Debating Decline: The 1995 Race for the AFL-CIO Presidency

Labor History

Volumn 40, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 323-343

  Dark, Taylor E ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0033468188     PISSN: 0023656X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00236719912331387672     Document Type: Review

References (78)

1. 1995 AFL-CIO Convention Proceedings (Washington, DC: AFL-CIO, 1996), 118.
2. Archie Robinson, George Meany and His Times (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981), 264-265.
3. Haynes Johnson and Nick Kotz, The Unions (New York: Pocket Books, 1972), 175.
4. Robinson, 404.
5. Joseph C. Goulden, Meany (New York: Atheneum, 1972), 467.
6. A.H. Raskin, "After Meany," The New Yorker, Aug. 25, 1980.
7. Lane Kirkland, " 'It Has All Been Said Before ...' " in Seymour Martin Lipset, ed., Unions in Transition: Entering the Second Century (San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1986), 393, 401, and 403.
8. Figures on AFL-CIO total paid membership can be found in the AFL-CIO Executive Council Report, 1995 (AFL-CIO: Washington, DC, 1995), 223. For a detailed account of union finances, see Marick F. Masters, Unions at the Crossroads: Strategic Membership, Financial, and Political Perspectives (Westport, CT: Quorum, 1997).
9. Figures on AFL-CIO total paid membership can be found in the AFL-CIO Executive Council Report, 1995 (AFL-CIO: Washington, DC, 1995), 223. For a detailed account of union finances, see Marick F. Masters, Unions at the Crossroads: Strategic Membership, Financial, and Political Perspectives (Westport, CT: Quorum, 1997).
10. Frank Cormier and William J. Eaton, Reuther (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1970), 416; and Kevin Boyle, The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945-1968 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995), 228.
11. Frank Cormier and William J. Eaton, Reuther (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1970), 416; and Kevin Boyle, The UAW and the Heyday of American Liberalism, 1945-1968 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995), 228.
12. Nelson Lichtenstein, The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther and the Fate of American Labor (New York: Basic Books, 1995), 353.
13. John Barnard, Walter Reuther and the Rise of the Autoworkers (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1983), 195.
14. Goulden, 402.
15. Robert Zieger, "George Meany: Labor's Organization Man," in Melvyn Dubofsky and Warren Van Tine, eds., Labor Leaders in America (Urbana: University of Illinois, 1987), 342.
16. In general, the activities and programs of the AFL-CIO since the 1955 merger remain very poorly charted in the scholarly literature, perhaps due to an intellectual shift away from the description of union leaders and institutions and towards the analysis of workers in the workplace and community. Still, brief accounts of the AFL-CIO's various failed responses to the decline of union density can be found in Stanley Aronowitz, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), 130-133; Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso, 1986), 127-132; Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), 236-245; Kim Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of Unionism in America (London: Verso, 1988), chapt. 5; Zieger, "George Meany," 342; Robert H. Zieger, American Workers, American Unions (2nd. edn., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 197.
17. In general, the activities and programs of the AFL-CIO since the 1955 merger remain very poorly charted in the scholarly literature, perhaps due to an intellectual shift away from the description of union leaders and institutions and towards the analysis of workers in the workplace and community. Still, brief accounts of the AFL-CIO's various failed responses to the decline of union density can be found in Stanley Aronowitz, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), 130-133; Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso, 1986), 127-132; Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), 236-245; Kim Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of Unionism in America (London: Verso, 1988), chapt. 5; Zieger, "George Meany," 342; Robert H. Zieger, American Workers, American Unions (2nd. edn., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 197.
18. In general, the activities and programs of the AFL-CIO since the 1955 merger remain very poorly charted in the scholarly literature, perhaps due to an intellectual shift away from the description of union leaders and institutions and towards the analysis of workers in the workplace and community. Still, brief accounts of the AFL-CIO's various failed responses to the decline of union density can be found in Stanley Aronowitz, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), 130-133; Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso, 1986), 127-132; Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), 236-245; Kim Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of Unionism in America (London: Verso, 1988), chapt. 5; Zieger, "George Meany," 342; Robert H. Zieger, American Workers, American Unions (2nd. edn., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 197.
