Possible Reunification With The AFL-CIO
On January 9, 2009, national news media reported that the five of the seven CtW unions had met with seven of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO in talks which explored the possibility of the five CtW unions rejoining the larger labor federation. Impetus for the talks came as the Obama administration signalled to both labor federations that it preferred to deal with a united rather than fragmented labor movement. Also, several Change to Win unions also concluded that they were not getting any significant advantage from being in a separate labor federation, and that a fragmented labor union was doing more harm than good. David Bonior, a former U.S. Congressman who once led the AFL-CIO's American Rights at Work division and who was a member of Barack Obama's presidential transition team, facilitated the meeting, and said talks were scheduled to last several weeks. The five CtW unions present included the Laborers, SEIU, the Teamsters, UFCW, and UNITE HERE. AFL-CIO unions present included AFSCME, the AFT, the Electrical Workers, the UAW, and the United Steelworkers. Also in attendance was Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, which is independent and belongs to neither group.
A number of major issues were discussed in the opening round of talks. One major point of discussion revolved around who would lead any reunited federation. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney was widely expected to retire at the trade union center's August 2009 convention, and Laborer's president Terence O'Sullivan and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka had been discussed as his successors. The nature of the AFL-CIO presidency was part of the leadership talks, with some unions suggesting that the presidency rotate among member unions while others hoped for a strong and vocal "executive director" position. The two sides agreed that any reunited labor federation should have a stronger voice in national politics as well as have a greater say in helping member unions engage in more new member organizing. The two sides also discussed whether to change the name of the AFL-CIO, or whether to adopt an entirely new organizational structure. Among other issues discussed were: How the AFL-CIO/new organization would encourage new member organizing and at what level (national or local), what a reunited labor movement's political priorities should be, what sort of relationship a reunited labor movement will have with the Democratic and Republican parties, the level of member union dues, and globalization issues. Although one news outlet reported that the 12 unions hoped to settle on a reunification agreement by April 15, 2009, no issues were resolved in the first round of talks.
The talks drew some limited criticism from members of the labor movement for not addressing issues of union democracy.
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