Hey Mark (Mark Schmitt and I worked together at the Open Society Institute for several years)....you raise some interesting points but these very examples also show the confusion that will erupt due to the disaffiliations.
The Silicon Valley Central Labor Council's Working Partnerships was started by Amy Dean when she headed up that CLC and in fact, John Sweeney embraced Dean's work and made her head of a national committee to try to convince the other CLC's around the country to embrace change and create the kinds of research and outreach arms that Amy built in San Jose. I haven't followed the outcome of that committee (Amy has since left the labor movement) but my hunch is that it wasn't all that successful. it's part of the frustration of the Sweeney Administration--there was often an embrace of creative ideas, but partly due to the nature of the AFL-CIO, there was no way to coerce change.
The Working Families Party will be interesting to watch. It's the most successful (to my mind, being a New Yorker) third party effort made by progressive labor types. It has done what I think third parties can do best (if at all-I am not normally a third party fan since outside of New York, the rules pretty much mitigate against any real victories). In New York, several unions have been able to build the WF Party up to make it a serious wedge to ensure Democrats with progressive points of view since Dems try for cross endorsements. But the WF Party is largely the purview of the Communications Workers of America, with 1199 SEIU, Unite-HERE and some other unions joining in. Will this successful political effort be saved or sacrificed? This is precisely what needs to be worked out.
After I posted my writing earlier today I listened to Harold Meyerson's report from the AFL-CIO convention on KCRW (the wonders of the internet allowed me to download the program into my computer and listen to it while sitting in Tel Aviv) and Harold mentioned that in fact, the AFL-CIO Convention decided to postpone the decision about participation of those unions who leave the federation in the CLC's and State Feds. A permanent tabling of this decision would be a wise one in the interest of mainitaining a semblance of working together, not to mention allowing political activities to continue unabated.
Creation of new constellations that include unions and community organizations is a terrific thing, but I fear that unless the infrastructure that is already in place-inadequate though it may be--is allowed to be maintained, it will be more difficult to build power in the cities and states.
Nice post. For the record, tho, it's not really true to say that the WFP is "the purview" of CWA. Historically the most important unions in the party have been the non-building trades private-sector unions, including CWA. They are very active in the party, but probably no more so than the UAW or SEIU 32BJ.
A list of WFP affilaites is <a href="http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/affiliates.html&qu ot;>here</a>.
July 28, 2005 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Check out this diverse list of affiliates. Pretty sweet, eh? A broad coalition of labor unions, religious, community, and civil rights groups. Similar idea as the Working Families Party, though not a "political party" (though we do endorse candidates).
It's been really effective. We've pushed through the first state-wide living wage bill in the entire country (later vetoed by the Governor), the first healthcare reform of its kind (later vetoed by the governor), the first raise in the minimum wage we've had in a decade (later vetoed by the Governor), and several other important pieces of legislation over the past few years (not all of it vetoed by Ehrlich). We've even taken on Karl Rove and the White House propaganda machine.
But, speaking as a canvasser for the group, it's really our thousands of individual members all over the state who give us the political power to influence Maryland politics. Affiliates are great, but without our members we're nothing. So the next time one of us knocks on your door, please be kind, hear us out, ask some questions, and don't be afraid to grab your checkbook and offer us a soda. Thanks.
July 29, 2005 12:05 AM | Reply | Permalink