July 28—Emphasizing bold steps taken by union members at the 25th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on July 28 told the nearly 1,000 Convention delegates: “We have accomplished a great deal and put the union movement on a stronger footing. The work we have done together will enable more working people to gain the benefits of union membership and to gain a stronger voice in the laws and policies that shape everyday life in America.”
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| AFL-CIO President Sweeney wraps up the 25th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention in Chicago. |
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| Bricklayers President John Flynn (left) joins cheering delegates at the AFL-CIO Convention. |
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| AFT Secretary-Treasurer Nat LaCour addresses AFL-CIO Convention delegates. |
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Sweeney who, together with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka and AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson, was re-elected by enthusiastic acclamation July 27, praised the work and dedication of the nearly 1,000 union leaders and member delegates as the federation wrapped up in Chicago today.
He stressed the Convention action approving resources for organizing, ensuring year-round political and legislative mobilization, expanding the union movement’s leadership diversity at all levels and boosting workers’ economic power at home and around the globe.
CAFTA Supporters ‘Should Be Ashamed’
A loud round of boos greeted the announcement that the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement by 217–215 in a post-midnight vote July 28, following a massive backroom, arm-twisting campaign by the Bush administration.
"The 15 Democrats and the 202 Republicans who voted for CAFTA voted against American jobs. They voted against decent treatment for our Dominican and Central American brothers and sisters. They voted against working families. Anyone—of either party—who gets labor support should be ashamed of casting a vote like this and if they aren’t ashamed, we should make them ashamed," Sweeney said.
‘We Have Demonstrated We Are United’
In a special discussion of central labor councils and state federations, Sweeney and Convention delegates addressed the impact of the recent disaffiliation of the Teamsters and SEIU on local and state union movements.
“People out there are watching the news—union members and nonmembers—and they are hearing this is a divided labor movement. But I want to say that throughout this Convention we have demonstrated that we are united. We are strong. We are ready to make America work for working families,” said Sweeney.
“We will not permit their decision to undermine our work or resolve. But the fact is, the disaffiliations, if they last for any period of time, are still going to hurt and some of our state federations and central labor councils are going to suffer considerably,” he said.
On July 27, delegates approved Resolution 61, part of which establishes a special fund to provide emergency support to state and central labor bodies and trade and industrial departments to deal with the impacts of the disaffiliations and to combat raids by disaffiliating and unaffiliated unions.
Speaking from the floor, several delegates applauded the federation’s work on strategies to bolster state federations and central labor councils, plans crafted over the past few months by the AFL-CIO Executive Council’s State Federation and Central Labor Council Advisory Committee.
In response to concerns about the need to have more local unions affiliated with state and local labor federations, Sweeney outlined in a memo the steps the federation will take to ensure fuller affiliation and necessary financial support for state federations and central labor councils.
Winning Fight to Stop Social Security Privatization
Also on the Convention’s final day, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka updated delegates on the success of the federation’s Capital Stewardship program, which began in 1997.
The program, which harnesses the $5 trillion in union pension fund investments helps worker pension fund trustees take an active approach to capital stewardship and “promote worker-friendly investments…to challenge America’s corporations through shareholder advocacy and…demand accountability from our investment managers and service providers,” he said.
Trumka said workers’ capital power has helped in the battle to stop President George W. Bush’s scheme to privatize Social Security, which would hand some $940 billion in fees to Wall Street investment firms. “Six months of capital market organizing in defense of retirement security is bearing fruit,” Trumka told delegates.
“According to news reports, George Bush may forgo privatized accounts as part of his Social Security reform,” he told a cheering Convention hall.
Alliance for Retired Americans and National Labor College
Speaking on behalf of the 3-million-member-strong Alliance for Retired Americans, President George Kourpias told delegates: "You have my word we won't give up the fight to save Social Security until we have won and we will continue to focus on educating, training and mobilizing seniors in the fight for retirement security." During a presentation on the Alliance’s actions since its founding at the 2001 AFL-CIO Convention, delegates heard the Alliance has mobilized its members in the fight to protect Social Security and strengthen Medicare and for a Medicare prescription drug program that is fair and meets the needs of working people and the middle class.
National Labor College President Sue Schurman urged delegates to take advantage of the unique educational opportunities the National Labor College (NLC) provides. In the past 30 years, she said, more than 200,000 union members have taken university courses on the Silver Spring, Md., campus and more than 1,000 have earned their college degrees there. Founded in 1969 by the AFL-CIO, the NLC is an accredited, degree-granting college that provides continuous labor education for all union members and leaders.
Delegates also heard a report from Andy Milburn and Chris Shelton, members of Communications Workers of America, on the success of Cingular Wireless workers organizing under a negotiated majority sign-up agreement and compared their experience with the anti-union campaign faced by workers seeking a union voice at Verizon Wireless. Delegates viewed a presentation on the AFL-CIO Union Privilege program and approved Resolution 54 supporting the work of the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center.
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