How come nobody's talking about this AFL/CIO thing?

[rockymountaindem]

Hopefully the Teamsters and SEIU will be happier on their own, but the media is saying over and over how bad this is for Democrats. Now, giving that the MSM has a penchant for tap-dancing on Democrats, I'm not going to buy that line right away.

Here's how I see it... There are the same number of union members as yesterday. What difference does it make to our base if they belong to seperate groups or one group. Now they would probalby be better organized under one umbrella, but this way they might be able to cover more ground. I also heard that the two unions that broke off today have markedly increased their membership in the past 10 years while the others have not.

If any of you are familiar with the labor movement perhaps you can shed some light on the subject.

[Cleita]

1. I'm kind of confused about it.

I am having a problem figuring out who the good and bad guys are. Since Hoffa was a big Bush supporter I can't see where he has a horse in the race. Maybe some of our union people here can explain things and put up some links for us. With my eye problems, I am still having problems being in front of the computer screen for the long periods of the time it would take to google a lot of this stuff.

[kevsand]

2. The groups that are breaking away are making lots of noise

about not devoting resources to politics in general, and especially not to Democrats. There's no way that can be good.

There is both much more, and much less, to this than meets the eye, or is being reported in the MSM. There is a major personal clash between Stern and Sweeney, a lot of pigheadedness all around on both sides, and a naked grab for power, to boot.

Some of the background can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4185521

[Al-CIAda]

3. My guess is that because Dems have abandoned the American worker, its the

DLC way.

[question everything]

4. Because this is a non-issue, really

The number of union members has declined precipitously during the past two decades, or more.

It started with Reaganomics when investor bankers and lawyers embarked on mergers and acquisitions. Instead of corporations putting money back into the operations, they used it to buy another company and then sell its assets and, of course, fire the employees and eliminate the pension funds.

Unions were big when manufacturing was a major economic force. When there was a need for skilled workers and there was room for bargaining.

But who is going to join a union now? The ones who work two or three jobs at minimum wage just to pay the bills? Who are like cogs that can be replaced at a moment notice?

The ones who have changed so many jobs and careers and kept going to the community college to learn new skills - until the new job is gone - so that they don't even know what profession they are?

The ones who were laid off their secure, corporate jobs and since then have been "self-employed" or "consultants" trying to scrape jobs here and there just to stay afloat?

Unions go with large industry and corporations. But as the economy is now two-third service based, meaning minimum wage and no benefits - what is there for union to do?

[bribri16]

5. Mass denial. n/t

[skids]

6. I think it is either serendipity, or genius.

A running battle of less-than-brutal pot-shots to keep unions in the media would do loads to raise the awareness of their issues and organizations. They should pull a WWF wrestling match of a fight right on national TV, with all the theatrics they can come up with. Everyone loves a fight.

[kahleefornia]

7. Union strength is in numbers

I think the concern is that it looks like even people in Unions can't agree on what they want or how to get it.

I'm a Union worker all the way - and it is the single best influence on my career and security. I don't know much about this issue, even though I usually am up on Union stuff. I need to find a good explanation of it too!

[murielm99]

8. I will ask my husband.

He is a union officer locally. They used to be GCIU, because he is a printer, but now they are Teamsters. The Teamsters have a larger union, and can offer more, so they voted to change union representation at his work.

The breakaway groups say they are trying to boost membership. But the service industry workers, IIRC, support repukes. Does anyone know more about this union than I do?

I will try to ask him tomorrow. His local surely has a position on this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. There have been several threads here on this topic

and I have also seen media coverage. So I wouldn't agree that nobody is talking about it.

I was a very active union member for 15 years. And I watched my union shoot itself in the foot over and over. They were over involved in politics and didn't pay enough attention to the local issues. And this continues. As of today, they are still trying to negotiate a contract for the coming school year. They began talks in January. Every year, the union asks for an incredibly high increase in salary. Last year, I believe they wanted 15%. We work for a school district that is struggling with the worst budget cuts in decades and the union decides to ask for a 15% across the board increase in pay? They also DEMANDED no raise in health care premiums. The morans obviously forgot that the insurance company sets the cost of our health insurance and the school district has very little leverage. But the union demands no changes.

I also have a good friend who was fired by the school district last year. It was an incredibly unjust firing. She not only did nothing wrong, but the district failed to abide by state laws regulating how teachers are terminated. The union was no help at all to her. They didn't even return her phone calls!! She now has an attorney who says this is a slam dunk case and he is looking in to suing the union as well as the district.

So my local has fallen apart and literally sucks now. I can remember when it was a very strong organization and a phone call from the union president made our employers jump.

I realize this is only one local in only one union but if my experience is typical, then no wonder unions are losing members.

[Kalish]

10. It seems complicated, but important

why exactly did the SEIU bolt? I know it was over recruiting, but what did they want done differently?

[mixedview]

11. 40% of all union households voted for Bush

I just saw the graphic on TV.

The cultural divide is the explanation for this, IMO. From FDR to Reagan the electorate was divided more along economic lines, since then more along cultural lines. Union members tend to be white, culturally conservative men, and hawkish on security issues. Not all of course, but a large percentage of them - Reagan Democrat types.