In case you thought I was all wet (and that does happen), as I predicted Monday (and this was not, frankly, a bit lift), UNITE HERE did vote to leave the AFL-CIO yesterday (I was, really, just way too tired to lift another finger on to my computer yesterday to report..). There was a lot of noise in the background when I spoke with my source–people were celebrating. Haven’t seen anything on this yet in the major newspapers but…

And, so, the AFL-CIO shrinks just a bit more.

As the AFL-CIO convention increasingly recedes in the rear view mirror, I think that more people, hopefully, will reduce the focus on the drama of disaffiliations–which have not ended with the UNITE HERE vote–and focus more on the challenge ahead. I think the recent agreement between the CWA and the Teamsters, who live now in different federations, is a start. Certainly, there are big things to figure out: how everyone works together on organizing and political campaigns, for example. But, more energy should be put to coming up with solutions, rather than pointing fingers.

There is an official announcement coming today, which I will post when it drops into my friendly little e-mail in-box.