AFL-CIO President Addresses Council

Members of the Executive Council were joined by St. Louis labor leaders and the press on June 6 th to hear directly from AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on his outlook for the labor movement. In introducing Sweeney, BAC President John J. Flynn noted, “As our next speaker will tell you, the reports of Labor’s demise have been greatly exaggerated….If you look back through the labor movement’s history, there have always been points when groups have had different or dissenting opinions as to how the labor movement should focus its energies and resources. It’s that ability to speak up and have a voice that – while difficult at times – is part of what we’re all about. The labor movement is not about silencing voices, it’s about giving voice to the tens of thousands of workers and their representatives. It’s about people with common concerns and interests getting together to solve problems.”

Picking up on this point, President Sweeney told attendees, “All across the country, working families are asking the same question. ‘Why don’t hard work and loyalty get you anywhere anymore?’....That’s why unions are needed.”

He told attendees that between now and the convention, he will meet with unions that have different positions on some of the major issues that we’re talking about and attempt to make sure we have a united federation and that no one leaves the AFL-CIO. But above all, he added, “We will make changes with respect for the history, culture and traditions of our affiliates, as well as our tradition of democracy. That means that as long as John Sweeney is President of the AFL-CIO there will be no cramdowns, no dictates from big-shots in Washington, and no forced or coerced union mergers… not on my watch. We are not a corporation, we are not Wal-Mart, we are a union movement and we operate from the bottom up and not from the top down. I want to ask you to carry the message to every union in your cities that we cannot afford to split our movement.”

Echoing that point, Flynn said, “In the early 1930s, the Depression caused our membership to decrease from more than 100,000 to roughly 30,000 members. This was a time of great stress, but we maintained our Union and the labor movement. We are facing stressful times again, even though many factors are different – the labor market has changed, companies have changed, industry has changed. We have to change with the times – not break up the labor movement.”

Sweeney also expressed his support for rebating 25 percent of dues to affiliates with good strategic plans, saying “I know the Bricklayer’s Union has completed its Millennium Morning Project, and I challenge everyone in this hall to heed its call for more organizing and more political action.”