AFL-CIO CONVENTION
UAW endorses Sweeney; also supports reform
The AFL-CIO convention in Chicago marked the 50th anniversary of the unification of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
But the biggest labor news coming out of Chicago was the decision by two of the nation’s largest unions, the 1.8 million-member Service Employees and the 1.4-million member Teamsters, to leave the federation.
Four other unions – the United Food and Commercial Workers, UNITE-HERE, International Union of Laborers and United Farm Workers – boycotted the convention, held July 25-29; the UFCW formally disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO a few days later.
The six unions, along with the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners which left the AFL-CIO in 2001, have formed the Change to Win Coalition.
The split in Chicago, though dramatic, was widely anticipated.
Indeed, in the months leading up to the convention, SEIU President Andy Stern and leaders of the other Change to Win unions had pushed for sweeping changes in the AFL-CIO’s organization, strategy and budget, and escalated their criticism of President John Sweeney’s low-key style of leadership by consensus.
“The UAW has supported important reform proposals within the AFL-CIO to help create a stronger and more effective labor federation,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger in May, providing a key endorsement to Sweeney. “And while different unions approach the challenges we face from different perspectives, we believe it’s important to focus on what unites us.”
Gettelfinger told reporters in Chicago that the Change to Win unions had forced the AFL-CIO to refocus and adopt long overdue reforms.
The UAW, he added, would continue to work with the Change to Win unions on issues of common concern.
In other news:
• The convention passed a resolution calling on the Bush administration to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq “rapidly.” The resolution strongly criticized the Bush administration for failing to provide America’s service men and women with the right gear, including body armor and armored vehicles.
• Convention delegates approved a dues increase for affiliated international unions, equivalent to 48 cents a year per member, to help offset the loss of dues caused by the disaffiliations. That’s a $4 million a year increase – less than a quarter of the $18 million in dues paid by just the Teamsters and SEIU.
• Sweeney, Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson and a slate of 43 Executive Council candidates, including UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, were elected without opposition.
