AFL-CIO to establish special council for young workers

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4582

By Mark Gruenberg
8 August 2010

WASHINGTON - Responding to demands from its first-ever Youth Summit less than three months ago, the AFL-CIO will establish a special council of young workers from around the country to consider, refine and channel their demands and to help connect the labor movement to young labor.

The council is the most fully developed part of the federation’s increased outreach to youthful workers, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler told Press Associates Union News Service and the Bureau of National Affairs in an exclusive Aug. 5 interview at the federation’s Executive Council meeting in downtown Washington.

Shuler, herself only 39, was the prime mover behind the summit -- along with data showing union members are older and grayer than the U.S. workforce as a whole. Only 5% of workers aged 18-24 are unionized, compared to 16% of those aged 45-64.

Further, according to the 300 youthful activists at the summit, labor doesn’t know how to reach and involve young workers, needs to adapt to changing non-traditional work environments, and must start 2-way communication, among other things.

Shuler’s report to the council touched on all those issues and more, including the need to educate young workers about unions. “There are a lot of moving parts to this” and it’s still being developed, and will be road-tested through webinars, she said.

“People felt really comfortable with what we recommended,” Shuler said of the other union leaders. “First and foremost, we’re going to establish a Young Worker National Advisory Committee, drawing on the participants from the summit” and other youthful activists named by local unions. The committee will sift through the summit’s recommendations, investigate best practices for drawing young workers in, and propose concrete actions unions can take to bring in and encourage young activists.

Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.

FULL story at link.