L.A. LABOR NEWS
"more pro-labor news than a year of the L.A. Times"
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L.A. Labor News * Editor: Jim Smith * Nov. 22, 1995 * #10
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Contents:
• Diversity on the Executive Council.
• Dan Lane ends hunger strike.
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Copyright 1995 L.A. Labor News. To reach L.A. Labor News:
FAX: 310/399-7352 * Voice: 310/399-8685
E-mail: LALabor@aol.com
Postal: P.O. Box 644, Venice, CA 90294
Nov. 22, 1995 * #10
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NEW VOICES BECOME
NEW LEADERSHIP
by Andrea Adleman
"You're here with the awesome responsibility to change the American labor movement." With these words, AFSCME's Gerald McEntee set the tone for the historic AFL-CIO convention held in New York Oct. 23-26.
The delegates hardly needed to be reminded that they were making history. Sparks flew, passions flared, and there was no escaping the hopeful talk of rebirth that permeated every nook and cranny of the overflow hotel. A record-setting 1,000-plus delegates became the supporting cast in an unfolding drama, a work-in-progress that just might re-write the script of American history.
Election Committee Chair Albert Shanker closed the first act on Oct. 25, when incumbent Tom Donahue was cast out of the leading role by a 56-to-44-percent margin. Deadpanned Shanker: "I turn this gavel over to the next president of the AFL-CIO, John Sweeney." As they had so many times before, delegates brought the house down with thunderous applause for the SEIU president turned AFL-CIO leader. So concluded the first contested election the AFL-CIO had ever known in the 40 years since the labor organizations merged.
While Sweeney's victory followed the prescribed script, the convention was not without its improvisational twists. On Oct. 20, the Carpenters switched sides and threw their support behind Donahue, a move that posed no serious threat to Sweeney and his running mates on the New Voice for American Workers ticket, Mine Workers President Rich Trumka for Secretary-Treasurer and AFSCME's Linda-Chavez Thompson for the proposed Executive Vice President slot.
Just after lunch on Day 1 of the convention, New Voice staff burst into the press room declaring that the election was over. The proof: a statement of New Voice loyalty to end "speculation and confusion," signed by union leaders representing 55 percent of the vote.
Later that afternoon, delegates approved a New Voice motion to postpone voting on the Executive Vice President office until after the President and Secretary-Treasurer had been elected. The bellwether vote foretold a New Voice victory two days later. As the scriptwriters anticipated, delegates closed ranks following the Sweeney-Trumka victory and supported the constitutional amendment to create the third office.
Chavez-Thompson, daughter of a Texas sharecropper, ran unopposed to become the first woman and Latina to hold a top AFL-CIO post. In another dramatic break with the status quo, the Executive Council was expanded from 35 to 54 seats, and one-fourth of the newly elected members are women and people of color.
Street theater played a role at the convention as well. After the Sweeney-Donahue debate on Oct. 24, members of large pro-Donahue unions staged a rally for their man, spilling out into the street under the NYPD's watchful eye. The following day, convention delegates joined HERE strikers on a picketline that ended with civil disobedience, and, on Oct. 25, hundreds of delegates took to the streets in support of New York garment workers.
The protest, sponsored by UNITE, symbolized labor's promise and the key to its survival. In a show of militant defiance, march organizers steered protesters onto busy 7th Avenue after tense exchanges with New York's finest, including threats of arrest. Below towering sweatshops, in the heart of the garment district, 5,000 low-wage workers &endash; an underclass of immigrant women &endash; rallied for dignity and justice. On stage stood Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Sweeney, Trumka, and Executive Council members, personifications of the political and labor leadership with the power to set priorities. These figures became a captive audience for the workers, who spoke in Spanish and Chinese of exploitation, of hope, and of unionization, surrounded by impassioned co-workers who will ultimately become the protagonists of social change.
"This is an exciting day filled with hope and enthusiasm," said Sweeney, pledging that organized labor would "stop the fat corporations from turning America into a sweatshop." As the curtain closed on the four-day drama amidst a sea of marginalized workers, it was hard to doubt that organized labor was ready, willing, and able to battle for center stage in 21st-century America.
