SEIU, Teamsters make it official; WSLC to be affected
Well, they've made it official. They're quitting:
Folks at the Washington State Labor Council tell NPI this means they will be affected as well. If unions disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO nationally, they must also disaffiliate locally (on the state level), which means they'll take their funding with them.
The WSLC has already lost about 15% of its funding with the loss of SEIU and the Teamsters, whose decision to leave was made official today. Should some of the other unions in the "Change to Win" coalition follow this national move, the council could lose up to 40% of its current funding.
The state council is holding a convention next week, with the theme of a crossroads. Delegates will discuss where to go from here and how to restructure the state labor council to deal with the loss of the unions that are disaffiliating.
NPI offers its best wishes to everyone at the state labor council and hopes that America's working people will emerge from these troubled and cloudy times as a stronger force.
More Information: Tim Nesbitt's blog | Working Life blog
Leaders of two of the largest unions in the A.F.L.-C.I.O. - the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters - said today that they are quitting the federation in an expected but highly controversial move that underscores a major schism in the national labor movement.More unions could follow, too:
"We must have more union members in order to change the political climate that is undermining workers rights in this country," the Teamsters president, James P. Hoffa, said today. "The A.F.L.-C.I.O. has chosen the opposite approach. Today's decision means that we have chosen a course of growth and strength for the American labor movement based on organizing new members."
The two unions said they were forming a competing labor coalition that they hope will address the decline in union membership. Mr. Hoffa said that the Teamsters have partnered with seven "strong and progressive" unions in the Change to Win coalition, a recently formed coalition of labor unions whose leaders have criticized the A.F.L.-C.I.O. for failing to "embrace fundamental reforms that would strengthen labor's ability to make real headway."
Well, not that this surprises anyone here but, yes, SEIU and the Teamsters have pulled out of the Federation — effective immediately (sorry for the delay—can you believe it, no wireless at the press conference!!!). And I hear from insiders that the UFCW will pull out by the end of the week. As for UNITE HERE, a senior person told me, "that the other shoe doesn't always drop on the same day."And on the local level?
Folks at the Washington State Labor Council tell NPI this means they will be affected as well. If unions disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO nationally, they must also disaffiliate locally (on the state level), which means they'll take their funding with them.
The WSLC has already lost about 15% of its funding with the loss of SEIU and the Teamsters, whose decision to leave was made official today. Should some of the other unions in the "Change to Win" coalition follow this national move, the council could lose up to 40% of its current funding.
The state council is holding a convention next week, with the theme of a crossroads. Delegates will discuss where to go from here and how to restructure the state labor council to deal with the loss of the unions that are disaffiliating.
NPI offers its best wishes to everyone at the state labor council and hopes that America's working people will emerge from these troubled and cloudy times as a stronger force.
More Information: Tim Nesbitt's blog | Working Life blog
