(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Betsy Taylor on June 7.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The president of the AFL-CIO said Monday he supports a plan to restructure the labor federation at a time when at least one powerful union is threatening to bolt unless it sees reform.
During a speech in St. Louis before the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers International Union, AFL-CIO president John Sweeney argued that unions are still needed, despite a continued decline in membership.
The unionized portion of the nation’s work force has fallen from more than 30 percent in the mid-1950s to about only 12 percent. But Sweeney said the changes can strengthen the AFL-CIO, a federation of more than 50 unions.
“All across the country, working families are asking the same questions, ‘Why don’t hard work and loyalty get you anywhere anymore?,'” he said.
He said he supports restructuring the AFL-CIO to build more powerful state and local labor movements, while creating a permanent way to mobilize members to organize, carry out political activities and back up contract campaigns and strikes.
The plan Sweeney favors includes $30 million to mobilize members on political issues and $22.5 million a year to help them organize, AFL-CIO spokeswoman Lane Windham said.
The federation’s largest union — the 1.8 million member Service Employees International Union — has threatened to leave unless the AFL-CIO dramatically reorganizes.