Diversity Forum Sparks Talk About Change at the AFL-CIO Convention
How do we truly build a labor movement that is inclusive to young workers, people of color and the LGBT community? It's more than just holding a meeting or attending a conference, said Tahir Duckett, national young worker coordinator at the AFL-CIO, at a pre-conference diversity summit at the AFL-CIO 2013 Convention.
"We're organizers," said Duckett. "We have to ask young workers to get more involved. All the young worker leaders I meet say it was someone investing time and taking interest in them that encouraged more involvement in their union. It's not going to be easy, you need the goal of inclusion to permeate every aspect of your work."
More than 1,200 participants buzzed with earnest conversations on the topic of diversity in the labor movement at this packed conference, which included speeches from Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Barack Obama; the Rev. James Lawson Jr., civil rights leader; AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler; and AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker.
Carmen Berkley, director of the AFL-CIO Civil and Human Rights Department, moderated the event.
Panelists and speakers reflected on the importance of having a voice on the job and the ways it made the American Dream a possibility for people of color.
United Steelworkers ( USW ) International Vice President Fred Redmond said union membership made it possible for large groups of black workers to join the middle class. Growing up, his family was on food stamps and drank powdered milk and "government cheese." But one day, something drastic happened.
"My dad got a union job," he said.
The proposals people have at #1udiversity to build a more inclusive movement are game changing. #AFLCIO13
— Gregory A. Cendana (@gregorycendana) September 8, 2013
Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation ( ITUC ), reminded participants that women across the globe are making less than their male counterparts with less workplace rights, and this is an issue we should all be invested in. When women participate equally in the workforce, the gross domestic product rises for all countries.
Lawson's passionate remarks had audience members on their feet. He talked of the immorality of people working full-time for poverty wages.
"When 7 out of 10 people work poverty wages, that is simply another name for slavery." -Rev. James Lawson #1udiversity
— Jess Livoti-Morales (@JessLivMo) September 8, 2013
Rev Lawson says to #1udiversity we have created plantation capitalism creating systems of oppression that still hold people down
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) September 8, 2013
Lori Pelletier, secretary-treasurer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO , asked how many union members there had an LGBT caucus at the local level. A couple hands shot up, and Pelletier strongly encouraged every local to do the same.
The table-top discussions from participants after the speeches and panel focused on figuring out why the labor movement has not become more diverse and involved at the community level, and then it shifted to a discussion about how to change.
“It’s about power,” said a young labor leader from New York. “The same people who struggled and fought to break down the door are blocking the door!”
A table near the back of the room had everybody laughing, and another table of mostly young Latinos and Latinas talked about the problem of boring procedural rules for union meetings and how it’s important for every meeting to have something to draw in new people and to make them feel welcome.
The talks ended, and a representative from each table gave a report to the whole conference to shouts and applause. People talked about continuing the fight for immigration reform and the need for a major organizing drive across the South.
“We’ve got to take action ourselves, not just ask politicians to fix things for us,” said a DREAMer from California.
During all the proceedings, an artist drew and colored on a series of white panels to create a real-time visual representation of the event.
One of the exercises was for the groups to write a newspaper or blog headline they’d like to see a year from now.
One headline read, “Labor Movement Experienced Double Digit Growth by Reflecting the Workforce!” Another was, “The Global 99% Launches a Global Living Wage Campaign.” Another was simply, “Workers Grab Power.”
Some of the last were: “Unions Not Just About Unions but Also Human Rights” and “Real Wages Grow for the First Time in Over 40 Years.” Another said, to laughter and hoots, “Red Sox Wins World Series!”
See more updates from the diversity conference on Twitter by following the hashtag #1uDiversity .
