Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Sweeney Pledges to Try to Heal Rift within AFL-CIO
With at least one major union threatening to leave the AFL-CIO, President John Sweeney said he is pursuing a dialogue with dissident union leaders over a policy dispute and working to try to keep the federation together as he formally announced his candidacy for a new term.
"The millions of workers who need us don't need to see the house of labor divided," Sweeney said at a news conference hosted at CWA headquarters on June 21. "Only our enemies are cheering" about the dispute, he said.
The AFL-CIO has been undergoing a self-examination as it restructures to bolster programs for union organizing and political action; however five unions led by the Service Employees (SEIU) are demanding more radical changes, such as diverting half the federation's income to organizing and forcing a consolidation of unions.
The five, which recently formed what they call the Change to Win Coalition, include SEIU, the United Food and Commercial Workers, Unite Here, Teamsters and Laborers. All but the Laborers have discussed disaffiliating if policy differences aren't resolved when the AFL-CIO convention takes place late next month. SEIU President Andy Stern has personalized the rift, saying that Sweeney must step down or SEIU will pull out.
Sweeney was flanked at the news conference by many of the top officers of unions that support the leadership team of Sweeney, Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, and Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson. These unions represent 63 percent of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members.
CWA President Morton Bahr, in introducing Sweeney and the other officers at the news conference, acknowledged the ongoing debate over new directions for the AFL-CIO, stating: "Debate is healthy and it is the strength of our democracy and our labor movement, but at the end of that debate we should be stronger and not weaker."
Sweeney told reporters that the AFL-CIO's goals and those of the dissidents are nearly identical, and even specific proposals for new tactics are similar in most respects. He pledged to reach out and try to bridge the differences, noting: "No one leader's ideas are worth the price of solidarity."
A point-by-point comparison of reform proposals offered by AFL-CIO leaders and those of the dissident Change to Win Coalition may be found online at the AFL-CIO home page: www.aflcio.org.
"The millions of workers who need us don't need to see the house of labor divided," Sweeney said at a news conference hosted at CWA headquarters on June 21. "Only our enemies are cheering" about the dispute, he said.
The AFL-CIO has been undergoing a self-examination as it restructures to bolster programs for union organizing and political action; however five unions led by the Service Employees (SEIU) are demanding more radical changes, such as diverting half the federation's income to organizing and forcing a consolidation of unions.
The five, which recently formed what they call the Change to Win Coalition, include SEIU, the United Food and Commercial Workers, Unite Here, Teamsters and Laborers. All but the Laborers have discussed disaffiliating if policy differences aren't resolved when the AFL-CIO convention takes place late next month. SEIU President Andy Stern has personalized the rift, saying that Sweeney must step down or SEIU will pull out.
Sweeney was flanked at the news conference by many of the top officers of unions that support the leadership team of Sweeney, Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, and Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson. These unions represent 63 percent of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members.
CWA President Morton Bahr, in introducing Sweeney and the other officers at the news conference, acknowledged the ongoing debate over new directions for the AFL-CIO, stating: "Debate is healthy and it is the strength of our democracy and our labor movement, but at the end of that debate we should be stronger and not weaker."
Sweeney told reporters that the AFL-CIO's goals and those of the dissidents are nearly identical, and even specific proposals for new tactics are similar in most respects. He pledged to reach out and try to bridge the differences, noting: "No one leader's ideas are worth the price of solidarity."
A point-by-point comparison of reform proposals offered by AFL-CIO leaders and those of the dissident Change to Win Coalition may be found online at the AFL-CIO home page: www.aflcio.org.