19. In general, the activities and programs of the AFL-CIO since the 1955 merger remain very poorly charted in the scholarly literature, perhaps due to an intellectual shift away from the description of union leaders and institutions and towards the analysis of workers in the workplace and community. Still, brief accounts of the AFL-CIO's various failed responses to the decline of union density can be found in Stanley Aronowitz, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), 130-133; Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso, 1986), 127-132; Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), 236-245; Kim Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of Unionism in America (London: Verso, 1988), chapt. 5; Zieger, "George Meany," 342; Robert H. Zieger, American Workers, American Unions (2nd. edn., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 197.
20. In general, the activities and programs of the AFL-CIO since the 1955 merger remain very poorly charted in the scholarly literature, perhaps due to an intellectual shift away from the description of union leaders and institutions and towards the analysis of workers in the workplace and community. Still, brief accounts of the AFL-CIO's various failed responses to the decline of union density can be found in Stanley Aronowitz, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), 130-133; Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso, 1986), 127-132; Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), 236-245; Kim Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of Unionism in America (London: Verso, 1988), chapt. 5; Zieger, "George Meany," 342; Robert H. Zieger, American Workers, American Unions (2nd. edn., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 197.
21. In general, the activities and programs of the AFL-CIO since the 1955 merger remain very poorly charted in the scholarly literature, perhaps due to an intellectual shift away from the description of union leaders and institutions and towards the analysis of workers in the workplace and community. Still, brief accounts of the AFL-CIO's various failed responses to the decline of union density can be found in Stanley Aronowitz, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), 130-133; Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (London: Verso, 1986), 127-132; Michael Goldfield, The Decline of Organized Labor in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986), 236-245; Kim Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of Unionism in America (London: Verso, 1988), chapt. 5; Zieger, "George Meany," 342; Robert H. Zieger, American Workers, American Unions (2nd. edn., Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994), 197.
22. For the dreary details, see the web site of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nws.htm).
23. See Taylor E. Dark, The Unions and the Democrats: An Enduring Alliance (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998).
24. Frank Swoboda, "Key Union Leaders Want Kirkland to Leave," Washington Post, Jan. 28, 1995.
25. See Peter T. Kilborn, "Bringing Down Labor's Giant Leader," The New York Times, Sept. 4, 1995.
26. Harry Bernstein, "Gerald McEntee: Bringing Labor into the National Political Debate," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 2, 1997.
27. For more discussion, see the special issue of the Journal of Labor Research (Winter 1996), entirely devoted to an analysis of the Dunlop Commission report.
28. Final Report, Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations (Web site: http:// www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/e_archive/Dunlop). For the union perspective on the report, see the useful account in Harold Meyerson, "Mother Jones Returns," LA Weekly, Nov. 3-9, 1995.
29. Final Report, Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations (Web site: http:// www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/e_archive/Dunlop). For the union perspective on the report, see the useful account in Harold Meyerson, "Mother Jones Returns," LA Weekly, Nov. 3-9, 1995.
30. 1995 AFL-CIO Convention Proceedings, 118.
31. Robert B. Reich, Locked in the Cabinet (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), 82, 106-107. Although Reich's book has been the object of much controversy due to accusations that he made up quotes and distorted events, Kirkland acknowledges that he was offered, and declined, the Polish ambassadorship; see Jonathan Mahler, "Kirkland: Reich Bears 'False Witness'," Forward, May 9, 1997.
32. Robert B. Reich, Locked in the Cabinet (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), 82, 106-107. Although Reich's book has been the object of much controversy due to accusations that he made up quotes and distorted events, Kirkland acknowledges that he was offered, and declined, the Polish ambassadorship; see Jonathan Mahler, "Kirkland: Reich Bears 'False Witness'," Forward, May 9, 1997.
33. John J. Sweeney, America Needs a Raise (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996), 90.
34. Ibid., 90.
35. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, Press Release, Jan. 31, 1997 (Web site: http://stats.bls.gov:80/newsrels.htm).
36. See Kilborn, "Bringing Down Labor's Giant Leader" and Sweeney's own account in a speech at the AFL-CIO Convention, 1995 AFL-CIO Convention Proceedings, 18.
