Home > US union movement ’faces split’
US union movement ’faces split’
Four of the largest trade unions in the US are boycotting a convention by their umbrella organisation, in what is seen as a prelude to pulling out.
The four unions say the umbrella AFL-CIO has not done enough to halt the decline in union membership in the US.
They are among seven dissident unions representing a third of the AFL-CIO’s 13 million members - and $35m in dues.
Experts say a split in US labour could hurt the Democratic party, which generally gets strong union backing.
Long-simmering tension between the dissidents - part of a coalition called Change to Win - and AFL-CIO burst into the open on Sunday, a day before the umbrella organisation’s convention.
"Today, we have reached a point where our differences have become unresolvable," coalition chair Anna Burger said in a statement a day before the convention was to begin.
About 1,000 supporters of AFL-CIO president John Sweeney rallied on Sunday under the slogan United to Win, the AFL-CIO said.
The dissident unions are unhappy with Mr Sweeney’s leadership. He is expected to win re-election without challenge at the convention.
The Teamsters and Service Employees’ International are expected to announce on Monday they are formally leaving the AFL-CIO.
Service Employees’ International is the largest and fastest-growing union in the US, with more than 1.8 million members, while the Teamsters call themselves "the world’s most powerful union".
Glum celebration
The schism - perhaps ironically - comes on the eve of a convention meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
That merger ended an acrimonious split between the unions that had lasted since 1935.
The US labour movement has long been in decline.
According to government statistics, 12.5% of all US workers - and 8% of private-sector workers - are union members.
In the 1950s and 1960s, about a third of workers were unionised.
Forum posts
26 July 2005, 14:33
One more stake in the heart of the Democratic Party as far as I’m concerned by union members who are sick and tired of having abortion and pacifism rammed down their throats. Good for them!