The nation's labor movement will undergo "major" and "meaningful" changes from now through July and beyond, AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney says.
In an interview with reporters just days before the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Las Vegas, he added the 13-million-member federation would implement the changes either there, at its convention in July in Chicago, or in between.
The council will meet March 1-3, with revamping the AFL-CIO atop its agenda. Other topics include restructuring organizing, launch of a massive campaign to save Social Security, and the Bush administration's war on unions, he said.
"They're scared to death they're going to lose their Social Security as a result of all this," Sweeney said of workers' reaction to Bush's push to privatize the retirement system.
The war on Iraq will come up, Sweeney added, but he was not specific. It is not listed as an agenda item.
Service Employees President Andrew Stern set off the revamp debate last June by calling the federation outmoded. If changes aren't made, the SEIU may pull out of the federation, he said.
Stern demanded the AFL-CIO become more top-down, that it force mergers to cut its present 58 unions to 20 and that it pump more money--labor-wide--into organizing. And he advocated a massive campaign to organize Wal-Mart and to show that its anti-worker attitudes, low pay and no benefits cut living standards.
In the interview, Sweeney didn't go quite that far. He opposes forced mergers, but favors an alternative, first presented by the Teamsters, to encourage mergers through rebates of part of unions' annual dues to the federation.
IBT proposed rebating half of any union's AFL-CIO dues if that union presents--and gets approval for--a comprehensive strategic organizing plan. It said the potential for rebates would encourage, but not force, mergers.
Sweeney did not endorse a specific rebate number, but said rebates should be used to encourage the voluntary mergers. He forecast the council will make "hard decisions on how to prioritize using our resources, without duplication" with unions -- meaning cuts in federation functions and staff.
Any dues rebate "would have to be part of a larger picture" of how to change the federation, he commented.
"It's agreed by all that there have to be standards, measurements of growth and accountability" for unions to get the rebates, Sweeney added. "There are several ways to do so."
Sweeney said labor's leaders would discuss how to change organizing, including changing the Organizing Institute away from a grant-disbursing agency for international and local unions.
"We've been organizing hundreds of thousands of members, but close to 3 million well-paying, high-benefit manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last 4 years. They've been replaced by low-paying jobs with little benefits.
"So we have to do a better job in addressing areas of growth," he said. Several revamp proposals concentrate organizing on low-paying jobs, the South, or both.
And Sweeney predicted the council would endorse "changes in the federation's governing structure to make it more diverse"--as its caucuses representing women and minorities want--"and to produce more involvement by our biggest unions."
The Teamsters and others want to shrink the Executive Council to at most 25 members and lodge more authority with the AFL-CIO's biggest unions. The five biggest are SEIU, AFSCME, the Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teachers, in that order. Each has more than 1 million members.
Sweeney also said the federation's current committee working on Wal-Mart--including UFCW President Joe Hansen, whose union is trying to organize the million-worker retail giant--will unveil further steps in its drive.
They'll include "publicity as well as organizing," Sweeney said. The Wal-Mart campaign may also cost more than the $25 million Stern proposed, though Sweeney did not name a figure.
Politics will not be totally absent from the session. The federation's political committee, co-chaired by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee and Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger, will report on planning for congressional and state legislative races in 2006 and the White House race in 2008, he said.
New Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will address the council on March 1. In response to a question quoting Schaitberger--who says labor must be more bipartisan--Sweeney replied "we always reach out to moderate Republicans."
Past GOP presidents, but not Bush, have met the council. And Bush and his allies have made it very clear that one of their overarching aims is to destroy the nation's unions.
"We've addressed that on a regular basis, whether it is (the union ban) in the Department of Homeland Security, the attacks on federal workers' collective bargaining rights, trade or privatization," Sweeney said.
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
For more information
Visit the special Workday Minnesota section, Labor's Future
Share
The nation’s labor movement will undergo “major” and “meaningful” changes from now through July and beyond, AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney says.
