The AFL-CIO’s 2013 convention came with a great deal of fanfare. Unlike other conventions in the recent past, many felt a sense of revitalization surrounding this year’s proceedings as the federation moved to change strategy in a number of key ways. Perhaps most indicative of this shift was the passage of Resolution 16. Titled “Enduring Labor-Community Partnerships,” this resolution noted the “broad macroeconomic transformations” that have “[accelerated] deep divides and inequalities in our society.” “Unions must work hand in hand with community partners and allies,” it continues, “to reverse these economic trends.”
In the run-up to the convention, Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times wrote that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka “believes that if unions are having a hard time increasing their ranks, they can at least restore their clout by building a broad coalition to advance a worker-friendly political and economic agenda.” What’s currently happening in the Seattle area could serve as a testing ground for this theory.
These are certainly interesting times for the labor movement in Seattle. As Paul Bigman recently wrote in Labor Notes, there have been a number of “dramatic actions by and on behalf of workers in the past few months.” These actions included a victory for the “traditional” movement, as both the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the Teamsters successfully fought a concessionary contract for many grocery workers in the area. There have also been a number of victories for workers outside the channels of collective bargaining, such as the passage of a $15 minimum wage in SeaTac (a small airport community outside of Seattle) and the election of Socialist Kshama Sawant to Seattle’s city council. Continue reading
Filed under: Organizing, Politics | Tagged: Boeing, Kshama Sawant, Labor Notes, Richard Trumka, Seattle | Leave a comment »