Andrea Adleman is an L.A. labor journalist and an eyewitness to the history AFL-CIO convention in New York city.
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THE ROLL CALL:
BY INDUSTRY AND UNION
Total Votes:
42.5 unions 5,716,165 - 43% Donahue
34.5 unions 7,286,837 - 57% Sweeney
Building Trades:
1,536,427 - 64% Donahue
879,834 - 36% Sweeney
Asbestos Workers (D) 12,000
Boilermakers (D) 41,659
Bricklayers (D) 84,000
Carpenters (D) 378,194
Electrical Workers (IBEW) (D) 678,232
Elevator Constructors (D) 20,367
Operating Engineers (S) 297,917
Iron Workers (D) 81,642
Laborers (S) 352,067
Painters (S) 95,000
Plasterers and Cement Masons (S) 29,329
Plumbing and Pipe Fitting (D) 219,800
Roofers (D) 20,533
Sheet Metal Workers (S) 105,521
Communications:
590,920 - 91% Donahue
58,171 - 9% Sweeney
Communications Workers (CWA) (D) 477,310
Graphic Communications (GCIU) (D) 93,703
Newspaper Guild (D) 19,619
Radio Association (D) 288
Transportation-Communications (S) 58,171
Entertainment:
127,453 - 75% Donahue
43,165 - 25% Sweeney
*Actors and Artistes (4A) (D) 39,965
*Actors and Artistes (4A) (S) 39,965
Musicians (D) 35,010
Professional Athletes (D) 1,778
Stage Employees (IATSE) (D) 50,700
Writers Guild East (S) 3,200
Food and Allied:
1,107,092 - 99% Donahue
16,000 - 1% Sweeney
Bakery (D) 95,580
Distillery, Wine (D) 8,010
Farm Workers (UFW) (S) 16,000
Food and Commercial (UFCW) (D) 983,386
Grain Millers (D) 20,116
Manufacturing:
608,257 - 22% Donahue
2,098,421 - 78% Sweeney
Aluminum, Brick and Glass (D) 36,543
Auto Workers UAW) (S) 751,071
Chemical Workers (D) 33,628
Electronic Workers (IUE) (D) 134,746
Glass Workers (D) 69,000
Flint Glass Workers (D) 19,510
Leather, Plastics, Novelty Workers (S) 4,712
Machinists (IAM) (S) 448,146
Mechanics (MESA) (S) 3,082
Metal Polishers (D) 3,135
Mine Workers (UMWA) (S) 75,010
Needletrades (UNITE) (D) 250,939
Novelty & Production Workers (S) 20,006
Oil Workers (OCAW) (S) 83,042
Paperworkers (S) 232,627
Steelworkers (USWA) (S) 480,725
Textile Workers (D) 15,035
Utility Workers (D) 45,721
Maritime:
161,814 - 72% Donahue
63,207 - 28% Sweeney
Longshoremen's (ILA) (D) 60,523
Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's (ILWU) (S) 36,016
Marine Engineers (MEBA) (S) 27,191
National Maritime Union (NMU) (D) 21,041
Seafarers (D) 80,250
Public, Health Care & Professional:
1,345,048 - 34% Donahue
2,638,613 - 66% Sweeney
Fire Fighters (S) 151,000
Government Employees (AFGE) (D) 153,150
Letter Carriers (D) 210,000
Office & Professional (OPEIU) (D) 85,915
Police Associations (S) 26,177
Postal Workers (APWU) (D) 260,590
Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE) (D) 22,242
School Administrators (S) 10,710
Service Employees (SEIU) (S) 1,027,474
State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) (S) 1,182,987
Teachers (AFT) (D) 613,151
Services:
75,884 - 23% Donahue
251,634 - 77% Sweeney
Hotel and Restaurant (HERE) (S) 240,265
Laundry and Dry Cleaning (S) 11,369
Retail, Wholesale & Department Store (RWDSU) (D) 75,884
Service Employees (see Public)
Transport:
163,270 - 10% Donahue
1,478,056 - 90% Sweeney
Air Line Pilots (D) 35,429
Flight Attendants (D) 30,722
Horseshoers (S) 500
Locomotive Engineers (S) 19,039
Maintenance of Way Employes (S) 30,699
Railroad Signalmen (S) 9,747
Teamsters (S) 1,284,735
Train Dispatchers (D) 2,003
Transit Union (ATU) (D) 95,116
Transport Workers (TWU) (S) 75,000
United Transportation Union (S) 58,336
*Actors and Artistes (4A) split their votes 50-50 between Donahue and Sweeney. All other union votes were unanimous.