In an interview with reporters just days before the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Las Vegas, he added the 13-million-member federation would implement the changes either there, at its convention in July in Chicago, or in between.
The council will meet March 1-3, with revamping the AFL-CIO atop its agenda. Other topics include restructuring organizing, launch of a massive campaign to save Social Security, and the Bush administration’s war on unions, he said.
“They’re scared to death they’re going to lose their Social Security as a result of all this,” Sweeney said of workers’ reaction to Bush’s push to privatize the retirement system.
The war on Iraq will come up, Sweeney added, but he was not specific. It is not listed as an agenda item.
Service Employees President Andrew Stern set off the revamp debate last June by calling the federation outmoded. If changes aren’t made, the SEIU may pull out of the federation, he said.
Stern demanded the AFL-CIO become more top-down, that it force mergers to cut its present 58 unions to 20 and that it pump more money–labor-wide–into organizing. And he advocated a massive campaign to organize Wal-Mart and to show that its anti-worker attitudes, low pay and no benefits cut living standards.
In the interview, Sweeney didn’t go quite that far. He opposes forced mergers, but favors an alternative, first presented by the Teamsters, to encourage mergers through rebates of part of unions’ annual dues to the federation.
IBT proposed rebating half of any union’s AFL-CIO dues if that union presents–and gets approval for–a comprehensive strategic organizing plan. It said the potential for rebates would encourage, but not force, mergers.
Sweeney did not endorse a specific rebate number, but said rebates should be used to encourage the voluntary mergers. He forecast the council will make “hard decisions on how to prioritize using our resources, without duplication” with unions — meaning cuts in federation functions and staff.
Any dues rebate “would have to be part of a larger picture” of how to change the federation, he commented.
“It’s agreed by all that there have to be standards, measurements of growth and accountability” for unions to get the rebates, Sweeney added. “There are several ways to do so.”
Sweeney said labor’s leaders would discuss how to change organizing, including changing the Organizing Institute away from a grant-disbursing agency for international and local unions.
“We’ve been organizing hundreds of thousands of members, but close to 3 million well-paying, high-benefit manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last 4 years. They’ve been replaced by low-paying jobs with little benefits.
“So we have to do a better job in addressing areas of growth,” he said. Several revamp proposals concentrate organizing on low-paying jobs, the South, or both.
And Sweeney predicted the council would endorse “changes in the federation’s governing structure to make it more diverse”–as its caucuses representing women and minorities want–“and to produce more involvement by our biggest unions.”
The Teamsters and others want to shrink the Executive Council to at most 25 members and lodge more authority with the AFL-CIO’s biggest unions. The five biggest are SEIU, AFSCME, the Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teachers, in that order. Each has more than 1 million members.
Sweeney also said the federation’s current committee working on Wal-Mart–including UFCW President Joe Hansen, whose union is trying to organize the million-worker retail giant–will unveil further steps in its drive.
They’ll include “publicity as well as organizing,” Sweeney said. The Wal-Mart campaign may also cost more than the $25 million Stern proposed, though Sweeney did not name a figure.
Politics will not be totally absent from the session. The federation’s political committee, co-chaired by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee and Fire Fighters President Harold Schaitberger, will report on planning for congressional and state legislative races in 2006 and the White House race in 2008, he said.
New Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will address the council on March 1. In response to a question quoting Schaitberger–who says labor must be more bipartisan–Sweeney replied “we always reach out to moderate Republicans.”
Past GOP presidents, but not Bush, have met the council. And Bush and his allies have made it very clear that one of their overarching aims is to destroy the nation’s unions.
“We’ve addressed that on a regular basis, whether it is (the union ban) in the Department of Homeland Security, the attacks on federal workers’ collective bargaining rights, trade or privatization,” Sweeney said.
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
For more information
Visit the special Workday Minnesota section, Labor’s Future