Publications

The AFL-CIO Schism: Why Employers Should Care And What They Should Be Thinking About
08/01/2005

As most are aware from the headlines about developments surrounding the AFL-CIO national convention this past week in Chicago, two of the largest AFL-CIO unions — the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — have both withdrawn from the AFL-CIO. Two other large unions — the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and UNITE HERE (which represents employees in the restaurant, hotel and garment industries) — boycotted the convention, and have stated they may well leave the Federation. On Friday, July 29, the UFCW did just that. The breakaway unions have formed their own coalition, currently known as “Change to Win,” which will have a significantly greater emphasis on union activism in organizing efforts. The Laborers Union, the Carpenters Union and the United Farm Workers are also part of the seven-union coalition. The coalition unions represent approximately six million members, which is more than a third of all union members in the United States, and contribute a large percentage of the dues previously collected by the AFL-CIO. Importantly, the “Change to Win” coalition plans to target these funds to organizing new members.