Columnist Jeff German: Wilhelm laboring for change

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 10:53 a.m.

John Wilhelm talks like a man of destiny these days.

The energetic, Yale-educated labor leader, who's well known on the Las Vegas Strip, is at the forefront of a serious push for change within America's declining labor movement.

He's what Strip oddsmakers would call the favorite to run against AFL-CIO President John Sweeney at the federation's national convention in July.

This is history in the making -- a drama unfolding right before our eyes in Las Vegas, once called the "hottest union city in America."

And in a starring role is Wilhelm, co-president of UNITE HERE, the merged culinary and laundry workers union, the man who earned his stripes turning Las Vegas casino workers into a political force.

Wilhelm, who's still an undeclared candidate, and the presidents of four other dynamic unions met at Bally's this week to map out their ambitious strategy for change on the national labor scene.

Their goal is to get the AFL-CIO to dramatically pump more resources into organizing to regain the clout labor has lost over the years. Today, the AFL-CIO represents only about 12.5 percent of the American work force compared to nearly 35 percent in its heyday in the 1950s.

"The labor movement is in deep trouble," Wilhelm says. "It is in danger of economically and politically becoming irrelevant."

Together, the five dissident unions -- which also include the Service Employees, Teamsters, Laborers and Food and Commercial Workers -- make up 35 percent of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members.

The group wields considerable influence within the AFL-CIO, but so far it hasn't been able to break Sweeney's grip over the federation. He's been at the helm since 1995.

Two months ago in Las Vegas the five unions failed to persuade Sweeney's executive committee to steer 50 percent (about $45 million) of the contributions unions pay to the AFL-CIO to an organizing fund. The committee voted instead to set aside only $15 million for organizing and, afterwards, Sweeney vowed to beat back the opposition.

Since then, as the debate has continued, Sweeney has called for setting aside $22.5 million toward organizing. The opposition, however, has upped its spending threshold to $65 million.

Wilhelm believes the move for change is gaining ground.

"We don't have a majority, but there's a tremendous amount of debate and discussion going on," he says. "We're pleased with the momentum."

The dissidents plan to turn up the volume Monday with a news conference to announce their convention platform. Aside from beefing up organizing, they also want the AFL-CIO to broaden its political ties and separate itself from the Democratic Party.

Any move to put up a challenger (Wilhelm) against Sweeney wouldn't occur for a few weeks until the unions have a chance to see how the platform is being received.

A lot is at stake here -- maybe ultimately the makeup of organized labor as we know it.

Service Employees President Andrew Stern has threatened to take his union, which has 1.8 million members, out of the AFL-CIO if Sweeney doesn't step up organizing significantly.

And there's always the chance that other unions, including Wilhelm's UNITE HERE, could follow.

Labor's future may be uncertain, but change is coming -- like it or not.