You may have read already about the four large unions that are boycotting the AFL-CIO convention. It’s causing some consternation among Democrats who fear the splintering of the labor base:
(SF Gate) “Our goal is not to divide the labor movement but to rebuild it,” said Andy Stern, president of the 1.8 million-member Service Employees International Union. He and Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said their unions would leave the AFL-CIO, paving the way for other unions to follow.
His Change to Win Coalition consists of seven unions, four of which boycotted the AFL-CIO convention: The SEIU, Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers and UNITE HERE, a group of textile, hotel and restaurant employees.
Those four unions represent one-third of the AFL-CIO’s 13 million members. The SEIU and Teamsters alone account for more than $20 million of an estimated $120 million AFL-CIO budget.
Why the dissention in the ranks of organized labor? Do some union members feel taken for granted by Democratic politicans? Is there a need to rebuild the labor movement to more closely support the needs of workers? Could it be that workers have become disenchanted with the status quo?
Nope. It’s the gays. That is, if you can follow the reasoning of the Family Research Council’s Tony “I thought Psycho was kinda gay, too” Perkins:
Four major unions, The Teamsters, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Unite Here, walked out of the AFL-CIO’s convention in Chicago. It is anticipated the four disaffected unions, consisting of a total 5 million members, made the move in anticipation of leaving the union federation completely. The move follows years of AFL-CIO involvement in issues that closely tied union members, normally seen as socially conservative, to very liberal causes such as gay marriage and abortion.
Last year, the AFL-CIO came out against the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Just this last March the union passed a resolution titled “Support for the Full Inclusion & Equal Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender People in the Workplace,” which advocated for full marriage rights for homosexuals. Former Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa once said, “I have many faults but being wrong isn’t one of them.” Until the AFL-CIO realizes its mistakes and turns away from a liberal agenda and back to issues that actually affect workers, they can expect to stagnate and to alienate many Americans.
Oh, yes, of course! How in the hell could union members support their leaders in a push for equality and support of all workers, even the ones who might screw differently at home? No wonder the SEIU, UFCW, Teamsters, and Unite Here broke away!
Uh, well, except for this:
“This contention affirms SEIU’s commitment to equal rights for all our members regardless of sexual orientation.
SEIU will make it a collective bargaining and legislative goal to ensure that all members enjoy equal rights and benefits.
SEIU will support the right of same sex couples to access the full and equal rights responsibilities and commitments of civil marriage and oppose laws in constitutional amendments that deny that right.
SEIU will resist any attempt by anti-worker forces to use this issue in elections this year or beyond to divide working people in order to elect candidates with proven track records of favoring corporate special interests at the expense of working families.”
And this:
The Teamsters Human Rights Commission is proud of the strength that is drawn from the diversity within the union’s ranks.
Further, we recognize the need to educate, and to learn that different physical and cultural qualities such as “race, age, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disabilities, or national origin” make individuals unique and deserving of respect.
The Commission will actively work to involve all members, crossing the barriers of division; increasing opportunities for participation; fighting the discrimination that weakens, and uniting our great union. The Commission will build a network of communication, creating a powerful voice to advocate dignity and justice on the job, in the community, member-to-member, neighbor-to-neighbor, throughout our nations and around the world. The Commission will use its energies to strengthen our great union, preserving its foundation for future generations of Teamsters.
And this:
On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), I am writing to express our support for S.1284 and H.R.2692, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Introduced with bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, we urge your support for it as well.
As an organization that represents workers in the workplace, we are very familiar with the myriad ways that employers discriminate against workers that have nothing to do with the ability to perform the functions of a job. Dismissal, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination should be outlawed in all their various forms, whether based on race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or other irrelevant factors.
And having personal experience working in the hotel and service industry, I’ll tell you without question that those union members support GLBT rights. Nice try, Mr. Perkins.
