AFL-CIO losing Union Membership
 

This really concerns me:

Union Bolting AFL-CIO, Others to Follow

By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer

CHICAGO - 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 Sunday they would boycott the federation's convention that begins Monday. They are part of the Coalition to Win, a group of seven unions vowing to reform the labor movement — outside the AFL-CIO if necessary.

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.

The Teamsters union also was on the verge of disaffiliating, and would likely to be the first to follow SEIU's lead, the officials said. Two other boycotting unions were likely to leave the federation: 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 this is a chance there will be a change of course," said UFCW President Joe Hansen.

"Our differences have become unresolvable," said Anna Burger, chairman of the Change to Win Coalition which is setting itself up to be a rival of the AFL-CIO. "Today will be remembered as a rebirth of union strength in America."

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, expected to win easy re-election at the convention, said his team "bent over backward" to appease the dissidents "until it's given us a pain in the you-know-where." Addressing hundreds of unions members, the embattled president said disunity in the AFL-CIO puts workers at risk. But he said he held out hope that dissidents "might come to their senses someday."

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," the Sweeney ally 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, an act that some labor officials consider tantamount to quitting the federation. Still, what hope there was for a resolution remained until the unions formally announced their disaffiliation from the AFL-CIO, officials said. If they quit the federation, the union would take about $35 million from the AFL-CIO, which has already been forced to layoff a quarter of its 400-person staff.

The SEIU is led by former Sweeney protege Andy Stern who has turned against his former boss.

Two other unions that are part of the dissident 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 coaliton members to leave the AFL-CIO

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.

Sweeney's allies contend he has taken steps to reform the AFL-CIO, meeting many of the dissidents' demands.

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. Some said they could only hope that the battle jolts the House of Labor from its decades-long slump.

"Anything that sidetracks us from our goals ... is not healthy," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record), 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.

___

On the Net: AFL-CIO: http://www.aflcio.org/

Change to Win Coalition: http://www.changetowin.org

I think it STINKS :mad:

I,of course, pretty much hate what unions have become -- they are tantamount to organized crime as far as I am concerned - and I speak for LOADS of experience.

I might have KNOWN you'd say NAY......I guess I come from a blue collar background as my dad and my brother were both Union members and now I am too. I can tell you that the only thing that saved the prospects of the workers was the formation of Unions, before that it was definitely worker unfriendly with bosses treating employees like crap. Some Unions in the past seemed to be in cahoots with the Mafia (Hoffa?) but overall, I agree with what they stand for because a worker's only strength lies in numbers. This proposed split is a very bad thing in my book...

out of curiosity I went to the AFL-CIO website to get a List of AFL-CIO members
Interesting facts and stats

as a single mom, the only thing that has allowed me to earn a decent living and purchase a home has been my Union (Government) Job. I am thankful every day....especially since I wont be able to pursue the professional career I had once hoped for. As far as I am concerned, Unions helped create the middle class and since you arent blue collar Jason, you have no concept of how scary an employer dictated job world can be. Unions give the little guys a voice.

Amen. Union yes!

So have the officers of many large coporations and the executive branch of our government. :)

A-MEN! Unions helped create the middle class and without them, its all back to WalMart jobs baby...unless you're lucky enuff to be a professional (Jason!)

and two wrongs make a right :shrug:

Oh - here we go again with the personal slams :rolleyes: Yep - I didn't study at all or work hard in any way to become a lawyer - it was all handed to me on a silver platter :rolleyes:

BTW - Ms. Ostrich, get your head out of the sand and do a google for "unions organized crime" - I think you will find the results astonishing.

I come from a blue collar...
 

background also, And had previously worked at a factory (Unarco Commercial Products Inc.) that has a union...What is so great about being physically threatened to sign up for the union or having yer tires slashed because you refused to do so? I was so glad to be a contract laborer (Non-union/non-scab) that I did not have to contend with the local UAW's (U Aint Workin') absolute BS that they constantly forced upon any new hire at the plant.

How about when the head of this union took the money that was paid into it and ran off with it leaving his members FUBAR'd because the chief of police in the city that this happened in (Wagoner, OK) was his brother and they knew he would not be arrested? (Sad but true).

I have seen jobs that were union controlled move to Mexico during the Clinton era on a regular basis after NAFTA...Cheaper labor, Plain and simple. No union could stop that from happening, And believe me, After NAFTA was signed jobs left Oklahoma on a basis never seen before/since.

I do like a few unions IF, And only IF they help the small guy's of the world (Such as the union for the teachers/firefighters here in Oklahoma and the unions that represent nurses, Which Oklahoma does not have due to the fact that a licensed nurse can command what they want due to the current nursing shortage...I know, I am married to one of these nurses. Kinda funny that Deb makes more per hour than my sister Lesa did as a nurse, And Lesa was a member of a nurses union in California.).

Do I think a union will ever be able to established within the monopoly known as Wal-Mart? The chances of that happening are slim and none...And slim just left the building. Having worked at Unarco gave me a perspective on Wal-Mart most will never have (We manufactured ALL of their shopping carts for every Wal-Mart in the US...Our company was paid $5 manufacturing costs per cart, When it took on average about $45-50 total manufacturing costs per cart. I was so glad I left Unarco in 1990, The set-up UAW union failed so miserably that most of the jobs there are now (the worse-of-the-worse) "Temporary Service" jobs.

Ah the "Temp jobs", A way to circumvent "Union Pay" by offering low pay wages/no benefits/no room for advancement...I know, I did that "Temp" **** for 3 years and I can say I hate "Temp Services" actually worse than most unions.

Settle down man! I didnt mean that in a slam way, I was razzing you in a friendly way re: your white collar and my blue (can you be a blue collar if you are Government desk jockey?) one (and I would have had a white one too, if my daughter hadnt curtailed my law school dream...) You've certainly worked hard to get where you are, and Im taking another stab at the upper echelon by getting a Master's Degree in Social Work! btw: I did mention that was aware of the connection between the Mafia and some (but not ALL) Unions. Not every Union is thick w/organized crime ya know! :shrug: :eek:

I still love my Ms. Ostrich comment :p :p :p :p

btw: is that spelled right? it doesnt LOOK right???

and fyi: you missed my point again mister tunnel vision! :]

I cannot type, you know that. Perhaps its my tunnel vision :cool:

It's spelled right... :laugh:

my glasses need checking! maybe they have sand in them! :]