Here is a great summary of the CUNY conference on transforming the labor movement. There are some notable quotes. Karen Ackerman (AFL-CIO political director) claiming it a victory that labor won 65% of the vote for Kerry is just laughable. What percentage of these voters would have gone for Kerry if labor hadn’t spent a dime? I’ve talked the last couple of days about labor’s political power – and on this point I’ll agree that labor has lost its way. While labor’s political “voice” is much louder than its actual representation in the electorate (hence my belief that they remain a powerful political force, the same way the AARP or the NRA are powerful political forces), their actual message (how they spend their political capital) is just not resonating with their core constituency. Another favorite: “The fact that this debate has moved from the executive board of the AFL-CIO to the public is just really significant. I’ve never seen it in my lifetime, this type of open debate,” said Mark Dudzic, national organizer for the Labor Party and former union official. The two (labor’s lack of connection to its members and the fact that public discussions of labor’s future is unheard of) are not unrelated.
