TL
Doug Henwood wrote:
> [anyone know more about this?]
>
> Wall Street Journal - October 6, 1999
>
> AFL-CIO PLANS RESTRUCTURING, LOOKS TO REBUILD LOCAL GROUPS
>
> By GLENN BURKINS
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
> WASHINGTON -- The AFL-CIO is proposing its first significant
> restructuring in 44 years, a plan that would give it greater
> authority over its state federations and central labor councils.
>
> The plan, which will be voted on next week, is aimed at pruning and
> rebuilding the local groups to make them more effective in carrying
> out labor's broad national agenda, AFL-CIO officials said. The plan
> could mean a significant shift in power. For example, instead of
> having each state federation acting independently, the AFL-CIO's
> national office would play a greater role in setting an agenda for
> all of its state and local affiliates.
>
> In addition, the national AFL-CIO almost certainly would consolidate
> some of its 600 central labor councils, especially those that are
> viewed by union leaders as being weak and ineffective.
>
> The AFL-CIO's current structure has stood since 1955, when the
> American Federation of Labor merged with the Congress of Industrial
> Organizations. Officials said the plan would be a blueprint for
> labor's political and organizing efforts well into the next century.
>
> Marilyn Sneiderman, the AFL-CIO's director of field mobilization,
> said the restructuring plan is meant to focus the local groups on the
> same general goals. "When the labor movement is unified and focused,
> we win," she said. "It's a strong statement that we need to sit down
> and map out a whole new plan for the labor movement."
>
> The restructuring is also linked to labor's stepped-up recruiting
> efforts. AFL-CIO officials hope to improve organizing campaigns,
> which have produced only modest gains in recent years. Union
> officials also want to do a better job of mobilizing union members
> nationwide around labor's political agenda, including voter
> registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns.
>
> Some union leaders said AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney had been
> considering such a move for more than a year but decided to wait for
> political reasons. So far, the plan appears to have widespread
> support from national union presidents and will be voted on at the
> AFL-CIO's convention in Los Angeles.
>
> Not everyone likes it, however. Some local leaders have expressed
> concern that the move would mean less autonomy for local groups. In
> addition, faced with stiff opposition, Mr. Sweeney was forced to
> abandon a plan that would have required most local unions to join
> their state federations. Under the new plan, union locals would
> simply be strongly encouraged to join.
>
> By all accounts, the AFL-CIO's current structure may have outlived
> its times. While some state federations and labor councils are
> considered strong and vibrant, others are much weaker and don't
> devote much time or resources to labor's broad agenda of recruiting
> members.
>
> Union leaders said that experience indicates the new format will
> work. They point to their success in defeating a California ballot
> measure last year that would have required unions to get annual
> permission from their members before deducting dues money for
> political purposes.
>
> Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union,
> said the move reflects the fact that much of the nation's political
> agenda is being shaped in states and cities far away from Washington.
> "It's a good time to take a new look at this," he said. "We created
> these bodies almost 50 years ago and we have not really, since then,
> looked at their effectiveness."