Teamsters, SEIU split from AFL-CIO

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Labor leaders urged to stand together
Earlier, Democratic lawmakers were careful not to take sides in the fight in their convention speeches, but urged labor leaders to stand together for workers at a critical time.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said business interests may think the divide will make organized labor vulnerable.

“We have news for them. It’s not going to happen,” he said to cheers. “Our unity is our strength. We will stand together and fight for working families.”

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After his speech, Durbin said it’s too early to tell what impact the rift will have on the Democratic Party, which relies on labor movement for money and manpower on Election Day. “I think the unions not participating in this convention are still deeply committed to working families,” he said. “I hope the separation in our union family is resolved very soon.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., made a glancing reference at the dispute, telling delegates: “There are questions of strategy and tactics of leadership and power and I can imagine many of you are anxious about labor’s future but, more importantly, you’re also anxious about your own futures.”

He urged labor leaders to adapt to the global economy, which is pressuring U.S. workers out of jobs. “There has never been a greater need for a strong labor movement to stand up for American workers,” Obama said.

“Our differences are so fundamental and so principled that at this point I don’t think there is a chance there will be a change of course,” said UFCW President Joe Hansen.

Leaders of the dissident unions demanded Sweeney’s ouster, said the AFL-CIO was beyond repair from within and demanded more money for organizing. They also are seeking power to force mergers of smaller unions and other changes they say are key to adapting to vast changes in society and the economy.

Rank-and-file members of the 52 non-boycotting AFL-CIO affiliates expressed confusion and anger over the action. “If there was ever a time we workers need to stick together, it’s today,” said Olegario Bustamante, a steelworker from Cicero, Ill.

It’s the biggest rift in organized labor since 1938, when the CIO split from the AFL. The organizations reunited in the mid-1950s.

Globalization, automation and the transition from an industrial-based economy have forced hundreds of thousands of unionized workers out of jobs, weakening labor’s role in the workplace.

When the AFL-CIO formed 50 years ago, union membership was at its zenith, with one of every three private-sector workers belonging to a labor group. Now, less than 8 percent of private-sector workers are unionized.

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