U of Iowa Prof Optimistic About Labor Schism
by Jeff Charis-Carlson, Iowa City Press-Citizen
Shelton Stromquist, professor of history at the University of Iowa, talks labor.
In the
current [labor] schism there has been a lot of debate over how
effective the [AFL-CIO] federation has been politically. But, from the
point of view of the Democratic Party, the AFL-CIO and its local
manifestations in labor councils have been very important in terms of
directing funds or getting out the vote.
So,
federations are a kind of mixed bag. I don't think that one should
invest too much significance in the current schism, although it does
seem to be the beginning of what could be a significant structural
change in the federation. How much this change will affect local labor
bodies and individual unions remains to be seen.
…Schisms
in the labor movement are not a new thing; they have had a long and, in
some respects, honorable history. They appear when the movement –
embodied by an existing federation – is in some crisis and in need of
reform. They breathe new life and new energy into the movement, and
they almost always lead to reunification on a new basis….
In the
current situation, we'll have to see how the ambitious agenda of [the
newly-formed federation] Change to Win plays out, but providing that
the new organizing does not turn to the raiding of existing unions, I
think there is some reason to be hopeful that a stronger and more vital
labor movement may emerge and eventually find a basis for reunification.
(Click here to read the complete interview.)
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