What are the goals of the AFL-CIO today?
Our main goal is to reinvigorate the U.S. labor
movement. For the longest time, the labor
movement has been on a decline, mainly due to
a lack of organizing and rank-and-file mobilization.
We realized that members were not very involved in
their unions during the 1996 presidential election,
when it was difficult and often impossible to reach
them. Many unions do make great efforts to mobilize
the grassroots, so what the AFL-CIO did was bring all
of those efforts together to mobilize voters. In this
process, we found that many workers had lost respect
for their unions, and that our own members were wait-
ing for somebody else to do something about their
problems.
We found that most unions had a very small budget
for organizing new members, and that they dedicated
most of their resources to servicing current ones. We
also found that our unions were often fighting each
other instead of cooperating with each other, and that
workers’ loyalty toward their unions had seriously dete-
riorated. We decided to change this state of affairs. We
realized that the nature and the seriousness of these
problems called not for moderate change, but for dras-
tic change.
Our goal of improving the working and living stan-
dards of all workers overlaps with the goals of many
other groups in society which do not define themselves
by the workplace. We are making great progress in
building coalitions with neighborhood organizations,
community groups, civil rights organizations such as
the NAACP, the League of United Latin American
Citizens, National Council of La Raza, and with
women’s rights organizations. We are trying to show
the country that we are fighting for working people-
union and non-union alike.
What are the major challenges that face the AFL-CIO and
the labor movement as a whole?
Our major challenge is to confront downsizing, the
part-timing of the workforce, and the sub-standard
wages and working conditions of large sectors of the
working population. More and more jobs are being lost
to the downsizing that corporate America is implement-
ing. The shift from full-time to part-time work is elim-
inating the health insurance and pension benefits of
many workers. Large sectors of the population work for
a minimum wage which, even with the increase to
$5.50 scheduled for September, cannot sustain a decent
standard of living. Large numbers of workers lack
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health insurance benefits or a pension plan, and the mis-
treatment and lack of respect for the basic rights of
workers is becoming more and more widespread in
U.S. workplaces.
Meanwhile, CEOs are making lots of money and con-
tinue pressuring to lower wages and reduce workers’
benefits. Our challenge is to get union leaders to stop
thinking just about what they can do for union mem-
bers. If we do not have a stronger and bigger base, we
are not going to be able to effectively counter the poli-
cies proposed by politicians like
Newt Gingrich in Congress who,
from powerful positions in govern- In the st ment, are advancing the corporate
agenda and who clearly hate workers workers (
and unions.
There are key statistics that illus- campaigr
trate what working people are going formed a through in this country. During the
last 15 years, workers’ productivity 80 organiz 4 rose by 24%, corporate profits
increased by 145%, and CEOs’ pay can bring t
rose by 499%. During the same together o
period, workers’ wages decreased by
12%. The Chairman of the Federal today, we Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan, has
recently made a statement about how them to
well the economy is doing. He said
that profits were increasing, that severa
stock market prices were soaring, tome and that the reason for this was that
workers were afraid of losing their
jobs. This statement raises serious
concerns on our part, because businesses’ success is
being shouldered by working people who are receiving
no benefits from this boost in companies’ profits. More
media attention should be directed to the huge gap that
exists between what workers earn and what CEOs earn,
and the general public should be made aware of the fact
that corporations keep improving their profit margins
without sharing the wealth with their workers.
What is the level of participation of workers in their
unions today, and what mechanisms is the AFL-CIO using
to promote their involvement?
Greater grassroots mobilization on the part of the
AFL-CIO started with the Labor 96 conference, which
involved 300 union workers and staff. These 300 people
dedicated themselves to promoting union workers’ par-
ticipation in the 1996 elections. We ran a strong media
campaign and most of all we encouraged people to
vote, but we of course did not tell them who to vote for.
Our campaign focused on the issues that affected work-
r
1,
a
h
Ir
ing people, and we asked our members to re-elect their
congressional representative if he or she had shown a
voting record that was favorable to workers.
We are also training union members and educators to
talk about economic policy issues. We feel that we do
not give members all the credit they deserve for their
understanding of the economic factors that impact their
lives, but we also want to give them the arguments that
are needed to analyze and more effectively confront the
economic policies that affect them. We also want to
give them the tools to sharpen their
own arguments during negotiations.
awberry Therefore, training in economic pol- icy issues is a major step that the
rganizing AFL-CIO is taking.
We are also holding organizing con- we have ferences around the country to train
coalition of union workers to organize other
workers. We are holding 16 such
tions. If we conferences this year. Generally only union officials and staff would attend ese groups these conferences, but now we are
“1one issue opening them to anybody who wants
to attend. In New York for example,
can bring only 500 people out of the 1,200 attendees were the people who we
ether on count on all of the time; the other
700 were members of the rank and issues file, shop stewards and union offi-
rrow. cials who were new to this type of
activity.
