July 25—The union movement was founded on fundamental American values— economic security, opportunity and equality—that, taken together, provide the essential building blocks for strong families, strong communities and a stronger nation.
In two proposed resolutions, the AFL-CIO Executive Council asks delegates to the 25th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention meeting in Chicago July 25–28 to reaffirm the union movement’s commitment to fight for programs and policies that reflect these values, such as family-supporting jobs, secure retirements, affordable health care coverage and educational opportunity.
Resolution 3, “The Values that Unite Us as a People and a Movement,” and Resolution 4, “Good Jobs for America’s Workers,” emerged from a broad discussion among union leaders, grassroots activists and allies about strategies for strengthening the union movement for the future and enabling working families to gain sufficient power to balance corporate power.
Creating Good Jobs
Today, global pressures, rampant anti-unionism, rising health care and retirement costs and a host of other trends threaten jobs in America.
Building strong unions is key to stemming the forces destroying good jobs in America. But current laws administered by an anti-union federal government stymie workers’ freedom to form unions. Resolution 4 addresses the need to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain by changing the climate and the rules governing organizing, especially through the Employee Free Choice Act.
Reintroduced in Congress in April, the act would amend the National Labor Relations Act to allow employees to freely choose whether to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation. It also would provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes and establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
The Council also is asking Convention delegates to renew the federation’s commitment to fight to ensure all state and local government employees have the choice to form and join unions, bargain collectively with their respective public employers and enjoy full citizenship and political rights.
"The interests of minorities and labor are inevitably bound together," NAACP Chair Julian Bond told the Convention July 25. "When we walk hand-in-hand, everyone wins. When either moves away, we all lose."
Ensuring Economic Security
The two resolutions call for union members to ensure economic security by fighting to strengthen and protect Social Security and pensions for working Americans.
The resolutions specifically:
Reaffirm the union movement’s opposition to privatizing Social Security and big cuts in guaranteed benefits that threaten retirement security. They also recognize changes in the system are necessary and make clear the union movement’s determination to fight for progressive changes that will build a stronger and more secure Social Security system.
Renew support for universal health care while reaffirming the union movement’s opposition to privatizing Medicare and to any so-called reforms that would dilute Medicare coverage.
Reiterate the federation’s commitment to expanding and improving Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and blowing the whistle on large employers, such as
Wal-Mart, that shift their health care costs to workers and taxpayers.
Call for expanding the guaranteed pension system to cover more working families.
Seek to improve pensions to protect the purchasing power of retirees and reaffirm unions’ commitment to defending and advancing the railroad retirement system.
Providing Quality, Affordable Health Care
The resolutions also point out that accessible, affordable health care coverage is a hallmark of good jobs. But the rising cost of health care is reducing the number and share of people covered by employer-based health care coverage. The resolutions assert the solution to the health care crisis is a national universal health care program. The resolutions commit the union movement to wage a strong fight to win high-quality health care that is affordable and accessible to all workers and their families.
Specifically Resolutions 3 and 4 call for:
- Strengthening employer-based health care plans and securing reforms to relieve the cost pressures on those plans, through such measures as a federal reinsurance program for catastrophic claims.
- Supporting and leading campaigns for legislative and innovative strategies to expand coverage for workers and reduce costs for employers that provide good care for their workers.
- Opposing moves to replace traditional employer-sponsored plans with defined-contribution and high-deductible health plans that save money for employers but shift greater risks and costs to employees.
- Pushing Congress to deliver on the promise of affordable health care for workers who lose their jobs because of trade deals.
- Working for real improvements in the quality of health care through public and private partnerships that include strong consumer representation to address health care quality and patient safety issues.
- Helping ensure health insurance coverage for retirees and early retirees, including Medicare, is affordable and of good quality.
Extending Opportunity Through Education
Education is the key to opportunity and achieving the American Dream. Both resolutions commit the union movement to providing the nation’s children the foundation they need to get ahead in life by:
- Asserting a commitment to a free and universal public school system and the union movement’s opposition to strategies, such as vouchers, that would divert public funds into private education.
- Calling for reforms that will correct flaws in the No Child Left Behind Act and provide adequate resources so that the law meets the promise of its title.
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