A few tidbits today from 16th Street. A good friend, deep inside 16th Street, says that based on a draft job description of the new job categories decreed by Chairman Welsh, “there is no way the AFL-CIO is going to win any arbitration because they are so similar.” My friend knows the details of the draft because a very close colleague has seen it (so, yeah, it’s two degrees of separation but I’d be happy if Chairman Welsh shared a copy to show me I’m full of shit).
I know I’ve spent a lot of space here focusing on the lay-offs but every time I think about this I get agita. I mean, you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that what Welsh did (and I’m assuming John Sweeney had to sign off on this) was a pretty thinly-veiled attempt at trying to gain more power and control over whoever was left on staff after the layoffs, and destroy the Newspaper Guild’s contract (by the way, I’m wondering how Morty Bahr feels about this? As president of the Communications Workers of America, to which the Newspaper Guild is affiliated, can’t Morty, who is solidly in the Sweeney camp, call up John and say, “This was really dumb, let’s start all over.”).
As reported when the cuts were announced, Chairman Welsh decreed that the title of “field representative,” which covered a large number of the laid-off people, would no longer exist. Instead, three new job titles—“senior organizers,” “senior field representatives,” and “field campaign directors”—will be created. Sure, he made the obligatory pronouncement about working with the Guild. But, everyone knew this was a power grab aimed at junking seniority. There are almost daily job actions at 16th Street and, anyone who has read the most recent letters from the staff knows that people are very bitter (certainly, based on the flood of e-mails I’ve been getting…by the way, feel free to continue to share your thoughts).
Then, you got to wonder about the credit card money. Just as background, the AFL-CIO pockets $25 million a year from the deal with Households Bank. Three of the insurgent unions—Laborers, Teamsters and SEIU—have not signed the extension on the Union Privilege deal. To extend the deal, you gotta have unions representing 85 percent of the members of the AFL-CIO on board. So, the extension is dead as long as these unions don’t give their okay.
Here’s something that blows my mind. If the extension goes through, the AFL-CIO gets a $14 million bonus…cash, baby. You know where $10 million of that is going? To the Meany Center, in large part to build the Lane Kirkland Center. Hey, education is a good thing but is that where we need to be putting money? In some new edifices? By the way, minor point–the Meany Center is a distinct 501-c-3 and the AFL-CIO gives money to the Meany Center but, if the Meany Center went under, the Federation gets nothing.
SEIU and the Teamsters are asking the AFL-CIO what happens to its share of the credit card royalties–affiliates get half of the take–if they disaffiliate. It’s interesting that the Teamsters are asking that question: we already know that SEIU has got one foot out the door but the Teamsters have been a bit more cagey about its intentions. The Teamsters asking the question may just be more pressure being applied but I also hear that all the internal research is being done at the Teamsters to look at the financial, legal and organizational impact of disaffiliation.
This is looking a bit down the road but…if Sweeney is re-elected, SEIU will most certainly leave the Federation. At that point, the budgetary issues will hit the other affiliates in the face: $10 million less coming with SEIU out will mean either more layoffs or a need to find more revenues…which would mean some proposal by the AFL-CIO Administration to raise per capitas. That would likely be voted down or precipitate an even closer look by other affiliates at disaffiliation.
People are talking about deals. We know that a “third way” group is meeting, partly lead by AFT President Ed McElroy; Harold Schaitberger is trying to position himself but I don’t see enough people giving much love to John Kerry’s favorite firefighter (and, anyway, why pick a guy whose favorite color is yellow? Harold, red is where it’s at). Sweeney has been trying to set up meetings with individual unions from the insurgent group but I’m told they’ve all committed to meeting as a group, and not to be romanced individually.
Final thought for the weekend. So, I still wonder: why would Sweeney want to stay and face this? How much of this is a daily persuasion campaign going on by the high-level management staff, who, after all, depend on Sweeney’s re-election to keep their jobs?
