Labor's business is your's, too

摘要

The breaking apart of the AFL-CIO last month might have surprised some people, but I think it should be seen as natural development. It's natural because, in business, organizations grow and change, but it's surprising because we rarely look at how "businesslike" labor is. Scenes of tough-talking bosses shouting into microphones added some drama to the moment, and seemed to fit with the ready-to-rumble image most of us have of labor unions. What's really happening is something of a boardroom struggle. To recap, several of the AFL-CIO's largest constituent unions chose the annual meeting of that labor alliance to announce their defection. The Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, and the United Food and Commercial Workers left in a dispute about the future direction of labor in business and public life. They want an expanded agenda on behalf of "working families," to craft a message that will draw new members and increase their influence in public policy. The remaining AFL-CIO will continue to adopt individual unions and exercise their influence through multi-tiered activism and lobbying.