AFL-CIO wants to be the voice of most workers, not just those in unions

[OrwellwasRight]

Cross post from LBN:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014509184

AFL-CIO wants to be the voice of most workers, not just those in unions

Source: Cleveland Plain-Dealer

The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization, is seeking to be the voice of all working and middle class people -- even if they don't belong to unions.

"I don't think this is a big leap to think that a union should have a broader definition," said Harriet Applegate, who heads the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, whose letterhead includes: "We're the people who brought you the weekend."

She said a "good job" is the universal desire for nearly all working and middle class people, regardless of whether they belong to organized labor. Most of what has come to define a good job, mainly decent wages, working conditions -- even days off, like a weekend -- are often the result of battles won by unions, Applegate said.

As many of these gains have been lost or compromised, she said, unions have been in the forefront of raising awareness about wage stagnation and income inequality.


Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/06/afl-cio_wants_to_be_the_voice.html

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Then it needs to live up to the two former parts

They need a AFL strategy going after middle class workers and the CIO for lower wage workers. They still get many from the CIO side but have lost the AFL side in past decades.

[OrwellwasRight]

2. So don't tell me.

Tell the AFL-CIO at the link.

[OrwellwasRight]

5. Direct Link:

http://www.aflcio.org/About/Exec-Council/Conventions/2013/Discussion-Page#question6

[LiberalFighter]

3. I thought all the gains from labor have benefited those not union.

Maybe the federation hasn't been including that in their agenda but I'm sure many of the labor unions have been.

[OrwellwasRight]

4. You're right. They have been including that in their agenda.

But perhaps not effectively enough or the recent votes in IN and WI would not have gone the way that they did. Clearly AFL-CIO cannot keep doing things exactly as they have or the union movement will eventually die out in the US.

It needs and wants to do better -- which includes better publicity for what it already has done and is doing on behalf of all workers (fighting for Medicare, SS, min wage, right to organize, right to sick days, etc.), but also creative ideas to reach those it is not reaching given the changing nature of work (e.g., more temps, more "independent contractors," more "outside salespeople," etc.). If employers do not want "employees" the AFL-CIO (and its affiliates) has to keep up with the times.

With 7% private sector density, clearly it--meaning its affiliates--is not keeping up and must reform.

It is seeking the input of all workers in this reform.