Farmworkers Join Dissidents
The small farmworkers union founded by labor hero Cesar Chavez joined a coalition of labor groups demanding changes in the AFL-CIO as the 50-year-old federation inched closer Friday to breaking up.
The United Farm Workers union, organized in 1962 and now consisting of 27,000 members, brings to seven the number of unions in the Change to Win Coalition. Four of the coalition unions have threatened to leave the AFL-CIO: those of the Teamsters, service employees, food and commercial workers, and hotel, restaurant, retail, textile and laundry employees.
The UFW intends to stay in the AFL-CIO. Nonetheless, its partnership with the dissident unions gave the new coalition momentum headed into a fateful weekend.
Federation officials have gathered in Chicago for a weekend of talks before the AFL-CIO’s annual convention. In addition to seeking the ouster of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, the dissidents want more money spent on recruiting members and are seeking to merge several of the smaller unions.
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