July 24—More workers in unions means a stronger voice for working families, UAW Vice President Bob King told more than 800 participants at the second day of the AFL-CIO Building Power for Working Families Conference.

Hundreds of participants took part in the two-day AFL-CIO Building Power for Working Families Conference in Chicago.
Roberto Duran discussed his experience in winning a voice at work at the Ironworkers’ campaign at J.D. Steel.
UAW Vice President Bob King: Organizing workers is critical because “if we have little power, we have little justice.”

“If we have little power, we have little justice,” King told participants at the Changing to Organize, Organizing for Power session July 24. The Building Power conference was held in advance of the AFL-CIO’s 25th Constitutional Convention in Chicago.

In the second Sunday session, Strengthening State and Local Union Movements, speakers discussed how local unions, state federations and local central bodies build political power and mobilize members to support organizing and working family issues.

Successful organizing requires a commitment by union leaders to provide money, political support and resources to the campaign, Tracey Abman, organizing director of AFSCME District 31, told participants, who also shared their experiences.

Several speakers and participants noted organizing campaigns work when they include a diverse group of organizers and are tied to a broad social movement to promote democracy and justice, such as the civil rights and immigrant rights movements.

Roberto Duran, who joined his co-workers in winning a voice at work in the Ironworkers’ campaign at J.D. Steel, said the mostly-immigrant workforce successfully formed a union by emphasizing long-range plans to organize entire industries and building strength in a union’s core industry. As a result, the workers won representation with the Ironworkers at J.D. Steel plants in 21 states.

“Things are a lot better now at the company—the abuses have stopped. I’m proud to work under a contract and it’s an honor to be in a union and work with respect and dignity.”

David Bonior, chair of American Rights at Work, an educational and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the ability of workers’ freedom to form unions, said unions must shift the national debate about work to highlight the roadblocks employers erect to prevent workers from exercising their freedom to choose a union.

In Strengthening State and Local Union Movements session, local and state union leaders shared strategies for building power at the grassroots level. Tim Nesbitt, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, explained how the state federation is mobilizing the community to oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Richard Shaw, executive secretary-treasurer of the Harris County (Texas) Central Labor Council outlined the steps the local unions used to secure a union contract at the new Hilton hotel in Houston. Jack McKay, president of the Bangor (Maine) Labor Council, described how the small, unpaid staff built political strength to persuade the state’s top politicians to support the Teamsters’ organizing effort at DHL.

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