37. Sweeney, America Needs a Raise, 89.
38. Rex Hardesty, "President Kirkland to Retire in August," AFL-CIO News, June 19, 1995.
39. Letter from Albert Shanker to AFT Leadership, May 10, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author).
40. Letter from Moe Biller to John Sweeney, July 19, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author).
41. Letter from Morton Bahr, President of Communications Workers of America, to Arthur Coia, President of the Laborers International Union of North America, May 15, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author).
42. Letter from Albert Shanker to AFT Leadership, May 10, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author).
43. Ibid.
44. AFL-CIO Press Release, June 12, 1995.
45. Kirk Victor, "High Noon in the House of Labor," National Journal, July 15, 1995.
46. Kirk Victor, "Labor's New Look," National Journal, Oct. 14, 1995.
47. 1995 AFL-CIO Convention Proceedings, 118.
48. Steven Greenhouse, "A Big Job for Labor: Rebirth of Unions Will Not Be Easy," The New York Times, Oct. 27, 1995.
49. Victor, "High Noon in the House of Labor."
50. Michael Byrne, "Sweeney Slate Promises Win at Convention," AFL-CIO News, Aug. 11, 1995.
51. Speech by Thomas Donahue before Utility Workers of America Convention, June 21, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author).
52. AFL-CIO Transcript of Press Conference by Thomas Donahue, June 12, 1995.
53. Speech by John Sweeney, June 28, 1995, Washington, DC, SEIU Press Release.
54. Letter from Gerald McEntee to Thomas Donahue, July 13, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author). For Wurfs complaints, see Joseph C. Goulden, Jerry Wurf: Labor's Last Angry Man (New York: Atheneum, 1982).
55. Letter from Gerald McEntee to Thomas Donahue, July 13, 1995 (copy in personal possession of author). For Wurfs complaints, see Joseph C. Goulden, Jerry Wurf: Labor's Last Angry Man (New York: Atheneum, 1982).
56. Kim Moody, "U.S. Labor Wars: Bottom to Top," New Politics (Winter 1996); Jim Smith, "AFL-CIO's Last Cold Warrior," Z Magazine, July/Aug. 1995; Jonathan Mahler, "Big Labor's Big Move," The New Democrat, Jan./Feb. 1998.
57. Kim Moody, "U.S. Labor Wars: Bottom to Top," New Politics (Winter 1996); Jim Smith, "AFL-CIO's Last Cold Warrior," Z Magazine, July/Aug. 1995; Jonathan Mahler, "Big Labor's Big Move," The New Democrat, Jan./Feb. 1998.
58. Kim Moody, "U.S. Labor Wars: Bottom to Top," New Politics (Winter 1996); Jim Smith, "AFL-CIO's Last Cold Warrior," Z Magazine, July/Aug. 1995; Jonathan Mahler, "Big Labor's Big Move," The New Democrat, Jan./Feb. 1998.
59. I am indebted to an anonymous reviewer at Labor History for a first-person account of this episode.
60. Speech by John Sweeney, June 28, 1995, Washington, DC, SEIU Press Release.
61. John Judis, "Sweeney Agonistes," The New Republic, Aug. 21, 28, 1995.
62. 1995 AFL-CIO Convention Proceedings, 311, 124.
63. Ibid., 121, 123, 13, and 121.
64. Ibid., 140, 122, 129-130, 121.
65. See John E. Mulligan and Dean Starkman, "An F.O.B. and the Mob," The Washington Monthly, May 1996; and Robert Fitch, "Labor Pain," The Nation, Nov. 25, 1996. For numerous articles on Coia, as well as a copy of the Justice Department's 1994 findings, see the following web site: http:// www.laborers.org.
66. See John E. Mulligan and Dean Starkman, "An F.O.B. and the Mob," The Washington Monthly, May 1996; and Robert Fitch, "Labor Pain," The Nation, Nov. 25, 1996. For numerous articles on Coia, as well as a copy of the Justice Department's 1994 findings, see the following web site: http:// www.laborers.org.
67. See John E. Mulligan and Dean Starkman, "An F.O.B. and the Mob," The Washington Monthly, May 1996; and Robert Fitch, "Labor Pain," The Nation, Nov. 25, 1996. For numerous articles on Coia, as well as a copy of the Justice Department's 1994 findings, see the following web site: http:// www.laborers.org.
68. 1995 AFL-CIO Convention Proceedings, 164.
69. Ibid., 315.
70. Dorothy Sue Cobble, "Lost Ways of Organizing: Reviving the AFL's Direct Affiliate Strategy," Industrial Relations, July 1997.
71. Kim Moody, "Up Against the Polyester Ceiling: The 'New' AFL-CIO Organizes - Itself!" New Politics, Winter 1998.
72. Kim Moody, Workers in a Lean World: Unions in the International Economy (London: Verso, 1997), 200.
73. In addition to Moody, comparable views were expressed by former New York Times labor reporter William Serrin, "Is This Really Labor's Day?" Washington Post, Sept. 1, 1996 and by Jeremy Brecher and Tim Costello, "A New Labor Movement in the Shell of the Old?" Z Magazine, April 1996.
74. In addition to Moody, comparable views were expressed by former New York Times labor reporter William Serrin, "Is This Really Labor's Day?" Washington Post, Sept. 1, 1996 and by Jeremy Brecher and Tim Costello, "A New Labor Movement in the Shell of the Old?" Z Magazine, April 1996.
75. Amity Shlaes, "Labor's Return," Commentary, Oct. 1996.
76. Kenneth R. Weinstein, Backgrounder: From Meany to Sweeney: Labor's Leftward Tilt (Washington, DC: The Heritage Foundation, 1996), 6 (Web site: http://www.heritage.org/heritage/library).
77. Mahler, "Big Labor's Big Move."
78. Max Green, Epitaph for American Labor (Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1996), 172.