AFL CIO is considering adding millions of non-union members

[BuffaloBill]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/business/afl-cio-has-plan-to-add-millions-of-nonunion-members.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

If they follow through on this they more fully morph into a political action organization. To me the move is indication of just how marginalized unions are with the exception of their political ties to the democrats. This action sounds like an attempt to build a house of cards.

[Gary M]

http://www.nytimes.c...wanted=all&_r=0

 

If they follow through on this they more fully morph into a political action organization. To me the move is indication of just how marginalized unions are with the exception of their political ties to the democrats. This action sounds like an attempt to build a house of cards.

 

"“The crisis for labor has deepened,” Mr. Trumka said in an interview. “It’s at a point where we really must do something differently. We really have to experiment.”

 

Try voting for a Republican, you dumbass!!!!

[B-Man]

 

The "more non-union groups" gambit is clearly a way to let far-left "progressives" into the mix.

 

The obvious concern for the rank and file worker should be that the AFL-CIO will become even less aligned with their interests than it already is.

 

What can the addition of other groups bring to the table except a dilution of the organization's core mission to organize and represent workers?

 

 

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[BuffaloBill]

 

 

 

What can the addition of other groups bring to the table except a dilution of the organization's core mission to organize and represent workers?

 

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The fact that they have considered and now made public the shift shows that they clearly know their core and historical purpose to "represent workers" has shifted from workplace activism to political activism.

 

I see this as nothing more than a financial move. Without a strong political base the unions have nothing left anymore. Their relevance in the non-government workforce has been in precipitous decline for decades. Their appeal to younger workers is in even further decline.

[B-Man]

Another article:

 

A Union Movement Without Union Members

 

Private sector unions, having mostly destroyed the jobs they were organized to represent, are dying. Public sector unions are doing better, and now represent more than half of union membership. But they, in truth, aren’t doing so great either.

 

So the AFL-CIO has come up with a novel solution: open up membership to people who are not actually members of unions:

 

The AFL-CIO on Monday opened the door to becoming a group that is more representative of the left than of its members.

 

That has been true for a while, but now they apparently are making it official.

Facing what AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka called a “crisis” of membership, officials took the dramatic step at their annual convention of adopting a resolution that invites anyone in the country to join, regardless of union affiliation.

The move faced stiff resistance from union officials who fear the AFL-CIO’s primary mission of representing workers will be left behind if the federation becomes a mouthpiece for liberal and progressive groups.

Despite the resistance, the resolution was adopted without a single “nay” vote being heard in the convention hall.

 

It is not easy to get your mind around this concept. The AFL-CIO will no longer represent unionized workers, but rather any left winger who wants to pay dues. Ay, there’s the rub!

Trumka said labor must include new workers — not to increase union dues, but to create change for everyone

.

 

Sure, by funneling more dollars to the Democratic Party, whether actual union workers like it or not. There is a certain logic to the transition of the union movement away from unionized workers. The Democratic Party wrote off the American working class some years ago, except insofar as it may happen to overlap with a favored constituency.

 

Labor bosses have long been more interested in supporting leftist causes and politicians than representing their members in collective bargaining. So why not make it official? If you are a MoveOn member, say, the doors are now open, whether you have had a job in recent decades or not. Join the AFL-CIO!

 

 

http://www.powerline...ion-members.php

[Koko78]

So I can pay the AFL-CIO to not represent me?!? Where do I sign up!?!?!?!