Union chiefs call for shift in leaders

Kim Chipman

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and other U.S. union leaders Monday challenged the leadership of the AFL-CIO, saying change is needed to revive the nation's labor movement.

"Good jobs are being destroyed. Affordable health care and secure retirements are becoming a thing of the past," Hoffa said in a statement. "We need a labor movement that's equipped to fight for workers and win." Hoffa met with union leaders in Las Vegas today during an annual conference of the Teamsters, the second-largest U.S. union.

Other unions that have expressed dissatisfaction with the current leadership of the AFL-CIO include UNITE HERE, the Service Employees International Union the Laborers Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

During the conference leaders of the dissident unions gave fiery and at times expletive-laced speeches.

The meeting comes as the AFL-CIO, the country's largest federation of unions, contends with waning political sway and fewer members. Federation President John Sweeney, 71, who is up for re-election in July, has proposed spending more money on organizing and lobbying in an effort to stem membership declines and regain clout. Critics say it's not enough.

"The leadership of the AFL-CIO is not providing the vision, the energy and the hope that workers in America need today," John Wilhelm, a top official of UNITE HERE, a union that represents hotel, apparel and restaurant workers, said in a statement.

Wilhelm, who was among those who met with Hoffa on Monday, is considered to be a possible challenger to Sweeney. So far, no one has officially announced plans to run for AFL-CIO's top job against Sweeney, who has held it since 1995. Spokespeople at UNITE HERE didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. AFL- CIO officials also didn't immediately return calls.

"I'm about sick of the complacency in the labor movement," Terry O'Sullivan, president of the Laborers Union, told a group of Teamsters members during the conference. "That's why it's time for all of organized labor to look in the mirror. To do that we have to support the Teamsters proposal. Take half of the AFL-CIO budget and put it back into organizing."

The federation, which represents 13 million U.S. workers in 58 labor unions, said last week that it planned to cut 167 of about 420 jobs, as it reorganizes.

Sweeney has called for a spending increase for the next fiscal year starting in July that includes almost doubling to $22.5 million a fund devoted to organizing unions and assisting worker campaigns against the labor practices of companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. He's also proposed spending more money on lobbying.

Leigh Strope, a Teamsters spokeswoman, said although Sweeney has made changes they aren't enough.

"We think there needs to be a top-down change," Strope said. "President Sweeney has done some great things in his tenure, but it's time for a top-down change."

She wouldn't say who should bring about that change. The unions have not announced if they plan to run a candidate against Sweeney during the July AFL-CIO convention. However she stressed that that groups want to remain in the AFL-CIO, despite reports that SEIU leaders planned to leave the federation.

"We're not leaving the AFL-CIO," Strope said. "We want to stay and rebuild the labor movement."

Sweeney, during a teleconference with reporters late last month, said hopes are high that dissident unions such as the SEIU won't leave the federation. However, he said in his proposal to streamline the AFL-CIO he has anticipated how such a loss could impact the federation.

"We'd be damned fools if we didn't anticipate whatever the possibilities are," Sweeney said."I am still optimistic that SEIU is going to remain an affiliate of AFL-CIO."

Sweeney said he has discussed his proposal with leaders such as Hoffa and Andrew Stern, president of SEIU.

O'Sullivan, stressed that organized labor ought to take a bipartisan approach to politics.

"You cannot pass legislation without bipartisan support," O'Sullivan said. "There are good Republicans. I think we ought to demand a meeting with every Democrat. Why don't we put them in a room, and say sign on the dotted line or you're not getting (explitive) out of us."

About 12 percent of all full-time U.S. workers were in unions last year, down from more than 20 percent two decades ago, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Statistics.

In the private sector, the number of employees in unions was 7.9 percent last year, about half of what it was in 1983 and down from about 9 percent in 2000.

"We're not going to grow stronger if our numbers grow smaller," Stern said. "We need to change the AFL-CIO or we need to build something stronger."

D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union Local 226, said the changes that have been proposed by the dissident unions are the way the Culinary Union and other Las Vegas unions operate already. He said local unions including SEIU, UFCW, the Carpenters and Teamsters unions have been active in organizing new members, which he said is the most important thing unions do.

"I think the kind of program laid out by those leaders yesterday we fully endorse," Taylor said. "We fully live up to that here in Las Vegas."

"(It's) about bipartisan support of candidates, about organizing your own sector, which we think is extremely important. We also think smaller unions really need to think about merging with bigger unions."

Sun business writer

Alana Roberts contributed to this report.