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DIVERSITY ON THE NEW
AFL-CIO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Total members: 54
Women: 7 - 13%
Men: 47 - 87%
White males: 37 - 69%
African-Americans: 8 - 15%
Latinos: 2 - 4%
Asian-Americans: 1 - 2%
People of color: 11 - 20%
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10 MONTHS TO A NEW AFL-CIO:
-A REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK-
by Jim Smith
January -
The seemingly "forever" leadership of Lane Kirkland received a shock when the final report of the Dunlop Commission was released this month.
The report of the Clinton-appointed and AFL-CIO-blessed committee focused on eliminating protection against company-dominated employee organizations. It was a complete shock.
When the preliminary report was released six months before, Tom Donahue enthused that the commission's work would "launch a debate that hasn't been held for . . . years on the relationship between workers and owners."
The Dunlop report gave Republicans an excuse to introduce the TEAM Act in Congress. For some top labor leaders, the Dunlop Report was the final straw that move them to publicly opposed Kirkland.
On January 28, the Washington Post broke the story that a group of anonymous international union presidents were plotting against Kirkland.
February -
The Executive Council met as usual in Bal Harbour, Florida, but the meeting was anything but routine. For the first time, McEntee, Sweeney and others told Kirkland of their displeasure and urged his retirement.
April -
After two months of increasingly hostile and public disclosures by the insurgents, Kirkland went on the road. If his aim was to make an end-run around the international presidents by showing his rapport with the rank-and-file, he miscalculated badly.
The first stop was April 21 in Los Angeles. I have to take some small credit (or blame) for Kirkland's downfall. He appeared in front of a packed meeting at the Bonaventure Hotel, made a rambling speech and asked for questions. After he fielded a couple of easy queries, I asked Kirkland what he was going to do about the lack of diversity in the top leadership of the AFL-CIO. Kirkland went on a 20 minute tirade without answering the question.
Next up at the microphone was AFSCME's Gerry McEntee (who deserves a lot of credit for toppling Kirkland). McEntee took Kirkland to task for his failure to support election initiatives on behalf of Democratic Members of congress. It was all downhill for the rest of the evening. When it was over, Kirkland looked like he was ready to retire on the spot.
May -
Surprisingly, Kirkland didn't retire. But the anointed candidate of the insurgents, Tom Donahue, did announce his retirement on May 8. The next day, Kirkland launched his reelection campaign.
A committee &endash; tentatively titled New Leadership &endash; representing 11 presidents of some of the most powerful industrial, building trades and public worker unions in the AFL-CIO promptly announced its opposition to Kirkland's reelection.
Donahue's resignation ended the possibility of a compromise between Kirkland supporters and opposition forces and set the stage for the first contested election since 1894 when Samuel Gompers beat John McBride who had ousted him the previous year.
June -
Another U-turn. Kirkland says he will retire in August, Donahue runs for president. Sweeney, Trumka and Chavez-Thompson announce as New Voice candidates. The campaign begins.
July -
Sweeney and Chavez-Thompson appear at an open-meeting at the L.A. County Federation of Labor. I'm disappointed with Sweeney's response to my question about changes in the AFL-CIO's international department. "We're going to change every department," he quips.
Kirkland's administration had been subject to constant criticism for its preoccupation with foreign policy issues. A real change in the AFL-CIO would mean a repudiation of this policy. But, Sweeney was playing his cards close to his vest. (see "AFL-CIO's Last Cold Warrior," Z Magazine, July-Aug. 1995.)
