AFL-CIO Unions Pledge $150 Million to Organizing

by James Parks, Oct 4, 2006

As the Republican-dominated National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) tries to take away the freedom of millions of workers to join unions, the need for more organizing outreach is clear. And in recent months, more AFL-CIO unions than ever are seeking to fill that need, committing more funding to organizing efforts to increase growth and political and bargaining strength.

AFL-CIO national unions are planning to put at least an additional $150 million a year into staffing, research and support for workers’ efforts to organize. At their convention this summer, AFSCME members voted to increase dues to create a $60 million war chest to expand workers’ power and reclaim rights under assault by President Bush and the Republican-led Congress.

Delegates to the UAW Convention created a new $60 million war chest for strategic organizing and mobilizing campaigns for national health care, fair trade and other key working family priorities. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) members voted to create a strategic industry fund that could raise as much as $25 million per year for  offense campaigns in stratgic sectors. AFT approved their largest dues increase ever for organizing, and Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Iron Workers all voted to put more resources toward organizing.

All these moves come in the wake of the AFL-CIO’s 2005 convention, where delegates approved major new resources to organizing.

AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff says:

This is the single largest investment in organizing in the history of the American union movement. More unions are putting more resources to organize than ever before. More unions are learning to organize outside the broken NLRB process. This is very encouraging.

In addition to walking the walk on organizing, union members are joining in some of the most exciting and successful efforts by workers to form a union:

• In the most important private-sector campaign in five years, CWA signed up 18,000 high-tech workers in 10 months through the majority verification process, in which the employer agrees to recognize the union after a majority of workers indicate their desire for a union by signing union authorization cards. CWA now represents 40,000 Cingular Wireless workers. In fact, the process has worked so well at Cingular Wireless, the company has filed a brief with the NLRB supporting majority verification.
• At the same time CWA and IBEW’s Verizon members are working to help co-workers form unions at Verizon Business (formerly MCI and Verizon Enteprise) and Verizon Wireless, the nation’s second-largest wireless phone provider.
• Last year, the Iron Workers union organized the largest employer in their craft west of the Mississippi—JD Steel, bringing in 1,500 new immigrant workers. Now they have moved on to the second-largest employer in their craft in the west, Great Western.
• Showing that global solidarity is critical, Australian coal miners have joined the campaign by workers to form a union with the Mine Workers (UMWA) at Peabody Energy, the nation’s largest coal operator. The company only operates in three countries—the United States, China and Australia. Peabody workers also are using their political power to support their efforts. Thirteen cities and counties where nonunion Peabody mines are located have passed resolutions backing the workers’ struggle. The workers also are hitting the stumps to let congressional candidates know the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act and the freedom to form a union to working families.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, addressing his union’s convention this summer, expressed the determination of the entire union movement to grow in order to better represent working people:

As we look back on the accomplishments of our union, it’s worth remembering that there were many difficult days when the odds were long and success seemed uncertain, but solidarity saw us through. Even as we adapt to changing times and circumstances, that same spirit of solidarity and the proven power of collective action ensure that the struggle is far from over for today’s workers, both union and non-union, who are standing up for justice in their workplaces and communities.

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