The Carpenters union, which left the AFL-CIO four years ago complaining it devoted too much money to D.C. staff and not enough to organizing, has joined a five-union dissident coalition that emphasizes organizing in core industries.
The June 27 announcement by Carpenters President Douglas McCarron, who says his union now has 550,000 members, sharpens the differences between the ?Change To Win? group of unions, including the Laborers, SEIU, UNITE HERE and the Teamsters, and the AFL-CIO leaders.
That's because the Carpenters have been out of the federation but stayed in its Building and Construction Trades Department. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who maintains UBC left because of jurisdictional disputes, previously gave UBC a get-all-the-way-in-or-out deadline of July 28, the last day of the AFL-CIO convention.
In a related development, the Building Tradesman of Detroit reported that the Carpenters ended jurisdictional work assignment pacts with the Iron Workers, over installing conveyors, rigging, doors and windows, and with the Sheet Metal Workers, over suspended metal ceilings, grills, diffusers and air handling slots. Iron Workers President Joe Hunt and SMWIA President Michael Sullivan criticized UBC?s move.
Before the announcement that UBC joined the five-union coalition, McCarron talked with coalition leaders about organizing and related issues. Sweeney handled fitful negotiations with McCarron about bringing UBC back to the AFL-CIO.
In those talks with Sweeney, McCarron aired other issues. He demanded the ouster of Building Trades Department leaders and advocated weighted voting there to give its larger unions--such as the Laborers and UBC--more control.
"The Carpenters are proud to join with the most dynamic unions in the country in the Change to Win Coalition," McCarron said on June 27. "Our union is about building power and strength for working men and women, and that is what the Change to Win Coalition is all about. In uniting our respective strengths, we can create a new hope for the millions of American workers for whom the American dream is still a dream."
Laborers President Terry O'Sullivan welcomed the Carpenters to the group, as did Teamsters President James Hoffa. Both unions are in the Building Trades Department and the five-union coalition.
"We are glad the Carpenters joined the Change to Win Coalition, united by our common vision of a labor movement built on the principles of organizing and collective action," O'Sullivan said. Hoffa said the Carpenters agree with the coalition members that "the status quo can no longer stand."
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
For more information
For more on the debate going on within the AFL-CIO, see the Workday Minnesota special section, Labor's Future
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The Carpenters union, which left the AFL-CIO four years ago complaining it devoted too much money to D.C. staff and not enough to organizing, has joined a five-union dissident coalition that emphasizes organizing in core industries.
The June 27 announcement by Carpenters President Douglas McCarron, who says his union now has 550,000 members, sharpens the differences between the ?Change To Win? group of unions, including the Laborers, SEIU, UNITE HERE and the Teamsters, and the AFL-CIO leaders.
That’s because the Carpenters have been out of the federation but stayed in its Building and Construction Trades Department. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who maintains UBC left because of jurisdictional disputes, previously gave UBC a get-all-the-way-in-or-out deadline of July 28, the last day of the AFL-CIO convention.
In a related development, the Building Tradesman of Detroit reported that the Carpenters ended jurisdictional work assignment pacts with the Iron Workers, over installing conveyors, rigging, doors and windows, and with the Sheet Metal Workers, over suspended metal ceilings, grills, diffusers and air handling slots. Iron Workers President Joe Hunt and SMWIA President Michael Sullivan criticized UBC?s move.
Before the announcement that UBC joined the five-union coalition, McCarron talked with coalition leaders about organizing and related issues. Sweeney handled fitful negotiations with McCarron about bringing UBC back to the AFL-CIO.
In those talks with Sweeney, McCarron aired other issues. He demanded the ouster of Building Trades Department leaders and advocated weighted voting there to give its larger unions–such as the Laborers and UBC–more control.
“The Carpenters are proud to join with the most dynamic unions in the country in the Change to Win Coalition,” McCarron said on June 27. “Our union is about building power and strength for working men and women, and that is what the Change to Win Coalition is all about. In uniting our respective strengths, we can create a new hope for the millions of American workers for whom the American dream is still a dream.”
Laborers President Terry O’Sullivan welcomed the Carpenters to the group, as did Teamsters President James Hoffa. Both unions are in the Building Trades Department and the five-union coalition.
“We are glad the Carpenters joined the Change to Win Coalition, united by our common vision of a labor movement built on the principles of organizing and collective action,” O’Sullivan said. Hoffa said the Carpenters agree with the coalition members that “the status quo can no longer stand.”
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
For more information
For more on the debate going on within the AFL-CIO, see the Workday Minnesota special section, Labor’s Future