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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2006)
Think Again • EE R F By Tim Nesbitt BARGAIN COUNTER Free ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Reuniting to win: How local union movements overcame the AFL-CIO split A surprising thing happened after the defection of four major unions fractured the national AFL- CIO last summer. Back home, in state after state, our local unions held to- gether. Or, if they began to disassem- ble themselves, as happened here in Oregon, they soon found a way to re- assemble themselves and are now close to full strength again. This is what I hoped would hap- pen. But, for many months last year, it is not what I expected would happen. And the fact that the fissures from the national split ultimately did little or no damage to the AFL-CIO’s institutions at the local level tells an important story about the importance of old- fashioned solidarity and the en- durance of well-organized state feder- ations and central labor councils. It’s a story worth remembering as we pre- pare for the battles of 2006. Here’s my summary. Chapter I, November 2004-June 2005. As the debate about the future of the AFL-CIO takes hold, leaders of central labor councils and state feder- ations weigh in with a strong re- minder that solidarity at the local level is the key to success at the national level. The Oregon AFL-CIO Execu- tive Board adopts a resolution in De- cember 2004 stating, “All politics is local. And all organizing, even in a global economy, begins in local work- places …if we didn’t have a local union movement, we would have to create it, state by state.” But, as consensus develops within the AFL-CIO for strengthening its lo- cal institutions, dissent polarizes its unions over structure and strategy at the national level. When defection at the national level appears likely, the Service Employees International Union offers a local option for the continued affiliation of breakaway unions at the local level, which the AFL-CIO rejects as unworkable. IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for...years? • Lost records? • Liens - Levies - Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Retiring? Have questions? Call Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent/Tax Practitioner 503-697-7757 PAGE 10 Chapter II, July-August 2005. SEIU, the United Food and Commer- cial Workers, the Teamsters and UNITE HERE boycott the AFL-CIO convention in Chicago. Then, they an- nounce their disaffiliation from the national AFL-CIO. But they all say that they would like their local unions to remain part of the AFL-CIO’s state federations and labor councils. The AFL-CIO dismisses that approach as “pick-and-choose solidarity” and di- rects its local labor bodies to expel the breakaway unions. The Oregon AFL- CIO sheds 40 percent of its affiliated members within a week after the na- tional convention. The Northwest Oregon Labor Council follows suit, losing close to 25 percent of its mem- bers. Similar actions are taken in other states, including Washington. But lo- cal leaders in most states take a wait- and-see approach, reluctant to dimin- ish their state federations and labor councils in the face of growing politi- cal threats. Chapter III, September-Novem- ber 2005. Leaders of the AFL-CIO and national unions on both sides of the split realize that they need state federations and labor councils to wage effective campaigns in high- stakes political contests at the local level. There are key governors’ elec- tions in Virginia and New Jersey, a government spending measure in Col- orado, and a ballot initiative in Cali- fornia that threatens to restrict the freedom of unions to engage the po- litical process. Recognizing these threats, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney announces three successive grace periods to allow locals of the breakaway unions to continue to par- ticipate in state federations and labor councils. Our campaigns are victori- ous in all four battleground states. And Sweeney eventually reaches an agreement with the breakaway unions to adopt the local option idea, now called “Solidarity Charters,” through December 2006. Chapter IV, December 2005. SEIU rejoins the Oregon AFL-CIO. UFCW rejoins the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Oregon’s union move- ment, although not completely healed, is back to fighting strength. And the national AFL-CIO goes a step further with the local option ap- proach as a way to rebuild the union movement from the bottom up: It of- fers special charters not just to the breakaway unions, but to any non- AFL-CIO union that chooses to affil- iate with a state federation or labor council. Epilogue. What produced this re- unification of our union movement at the local level? Certainly, personal solidarity was a critical factor. At labor councils, in particular, union members march un- der common banners; they picket to- gether; and, they campaign door-to- door and over the phones to talk to each other’s members. These kinds of relationships — and the institutions that sustain them — are not easy to dismantle. Further, at the national level, union leaders recognized that all politics is local — and that our best federations and labor councils do their most effective work in high-stakes electoral campaigns at the local level. The unraveling that occurred at the national AFL-CIO stopped short of untying the bindings of solidarity forged at the local level. In most state federations and labor councils, the center held. And now it appears that our local institutions may offer new centers of growth for a more inclusive union movement. Re-uniting to win at the local level, it turns out, is as im- portant as changing to win at the na- tional level. Tim Nesbitt is a former president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. HEMORRHOIDS The Non-Surgical Treatment We specialize in the non-surgical treatment of hemorrhoids. For over 40 years people throughout the region have turned to the Sandy Blvd. Clinic for fast and effective relief. For more information, FREE consultation and/or a FREE informative booklet call: Write or call for a FREE information booklet and/or a FREE consultation. (503) 232-7609 THE SANDY BLVD. RECTAL CLINIC PORTLAND Steven G. 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