Bipartisan Approach Needed at AFL-CIO

In 1955, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to create the AFL-CIO. At the time of the merger, the unions that made up the AFL-CIO (including the IAFF) represented more than 35 percent of the American workforce. Those numbers translated into clout for the AFL-CIO. As a result, it was sought after for its position and views on every

national issue affecting workers, the national economy and the social and civil rights of Americans. The AFL-CIO was the face of American workers and an effective leader for change on Capitol Hill and in the workplace.

Today, the AFL-CIO represents just 12 percent of the workforce overall in the United States, and only 9 percent in the private sector. A major factor in that decline is that, as the economy and culture of our nation has changed over the decades, the Federation has failed to change its basic strategic approach.

Today, I am not alone in my belief that the AFL-CIO has lost its effectiveness, voice and edge at the national level. As General President of the IAFF, I sit on the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO. That Executive Council has been asked by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to conduct a “full and open discussion about our future and about the choices we must make together,” to once again restore the power of our Federation at the national level.

In response to that call from President Sweeney, and to ensure that the views of the IAFF are fully represented in the discussions about reforming the Federation, I prepared and submitted a report to the AFL-CIO. That report included a number of recommendations for change that would make our movement once again an important player in decisions that affect all workers in this country. The full report can be viewed at www.iaff.org .

This is a critical discussion for our movement, and action must be taken. While winning new members is a key to the Federation regaining its power, it will first take a change in the strategies employed by the AFL-CIO to show the unorganized workers of this country that the labor movement truly represents their interests and beliefs.

As part of this recasting process, I have pushed for a more bipartisan Federation of the future. Collectively, organized labor is a potent political force. But in the last three election cycles, at the national and federal level, labor has come up short.

To win, the AFL-CIO must end of its practice of being subservient to one political party. As Samuel Gompers, one of our movement’s founders, once said, “We can attain our purposes more quickly and more effectively by continuing our political policy of independent political action [that is] partisan to principles rather than to a party.” If the AFL-CIO continues to tie itself solely to Democrats, the Federation’s political and legislative influence will continue to decline. And that decline will continue to tarnish the image of the American Labor Movement in the eyes of America’s workers.

The IAFF takes a more bipartisan approach to politics and legislation, and we have built and continue to build relationships with candidates and legislators based on issues important to our members, and not on political party affiliation. This approach has enabled our union to win several important legislative victories in the past few years. That recommendation for change has been presented to President Sweeney, along with a call for a full internal policy and program audit to clearly define and develop a mission that serves the workers of the future.

Four years ago, right after I was elected General President of the IAFF, we conducted a full review of the resources and services that the IAFF provides to its affiliates and members. That review resulted in some major changes in programs and strategies of the IAFF. Once again this year, we will be conducting a review to ensure that we continue to match our services to our members’ needs.

Similarly, the goal of the reform effort is to retool the AFL-CIO to create an efficient and effective Federation with an agenda focused on a few strategically targeted objectives rather than the broad swath it attempts to cover today.

All of us in the labor movement share a common goal — to improve the lives and livelihoods of our members, and I strongly hold that we must demonstrate on a national level that we add value to your lives — that we on are your side.

This is why the IAFF is insisting that the AFL-CIO must undergo significant change. The IAFF will be actively participating with the AFL-CIO and all its affiliates about the future to ensure changes are implemented that result in a stronger AFL-CIO that meets the needs of modern workers and new and emerging industries. And we encourage you to send us your views.

Stay safe.

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