UFCW International President Joe Hansen's Letter to All UFCW Locals Regarding Non-Participation in AFL-CIO Convention
July 25, 2005
Yesterday, with the unanimous support of the UFCW International Executive Board, I determined that the best course of action for the UFCW was to continue to withhold our AFL-CIO per-capita tax and not attend the federation’s convention. The UFCW took this action along with three of our Change to Win Coalition partners—IBT, SEIU, and UNITE/HERE. All Change to Win Coalition partners also notified President Sweeney to remove our names from the slate of AFL-CIO officers running for re-election.
While the Executive Board has unanimously given the Executive Committee the authority to disaffiliate the UFCW from the AFL-CIO, the decision on UFCW disaffiliation has not yet been made.
The UFCW has been a leader in the effort to reform the AFL-CIO to restore worker power. Guided by principles developed by the UFCW Committee on the Future to build worker power through core-industry organizing, coordinated bargaining, and political action aligned with the interests of our members, we put forward a reform package. The reforms would have streamlined federation operations to strategically redirect resources to build a worker movement that could restore the opportunities of the American dream for working families.
While we certainly changed the debate about the American labor movement, the AFL-CIO couldn’t find the resolve to commit to fundamental reform.
The UFCW remains committed to continuing participation in central labor councils, state labor federations, and constituency groups to help make local labor movements stronger and inclusive.
The time for action is now. Working people can’t win a better life until more workers belong to unions. The UFCW, with the Change to Win Coalition, is taking the lead to engage and organize workers—and build a worker movement to raise living standards, win health care and pension security, and make government responsive to working people.
Our vision is clear. Our resolve is firm. Now is the time to bring new hope to working families.
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