I interview Tom Donahue at the CWA convention. He impressive one-on-one. Donahue says Sweeney wants to contract-out many of the functions of the federation. This could be a hot campaign issue but Donahue fails to follow up.
August -
The course of the campaign is becoming clear. Donahue is running a typical AFL-CIO top-down operation, trying to sway those with the votes. In contract, Sweeney is running an organizing campaign. He stumps for votes among the rank-and-file who have no vote This turns out to be a smart move since it keeps pressure on leaders who might otherwise flip-flop. The New Voice public relations firm, Abernathy & Mitchell, daily send out hundred of faxes touting the candidates campaign speeches and new organizing victories by Sweeney's SEIU.
In August, Donahue assumes the presidency of the AFL-CIO, but fails to take dramatic action that could turn the election around.
October -
Last minute efforts by Donahue to sway Sweeney supporters result in lots of rumors but only one defection, the Carpenters' Union.
At the convention, the New Voice candidates were able to hang on to the support they gathered at the beginning of the campaign and coast to victory.
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DAN LANE ENDS HUNGER STRIKE
AFL-CIO LAUNCHES NATIONAL
MOBILIZATION AGAINST PEPSI
Staley hunger striker Dan Lane told L.A. County Federation of Labor delegates, Nov. 21, that he ended his 64-day fast after receiving assurances from newly elected AFL-CIO President John Sweeney that the AFL-CIO will dramatically expand the Staley Workers Campaign for Justice.
At Sweeney's invitation, Lane spoke to over 1,000 delegates at the historic AFL-CIO Convention.
Sweeney later wrote to Lane, "Your struggle is at the top of our priority list, This afternoon we named a special task force that is already at work."
The AFL-CIO will launch a national campaign targeting Pepsi. Pepsi comprises over 30% of the customer base for A.E. Staley, the corn-processing plant which locked-out 762 workers in June 1993. Forty staff members, 12 of which will be full-time, have been initially assigned to kick-off this new phase of the corporate campaign.
For More Information Contact:
- Fast for Justice (21 7)428-1104
- Joe Uehlein, Executive Assistant to President Sweeney in the Industrial Union Department 301/270-5597.
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CALENDAR
MARCH FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
SAGE-UAW will hold a march and rally demanding collective bargaining rights for UCLA workers who are denied this right because they are also students. Thursday, Nov. 30. Beginning at UCLA's Royce Hall at 11:45 a.m. with a march to Murphy Hall. Rally at 12:15 p.m. 310/208-2429.
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STALEY WORKERS SUPPORT COMMITTEE
Supporters of strikers and lock-out victims of Decatur, Il. will meet Friday, Dec. 1 at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, 2130 W. 9th St.
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SAVE PREVAILING WAGE
A Hard Hat demonstration and hearing on Wilson's plan to cut the construction prevailing wage standard will take place, Monday, Dec. 11 at the downtown state building, 107 S. Broadway.
Hard Hat demonstration: 7 a.m. Industrial Welfare Commission hearing: 9 a.m.
Sponsored by the L.A./Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council.
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WORKING L.A. RADIO SCHEDULE
Every Wednesday
at 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 22 - Reflections on the AFL-CIO Convention with Sumi Haru.
Nov. 29 - Health and Safety in the work place.
Dec. 6 - Attack on Affirmative Action.
Dec. 13 - Jingle Bells. Jingle Bells. Workers Are Going To Hell. Organized labor's holiday effort.
Dec. 20 - New Otani - Old fashioned hospitality - no unions allowed!
Dec. 27 - Nigeria - World unions demand freedom for oil workers.
KPFK 90.7 FM
Host: Henry Walton
Voice Mail: 213/960-4322
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Copyright 1995 L.A. Labor News. To reach L.A. Labor News:
FAX: 310/399-7352 * Voice: 310/399-8685
E-mail: LALabor@aol.com
Postal: P.O. Box 644, Venice, CA 90294
NOV. 22, 1995 * #10
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