Working Life

Yup. The four unions–UFCW (as I reported just a few minutes ago), Teamsters, UNITE HERE and SEIU–will not attend the convention that opens tomorrow. The Laborers will likely stay at the convention–but, as I said, there is a very contentious building trades meeting going on now. This was pretty clear this morning: as one person […]

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The United Food and Commercial Workers will not attend the AFL-CIO convention which begins tomorrow. I just learned that from a UFCW board member in the midst of the union’s executive board meeting which began about one hour ago. However, the UFCW will announce later today that it is not yet made a decision to […]

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Hey, this is for real…it’s got to be 90 degrees out at 7:30 a.m. Supposed to get up to 110 heat index. People are already gearing up for what might come here Sunday. In the Sheraton Hotel lobby, I got stopped, already this early, by a series of people who asked, “what are you hearing?” […]

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It’s getting close to dark in Chicago. The folks are scattering to a variety of dinners and meetings. There are still phone calls going back and forth between the principals here to see if a deal can be struck. Like I’ve said from the start, all these guys–and this is, after all, guys doing the […]

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Well, well…turns out my posting from yesterday about the International Labor Communications Association caused a bit of a stir. I talked about the ILCA’s decision to pass a constitutional amendment that now allows non-affiliated unions to have full membership in the ILCA. There was a little bit of heat about the decision. And the ILCA […]

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So, I don’t think the diversity issue has been resolved. Today, the Federation is hosting a diversity summit–about 800 people are up (that would be above the dungeon I’m writing in) in the grand ballroom and it”s quite heartening to see such a broad range of unions represented. John Sweeney opened the summit with a […]

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Well, I’m down here in the bowels of the Sheraton where the Federation has its convention operations–very “attractive” temporary offices made up of steeel poles draped with beige curtains…some one get a stylist in here. Anyway, today the big public event is a diversity summit. It will be interesting to see whether the issue of […]

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I’ve made this point here and there but I think it’s worth underscoring (maybe you want to print this out and stick it on the computer?): the ultimate decision on whether a resolution or constitutional amendment becomes the law of the AFL-CIO land comes by a vote of the entire convention, which opens on Monday. […]

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Today, the International Labor Communications Association put down its marker on one aspect of the debate–at its convention, which is taking place today and tomorrow in Chicago, the ILCA approved an amendment to its constitution that allows unions not affiliated with the AFL-CIO to belong to the ILCA. Here’s what the amendment says: “Associate membership […]

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Whew…it just keeps coming. Another game of political chicken is afoot. The Laborers executive board is going to meet this afternoon to authorize its president, Terry O’Sullivan, to pull out of the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD). Which may lead to the Laborers leaving the AFL-CIO–by being forced out by a Sweeney-backed Constitutional amendment […]

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