where they belong!

[telebob]

"Glad to see that you made it out.

When I had the opportunity to go into management I jumped at the chance. I was glad to get out after seeing the changes that had occurred: The people I respected fired when they complained about the gross corruption of the top cats, the takeover of the political arm by hard lefties and the steady drop in competence of just the day to day nuts and bolts work.

When even the friggin' unpaid trustees have credit cards and expense accounts, you know a union has become just a collection of bottom feeders.

[mvpel]

Or at least into the fast-food restaurants at minimum-wage jobs, where they could develop the skills and discipline needed to succeed in the business world, if the minimum wage didn't keep rising and illegal immigrants weren't pushing them out of the entry-level job market.

[durasell]

I say send them to Third World Countries to hunt out land mines with a pointy stick!

[JeffersonRepublic.com]

""Anything that sidetracks us from our goals ... is not healthy," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the House campaign committee."

Look, a Democrat politican saying this act is going to sidetrack them from their goals. These union members are slaves to the democrats. It's time to break the chains, keep your money and tell the demonrats to go to hell.

Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com

[staytrue]

"Today will be remembered as a rebirth of union strength in America,"

I agree with this statement. First, competition always makes you better. Now there are two coalitions competing.

Second, the old union agenda was driven by the public employees union which always wanted more taxes (more money to pay public employees) and more govt. programs (more public employees to be in the union).

Problem is, more taxes and more govt. regulations tend to kill private sector jobs which is really bad for unions working in the private sector.

Unions that work for the private sector employee may have a shot at growing and even being beneficial.

The current union movement is aimed at only 1 goal, more public sector employees and higher public sector pay.

[Tribune7]

they would take about $35 million from the AFL-CIO, which has already been forced to layoff a quarter of its 400-person staff.

I think Michael Moore should make a movie about this.

[Southack]

"The Service Employees International Union, with 1.8 million members, plans to announce Monday that it is leaving the AFL-CIO...
The Teamsters union was likely to disaffiliate at the same news conference, they said. Two other boycotting unions signaled similar intentions: United Food and Commercial Workers and UNITE HERE, a group of textile and hotel workers."

Tomorrow's union break-up announcements are the start of the Great Split between public and private unions.

In brief, carpenters in the SEIU and Teamster dockworkers have no common ground with the anarchists who burn down houses or with the greens who want to stop all new home construction as being "urban sprawl."

[commonasdirt]

"Gerald McEntee, president of a government employees' union with more than 1 million members, accused his boycotting colleagues of aiding labor's political foes. "The only people who happy about this are President Bush and his crowd," he said."

Until the leadership of Unions come to their senses (unlikely) and begin cease to be nothing more than Dem. lapdogs and mouthpieces they will continue to see this abandonement.

[Semi Civil Servant]

As far as the government employee unions, in my experience, they are nothing but cover organizations for the incompetent, "I'm a victim" employees enjoying taxpayer funded jobs/benefits, without either appreciating their jobs, nor providing good service to their customers, the American public.

I belonged to only one union in my life (Communications Workers of America), against my will, for a couple of years in the 70's. I dislike unions, but I also understand there was a time and place when many workers were treated like chattel. Whether or not we like today's version of the union, unions once had a part to play in the humanizing of the workplace.

I applauded President Reagan's action to fire the Federal Aircraft Controllers who went on strike. I wonder if you did, or would have?

As a matter of fact, I also applauded President Reagan's decision to fire the air traffic controllers when they arrogantly and illegally went on strike.

I've had about 10 careers; only one involved working for a state government. In my experience, the majority of lower level government workers were not much different from those I worked with in the private sector. In my state, it was quite possible to fire a worker, although there were certainly people who should have been fired who weren't. The real problems in the agency where I worked were created at top. The incompetence was breath taking.

[WOSG]

I don't think it destroys unions. I go with

"Others said competition might be good for the labor movement."

AFL-CIO was following a failed strategy of becoming an arm of the Democrats and putting political agendas ahead of interests of workers.

The unions that split off will be more successful, while AFLCIO continues its decline.

This is good for Republicans politically, because the Democrats leg-workers will be less focussed on the Dems.

JMHO, I'm speculating.