AFL-CIO May Be G.O.N.E.

There's a big battle brewing among the giant labor unions, and the largest federation of them all could be in for a tough time very soon (from Political Diary):

Chicago in the heat of a Midwestern summer isn't a favorite spot for political reporters looking for a story. But this July many of them have already booked their plane tickets to be on hand for what might be the historic breakup of the AFL-CIO, the 50-year-old national labor federation.

The AFL's annual convention in Chicago promises to be a knock-down, drag-out struggle for power, leading some to predict the most riotous political gathering in the Windy City since the Democrats convened there in 1968. At the heart of the dispute is the contention by five AFL unions, which collectively represent 40% of the federation's membership, that President John J. Sweeney must be replaced. They claim he has been a passive player as unions continue to lose elections while seeing their share of the workforce fall to 8% among private sector workers.

The Service Employees International Union, which primarily represents government workers, says adoption of its organizing tactics could turn the slide in union clout around. This past weekend, SEIU put some muscle behind its complaints when its executive board formally voted to pull out of the AFL-CIO next month. The Teamsters and three other dissident unions could make similar moves in coming weeks. So far Mr. Sweeney isn't showing any signs he will leave. His allies complain the leaders of the dissenting unions are malcontents who have an equally dismal track record when it comes to promoting union political agendas.

This is sort of like watching the Iran/Iraq war back in the 80's. No matter who lost, we all won. I have a hard time feeling sorry for the big unions, especially given the massive amount of time and money they spend trying to defeat Republicans (didn't work). The election results showed that many union members, despite being held up for their union dues which went right into lefty campaigns, defected from the union line and voted for Bush. Those folks are apparently smarter than their union leaders.