Four unions announce Strategic Alliance

In late March, three major AFL-CIO unions (Communication Workers, Steel Workers, and Autoworkers) plus the IFTPE announced what they termed a “strategic alliance.” We regard the creation of such an alliance as a positive and significant step. It doesn’t seem to be the first move in a grandiose, but never realized, mega-merger scheme. Nor does seem to be an incipient breakaway from the AFL-CIO that would only further divide and weaken labor. But questions remain.

Here’s how a USW press release announced the alliance

Four of America’s largest unions have announced a political, electoral and legislative alliance pledged to “renew core American values: dignity, decency and fair treatment in the workplace.”

The Communication Workers of America, the United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which together represent well over 2 million workers, will develop common strategies and share resources to help elect candidates who support working families, and to advocate on public policy issues.

The new alliance, which has committed to invest resources heavily in the next two years to help achieve its goals, has identified four top priorities: Passing the Employee Free Choice Act, which allow workers to exercise their right to organize free from employer coercion; winning universal health care; and, protecting jobs by promoting fair trade. [emphasis added.]

It is significant that the alliance is backed by a declared commitment of resources, but it is impossible to tell how serious the commitment is without knowing how many resources or towards what purposes.  We believe that the initial priority of this alliance is to work for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, since overcoming obstacles to organizing new members is key to rebuilding labor’s institutional and political strength.

The four announced priorities don’t seem to be any different from those of the AFL-CIO or of Change to Win, for that matter. (Incidentally, the CTW’s Laborer’s Union has rejoined the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department.)

Why aren’t these four unions coordinating through the AFL-CIO, to which they all pay membership dues? Aren’t there other industrial unions, such as the Machinists, in the AFL-CIO with similar strategic interests?

The four unions proclaim that they share a common union model

CWA, IFPTE, UAW and USW all are built on the model of membership action and mobilization. They share a focus on industry-wide organizing and collective bargaining and lead the labor movement in union democracy and transparency.

And they say

The Alliance also will work with other unions and organizations to achieve these goals.

CWA, USW, and UAW are historically CIO unions and have a long tradition of cooperation. . In 2005, the three unions spearheaded the formation of Mobilization at Delphi. The inclusion of the IFTPE is a bit of a wild card. There would seem to be a natural connection between CWA’s interest in organizing hitech workers through WashTech and IFTPE’s natural jurisdiction.

Is the structure and process of the AFL-CIO too cumbersome to encourage this type of collaboration and common planning within its walls?

The Industrial Union Department (IUD) had been constitutionally mandated by the new AFL-CIO constitution in 1955. The IUD was a de facto organizing department in the AFL-CIO. For example, it provided money to the near-destitute American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as it attempted to organize the United Federation of Teachers in 1961. Perhaps the new strategic alliance can fill the gap and meet the goal it proclaims.

The unions are convinced that an unprecedented opportunity is at hand to build a new and vital labor movement that will be an effective voice for working families in today’s global economy.