| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| 4 Major Unions Plan to Boycott A.F.L.-C.I.O. Event |
| 2005-07-25 |
| Severely EFL Leaders of four of the country's largest labor unions [service employees union, the food and commercial workers union, the Teamsters and Unite Here, which represents apparel, hotel and restaurant employees] announced on Sunday that they would boycott this week's A.F.L.-C.I.O. convention, and officials from two of those unions, the service employees and the Teamsters, said the action was a prelude to their full withdrawal from the federation on Monday. The schism is the biggest rift in labor since the 1930's, when the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which was trying to unionize mass production workers in automobiles, steel and other industries, split off from the American Federation of Labor, which largely represented elite craft workers. This week's labor convention here was supposed to be a celebratory occasion marking the 50th anniversary of the merger. Instead, the gathering has been marked by a split, the culmination of a rancorous debate within the union movement that also threatens to hurt labor's efforts in lobbying and in political campaigns, a development that concerns Democrats. This is the key issue as far as the NYT's journalist is concerned. Lots more detail and blah blah at the link. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #15 A political appendage with corrupt leaders is good for business. Sad but true. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2005-07-25 14:44 |
| #14 The argument I hear over and over again is that the union leadership are totally hypnotized by democratic politics. They think if the democrats can just get political power then everything will be fine everywhere forever. Totally indifferent to what labor unions are supposed to do, they have tried to turn the AFL/CIO into nothing more than a get out the vote effort for the democrats. I suspect that politicians on both sides will try to co-opt the breakaway group as soon as possible, in that they prefer a union that doesn't make trouble. A political appendage with corrupt leaders is good for business. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-07-25 13:26 |
| #13 Remember when George Meany and Nixon actually got along were civil to each other. While the unions and the Dems are more inclined to be of the same viewpoint the Dems have been as much an enemy to the unions in this country as anybody else |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2005-07-25 12:27 |
| #12 It's used to be really wild at meeting when they would spout the LLL line and one of us (Conservatives) would counter with the truth or a pesky fact. I am not saying that the split will suddenly produce a Republican friendly group but I can't see them slipping further to the left. They are steadily losing $$$ and membership each year they can't go on forever that way. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-07-25 12:16 |
| #11 Before the election, the Airline Pilots Association HQ in DC had a big banner out front: "Airline Pilots and AFL-CIO proudly support John Kerry" I wonder how that worked out for them? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-07-25 12:09 |
| #10 Victims of their own success in the '60s and '70s far too many union members and officials are caught in a time warp. Like the high school cheer leader who could never move on with her life they are wrapped up in reliving the glory days and trying to recreate the past. If they don't learn to adapt they will continue to loss membership until the only bastion they retain is the teachers and loacal/state/federal employees. Will the pendulem ever swing their way again? Maybe, but not for a long while and when it does they won't be the unions they were. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2005-07-25 12:06 |
| #9 SEIU is out. Now the real moonbattery will begin. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-07-25 11:30 |
| #8 Wonder what the Teamsters will do (politically) now? They'll probably just beat the shit out of everyone else until they figure it out... |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-07-25 11:27 |
| #7 |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-25 11:12 |
| #6 Sarge, remember that before the Teamsters joined the AFL-CIO they were more than willing to help Republicans -- in fact, they were about the only major union that would. That was one of the unstated reasons why the AFL was so eager to get the Teamsters into the fold, to put a stop to that. Wonder what the Teamsters will do politically now? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-07-25 11:06 |
| #5 I would love the monopoly of power the Union bosses have be broken. Spend the union dues on union stuff, not lining some corrupt democrat's pockets. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-07-25 10:26 |
| #4 About friggin time! I am a card carrying uniom member and I am a staunch Republican. Maybe after the break the SEIU will cut the moon-battery with respect to elected officials? I stopped going to uniin meeting when they basically turned into Democrat pep rallies. When they asked me why I stopped attanding I was brutally honest and so have a good many others. Who know maybe they are finally listening. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-07-25 10:10 |
| #3 The activists don't trust anyone over 50 who simply shifts labor's skim of payroll money into the Dems coffers. However, the activists are not reformers, just another set of socialist malcontents with the 'vision' thingy who want the 'glory days' of workers' paradise. Obviously can't learn from the consequences of European socialism and the demographic shifts from manufacturing to low skill level service industries to recruit from. There are intelligent and useful applications for unions, but that has been rarely implemented or exercised for over half a century. |
| Posted by: Hupavith Gletle6588 2005-07-25 09:11 |
| #2 Yeah. The 4 that are leaving want much more radical action to "halt the decline of unions" -- a lot more, and more in-your-face, strikes and aggressive organizing including among 'informal immigrants'. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-07-25 09:04 |
| #1 Site requires registration.I've been hearing about this split for awhile. Does anybody know whats causing it? |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-07-25 08:45 |