[Peace-discuss] A labor day concern

[Morton K.Brussel]

This article comes from ZNET and seems appropriate to read on the eve 
of Labor Day.
MKB


California AFL-CIO Rebukes Labor’s National Level Foreign Policy Leaders

by Kim Scipes; September 05, 2004


The 25th Biennial California State AFL-CIO Convention in July handed a 
stunning rebuke to national-level foreign policy leaders of the AFL-CIO 
at their state convention in San Diego. By a unanimous decision, over 
400 representatives of the state’s almost 2.5 million organized 
workers—approximately one-six of the AFL-CIO’s total membership—adopted 
a resolution called "Build Unity and Trust Among Workers Worldwide." 
They also passed resolutions against the war in Iraq and urged "an 
immediate end to the US occupation," and decided to explore affiliation 
with US Labor Against War (USLAW), but "Build Unity and Trust" was the 
big one.

"Build Unity and Trust" was submitted by Plumbers and Pipefitters #393 
(San Jose), the South Bay Labor Council (San Jose), the Monterey Bay 
Central Labor Council (Castroville) and the San Francisco Labor 
Council. Resolutions submitted by AFT #1493 (San Mateo), by the 
California Teachers Federation, and the San Francisco Labor Council for 
transparency in NED (National Endowment for Democracy) funding were 
blended into "Build Unity and Trust" by the Resolutions Committee. It 
was a powerful indictment of AFL-CIO foreign policy.

The resolution condemned the AFL-CIO’s relationship with the National 
Endowment for Democracy (NED), pointing out that NED "has a dubious 
history, having been employed frequently to promote U.S. government 
foreign policy objectives, including assisting in overthrowing 
democratically elected governments and interfering in the internal 
affairs of the labor movements of other countries." The Cal Fed 
specifically warned the AFL-CIO about applying for $3-5 million from 
NED for operations in Iraq, noting "AFL-CIO acceptance of NED money for 
its solidarity work in Iraq may give the appearance, if not the effect, 
of making the AFL-CIO appear to be an agent of the US government and 
its foreign policies, which may taint the good reputation of the 
Federation in the eyes of labor movements in other countries and draw 
into question the motivation and true independence of the Federation in 
its international affairs"…. The latter was exactly the charge the 
AFL-CIO brought against Chinese unions just a few years ago.

The resolution was even more specific in its repudiation of the 
national level leadership. A 2002 Cal Fed resolution, "Clear the Air," 
was not visibly opposed by the national level leadership, but State 
leaders approached "Clear the Air" with caution and offered a meeting 
to labor activists with foreign policy leaders in exchange for a 
"watered-down" resolution, a deal ultimately accepted by California 
activists. The meeting took place over 15 months later, in October 
2003, but there was "serious disagreement" by attendees as to whether 
the concerns raised in "Clear the Air" were substantively addressed. 
(See my article in the February 2004 issue of "Labor Notes.") This 
entire process was again revisited in "Build Unity and Trust."

The resolution also noted that information provided by AFL-CIO foreign 
policy leaders in the October 2003 meeting concerning ACILS’ (American 
Center for International Labor Solidarity) activities in Venezuela had 
been subsequently contradicted by ACILS data obtained from government 
archives through Freedom of Information Act requests. (See my article 
in the April 2004 issue of "Labor Notes.") Again, they pointed out that 
the AFL-CIO, through ACILS, had accepted money from NED.

The "resolves" of the resolution were quite emphatic. The California 
State Federation
	• 	 Affirms "its support for the principles of autonomy, independent 
and self-determination embodied in the International Conventions of the 
International Labor Organization";
	• 	 Urges "the National AFL-CIO and its Solidarity Center to exercise 
extreme caution in seeking or accepting funding from the US government, 
its agencies and any other institutions it funds such as the NED for 
its work in Iraq or elsewhere, and to accept these funds only to 
further the goals of honest international labor solidarity, not to 
pursue to policies of Corporate America and the United States 
government";
	• 	 Calls upon "the National AFL-CIO [quoting from the original ‘Clear 
the Air" resolution] ‘to fully account for what was done in Chile (and 
Venezuela) and other countries where similar roles may have been played 
in our name, and to describe, country by country, exactly what 
activities it may still be engaged in abroad with funds paid by 
government agencies and renounce any such ties that could compromise 
our authentic credibility and the trust of workers here and abroad and 
that would make us paid agents of government or of the forces of 
corporate economic globalization’";
	• 	 Urges the National AFL-CIO "to establish a working group to 
propose and review programs to strengthen international labor 
solidarity around the world";
	• 	Urges the National AFL-CIO "to fund its international programs and 
activities, whenever possible, from funds generated directly from its 
affiliates and their members," a suggestion powerfully made by Ed Asner 
when he participated in the October 14, 2003 meeting in Oakland (see 
Steve Early’s article in the July "Labor Notes" on CWA support for 
Colombian trade unionists for one example of this being done); and
	• 	 "that the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO send this 
resolution to the National AFL-CIO for immediate attention to move 
forward together in creating trust and unity among workers worldwide."

It would be harder to imagine a much stronger rebuke. It grows out of 
years of work, as activists detailed AFL-CIO operations in Chile as far 
back as 1974, and worked to overcome the appellation, "AFL-CIA," 
because of these and other activities exposed over the years. The 
California Federation of Teachers just this last Spring passed a 
resolution condemning AFL-CIO connections with the NED, and that 
resolution was blended into the final unanimously approved "Build Unity 
and Trust" resolution. This victory was truly a collective effort of 
labor activists across the state.

The big question now is how will the National AFL-CIO’s Executive 
Council respond to these developments. The California State Fed 
delegates, while strongly condemnatory, also left their hand open to 
work with the AFL-CIO should it decide to consciously act to "Build 
Unity and Trust." The question thus posed to the National Level AFL-CIO 
leadership, and especially those involved in foreign policy and 
operations, is "Which Side Are You On?"

Kim Scipes, a long-time labor activist and former member of three 
unions, teaches sociology at Purdue University North Central in 
Westville, IN.

Three key articles discussed above, with extensive references within 
each, can be accessed via the Internet:

Kim Scipes, "It’s Time to Come Clean: Open the AFL-CIO Archives on 
International Labor Relations" (Labor Studies Journal, Summer 2000) has 
been posted in English by LabourNet Germany at 
www.labournet.de/diskussion/ gewerkschaft/scipes2.html.

Kim Scipes, "AFL-CIO Refuses to ‘Clear the Air’ on Foreign Policy, 
Operations" (Labor Notes, February 2004) is at 
www.labornotes.org/archives/2004/02/articles/b.html.

Kim Scipes, "AFL-CIO in Venezuela: Déjà vu All Over Again" (Labor 
Notes, April 2004) is at 
www.labornotes.org/archives/2004/04/articles/e.html.

Steve Early, "How Communications Workers Are Building Cross-Border 
Union Solidarity From the Bottom-up." Labor Notes, July 2004. (Not 
linked on the Labor Notes web site.)
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