A very comprehensive and interesting take here. Among the juiciest bits…
This one was my favorite (after all, they agree with me…)
“The shop floor union model may not work in a culture where prospective members are fragmented into small sectors or when they work in a non-traditional setting. Today, most workers live long distances from their workplace and live in communities that are spread across wide geographical areas. The result is a lack of association, sense of community and affinity with their co-workers. This has created an enviromnent and culture where workers have less of a connection with each other and little opportunity outside of the workplace to be together to share among themselves how organizing a union can benefit their lives.
A close corollary to these challenges facing today’s Labor Movement is the “all volunteer” military. During the days of the draft when enlistees were conscripted, the military did not have to appeal to their needs — enlistees had no choice but to serve. In today’s all volunteer military, the armed services must entice members to join using incentives like career training, promotional opportunities, educational benefits, job security, etc.
Similarly, during the manufacturing and industrial boom and when labor laws were more favorable, unions simply accepted the membership cards as they arrived and new workers were obliged to become a union member if they wanted the job. Today, like the military, we must compete for members and offer a model, a message and a new range of services. We must provide incentives and reasons for today’s workers to recognize the advantages of being unionized, and we must present these messages to them in new and innovative ways.”
This is a great description of the AFL-CIO’s current problems on the political front.
“The Federation’s political operation needs a strategic change. It needs to target the issues — God and country — important to the “forgotten majority.” To begin that effort, the AFL-CIO should retain a non-partisan pollster to conduct an objective survey of the attitudes and priorities of union members. The pollster must be one who hasn’t been involved in the Federation’s previous political programs. Based on the survey results, the AFL-CIO needs to develop a theme that wins the hearts and minds of workers, which in turn will help labor-endorsed candidates win on Election Day. That message must embrace faith and moral character, while also ensuring that we stand for a strong national defense, securing our homeland and protecting our citizens and families. This does not run counterintuitive or conflict with the Federation’s core message on jobs, health care, education and the economy. Nor, does it diminish labor’s standing with our most ardent supporters. We can and should frame issues to tie health care and retirement security to protecting the family and strengthening our nation’s moral fiber. We can and should tie faith and religious devotion to the issues that improve the lives of the neediest in our country. To resonate, labor’s message must connect with issues that relate to the hopes and fears of Americans today. The Federation must also end its practice of relegating itself to being subservient to one political party. If the AFL-CIO continues to tie itself solely to Democrats, our political and legislative influence will continue to decline.”
“To enhance credibility with elected officials and candidates, the Federation must develop a fair and balanced process to evaluate their performance on behalf of organized labor. The traditional “Labor Scorecard” should be replaced by a dynamic scoring method that includes: committee votes, the relative importance of each piece of legislation, a willingness to break with leadership or the administration, tenacity in lobbying their colleagues on labor’s behalf, accessibility and the demographics of the electorate in their region. The Federation must recognize that it is more difficult for a legislator from a region with low union density to support labor’s agenda than a legislator from a strong union district. Our scoring matrix must be weighted and customized to reflect those distinctions.”
Great stuff. I am anxiously awaiting whether this torrent of words will amount to anything.
