John Sweeney (labor Leader) - 2005 Campaign For Presidency of The AFL-CIO

2005 Campaign For Presidency of The AFL-CIO

Shortly after the March 2004 executive council meeting, Andrew Stern announced the formation of the New Unity Partnership (NUP). Joining Stern were the presidents of UNITE HERE, the Teamsters, the Laborers, UFCW and the Carpenters. Stern had begun working with these union leaders in the fall of 2003 to create a set of principles to reform the labor movement. Although NUP's existence had been revealed in October 2003, the group did not announce its platform until March 2004.

The NUP platform included a number of proposals. First, the AFL-CIO should mandate the merger of smaller unions with larger ones, and the AFL-CIO must redraw and enforce jurisdictional lines along those of major industries, or "core jurisdictions." Second, a number of AFL-CIO departments (including health and safety, education, and civil and human rights) must be merged or eliminated. Third, political spending must be significantly reduced in favor of major new AFL-CIO spending on organizing.

Sweeney told the press he would initiate an internal discussion of Stern's views after the November 2004 presidential election, with a goal of creating a proposal by July 2005. But Stern declared that this would be too late for consideration at the AFL-CIO's biennial convention.

At the August 2004 AFL-CIO executive council meeting, Sweeney attempted to implement some of NUP's criticisms by announcing the formation of a task force to investigate organizing the Wal-Mart grocery and discount department store chain. Sweeney also announced the creation of an Immigrant Worker Project to oversee the federation's work on immigrant rights and organizing efforts.

On November 10, 2004, Sweeney announced a process and timeline for considering reform of the AFL-CIO. Sweeney said he would chair a committee composed of the federation's 25-member executive committee which would make reform recommendations to the February 2005 AFL-CIO executive council meeting.

In January 2005, Stern announced that the New Unity Partnership had disbanded. Its purpose had been to create discussion over the future of the labor movement, Stern said, and that goal had been accomplished.

At the March 2005 AFL-CIO executive council meeting, however, no consensus on reform emerged. Instead, the executive committee of the AFL-CIO recommended that the federation earmark half of all income for political and legislative mobilization. The executive committee also recommended rebating up to millions of dollars to unions which spent at least 30 percent of their budget on organizing. There appeared to be little support in the executive committee for mandatory mergers.

But several former New Unity Partnership members disagreed with these proposals. The Teamsters demanded a 50 percent of dues to member unions, as well as streamlining the AFL-CIO by moving many of its functions out of the headquarters to the state and local field operations, eliminating other functions, and reducing the size of the executive committee.

In May 2005, Sweeney formally submitted the executive council's proposals to the AFL-CIO convention for consideration in July.

Both camps continued to issue proposals and counter-proposals through the spring and into early summer. Each side shifted ground, declaring proposals "non-negotiable" at one point and then abandoning them later.

On June 16, Stern and his allies announced the formation of a new organization, the Change to Win Coalition. The Change to Win Coalition included five unions: SEIU, UFCW, the Laborers, UNITE HERE and the Teamsters. They were joined by the Carpenters on June 27. The Change to Win Coalition released a set of proposals for reforming the AFL-CIO that largely reflected its member union's proposals.

In mid-June, the AFL-CIO executive council voted to submit Sweeney's reform plan to the AFL-CIO convention in July. Discussion on the outstanding proposals from the February meeting continued, but no consensus was reached.

Additional counter-proposals flew back and forth throughout the summer. The Change to Win Coalition union presidents sought and received authority from their governing bodies to disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO. But it became clear that the Change to Win coalition could muster only a third of delegates at the AFL-CIO convention.

On July 22, 2005, the United Farm Workers (UFW) joined the Change to Win Coalition.

On July 25, 2005, as the AFL-CIO convention got under way, SEIU and the Teamsters announced that the negotiations had failed and that they were disaffiliating from the AFL-CIO. The same day, SEIU, the Teamsters, UFCW and UNITE HERE announced that their delegates would boycott the AFL-CIO convention.

Sweeney angrily denounced the disaffiliations. Gerald McEntee called the disaffiliation threats a power-play, claiming that the Change to Win coalition had demanded that Sweeney announce his retirement within six months and endorse a replacement of their choosing.

With the Change to Win unions boycotting the AFL-CIO convention, Sweeney's re-election and the adoption of his reform plans became a foregone conclusion.

On July 29, UFCW disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO, bringing the total number of members lost to 3.6 million of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members.

On September 14, 440,000-member union UNITE HERE disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO.

The breakaway unions formed a new labor federation, Change to Win, on September 27, 2005.

Both Sweeney and Change to Win reached out to one another after the break-up of the AFL-CIO, although the relationship was difficult. Sweeney primarily focused on stabilizing the AFL-CIO and its state, area and local bodies financially, structurally and politically. Sweeney kept a relatively low profile, seeking the spotlight only during disputes with Change to Win or when addressing national issues such as immigration policy.

Sweeney retired as President of the AFL-CIO on September 16, 2009.