National Public Radio (NPR), All Things Considered, June 13, 2005, Monday

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National Public Radio (NPR)

SHOW: All Things Considered 9:00 AM EST NPR

June 13, 2005 Monday

HEADLINE: Dissent grows in the ranks of the AFL-CIO

ANCHORS: ROBERT SIEGEL, MELISSA BLOCK

REPORTERS: JACK SPEER

BODY:
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block.
The AFL-CIO's top brass met in Washington today at a time of growing dissent in the ranks. Five dissident unions want the AFL-CIO to pick up the pace of organizing, and one major union is threatening to leave altogether. NPR's Jack Speer reports.
JACK SPEER reporting:
A fractious fight within the 13-million-member AFL-CIO escalated over the weekend. The Service Employees International Union, the nation's largest labor union, voted to allow its members to break away, though that hasn't happened yet. The union is accusing the AFL-CIO and President John Sweeney of making serious missteps.
Mr. BEN BOYD (Spokesperson, Service Employees International Union): You might say this is the final step before a disaffiliation.
SPEER: Ben Boyd is a spokesman for the Service Employees, which represents 1.7 million workers, everyone from hotel janitors to nursing home staff. Boyd says it's the position of the SEIU, as well as several other AFL-CIO unions, that not enough money and effort is being spent on organizing new union members.
Mr. BOYD: This is about the fact that, you know, 30 years ago, one in three individuals in this country were in a union, workers were in a union, and today, one in 12. That slide, you know, is seismic, that from, you know, from density comes power. There's no question about that. And every single day, we border on irrelevancy.
SPEER: Five labor unions are threatening to set up their own coalition within the powerful AFL-CIO. That includes not only the Service Employees, but also the Teamsters, the Laborers, the Food and Commercial Workers Union and a group called UNITE HERE which represents restaurant and apparel workers. But many important unions still support the AFL-CIO and the leadership of President John Sweeney, and the AFL-CIO maintains its goal remains a unified labor movement. Stuart Acuff is the union's organizing director.
Mr. STUART ACUFF (Organizing Director, AFL-CIO): We want to continue to hold AFL-CIO together, to move forward, to organize more workers, to have a real fight to restore the right to organize in this country, continue to build the most important and the most effective political operation in the country.
SPEER: The AFL-CIO recently announced plans to cut a quarter of its work force and send up to $15 million in dues back to member unions for grassroots organizing, but those steps have not satisfied the dissident unions. Richard Hurd is a professor of labor studies at Cornell. He says a contentious split, however, probably won't help.
Professor RICHARD HURD (Cornell University): If the disunity translates into internal warfare and translates into a lessened ability to coordinate politically, then I think that it could end up weakening the labor movement.
SPEER: All of which is not good news for a labor movement that's already been severely weakened. Despite the squabbling, Sweeney is expected to be re-elected to another four-year term as president next month. He says dissension within the AFL-CIO plays into the hands of the worst enemies of workers. However, Sweeney may soon find himself presiding over a smaller labor federation, much like the US labor movement itself. Jack Speer, NPR News, Washington.