We are also developing new ways of
organizing so as to broaden and
strengthen our base, and to obtain more political repre-
sentation for workers. We are undertaking
industry-wide campaigns to organize large numbers of
workers, such as the California strawberry workers
campaign in Watsonville, the construction and gaming
industry organizing in Las Vegas, and the poultry-pro-
cessing industry organizing in the South. We are also
hiring more people who speak the language of the
workers we are trying to organize as well as that of the
workers we already represent.
You have referred to the labor movement’s efforts to
build coalitions. Could you give a particular instance of
such experiences and a general assessment of your orga-
nization’s approach to coalition building?
One particular instance is the strawberry workers orga-
nizing campaign, where we have formed a coalition that
includes 80 different organizations, including Catholic
bishops, NAACP chapters and other civil rights organi-
zations, and several community groups. Our general
53 53 VoL XXXI, No 1 JuLY/AUG 1997VOICES ON THE LEFT
approach is to bring these groups
together on one issue today, so that we Wor
can bring them together on several other workers,
issues tomorrow. Even in the case of
coalitions built during elections, the wha
bonds that we establish are of a long-
lasting nature. It is often the case that immigra
our problems recur and we need to They all
ensure that we receive the support of
our allies in the future. In the case of safe w strikes, for example, it is essential that
we educate the community about the a livin
importance of not breaking the strike.
We also invest in the community and adequa
help groups such as senior citizens’ insura organizations. We think that these
groups will be more willing to join pension efforts with the unions because the
unions have helped them. respect fo
We don’t want to be considered out-
siders because we know that our inter- rights a
ests overlap with those of the communi- and as h u ties. We want to be considered as part of
the communities and as one with ‘the
groups that are contributing to improve people’s living
conditions. It is time for us to assume our responsibilities
within our communities, in the same way we demand
corporate responsibility toward workers and communi-
ties. We want companies to know that a hurt to one is a
hurt to all.
What is the role of immigrant workers in the labor move-
ment? What is the AFL-CIO’s position on the recently
implemented restrictions on legal immigrants’ eligibility
for certain kinds of public assistance including food
stamps and medical assistance?
Immigrant workers have always played a key role in
the U.S. labor movement. Many of our union affiliates
are undertaking promising organizing efforts involving
industries and work sites with a predominantly immi-
grant workforce. Furthermore, workers are workers no
matter what their immigration status is. The AFL-CIO
does not believe in discriminating against workers
because of their national origin or their immigration
status. All workers deserve a safe workplace, a living
wage, adequate health insurance and pension plans, and
respect for their basic rights as workers and as human
beings. My organization does not tolerate any form of
discrimination against immigrant workers, and believes
that they should be treated with dignity and respect. The
AFL-CIO believes that social benefits for legal immi-
grants should not be restricted, and opposes the recently
passed restrictions on the eligibility of legal immigrants
for various social programs.
kers are
no matter
t their
tion status.
deserve a
orkplace,
g wage,
te health
nce and
plans, and
r their basic
s workers
man beings.
What is the AFL-CIO’s position on
women’s and minority representation
at the leadership level of labor orga-
nizations?
On this issue in general, there is a
need for a mind change in the labor
movement. The AFL-CIO started by
setting an example-not only by cre-
ating the new position of executive
vice president, but also by getting me
elected to fill that position. This sig-
nalled the beginning of the changes
that are needed. We need to have
unions bring more women and
minorities to high-ranking positions.
We also need unions to hire more
women and minorities. We believe
that our unions need to diversify not
only the leadership but also their
staffs, to the point that we start to
actually see more women and people
of color not just in organizing depart-
ments, but also in education, research
and all other areas. Many unions are aware of the need
for change and it is beginning to happen.
What is the AFL-CIO doing in terms of establishing
alliances with unions in other countries in order to con-
front the increasing internationalization of the economy?
The AFL-CIO works in cooperation with its sister fed-
eration in Canada, the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC),
and we have relationships with unions in numerous
countries. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has been
working closely with the International Labor Organ-
ization (ILO) to link international trade with labor rights.
We are concerned that workers’ basic rights in other
countries are not being respected by companies that take
advantage of low wages to compete in the international
market. We don’t want unfair trade agreements. We want
a social clause to be included in international trade
treaties so that workers’ human rights and union rights
are protected in those countries we trade with.
Our union affiliates are also reaching out to their
counterparts in other countries in order to join efforts
on several issues. Such was the case of the steelwork-
ers’ union which was able to reach a favorable settle-
ment with Bridgestone-Firestone thanks to the cooper-
ation of unions from Japan. The United Auto Workers
and many other unions are also developing relation-
ships with unions in other countries. There is a lot of
international work being done by the AFL-CIO and the
affiliates.
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