Laborers Union Exits AFL-CIO

The Laborers International Union of North America has decided to leave the AFL-CIO, officials said Monday.

The Laborers had remained in the AFL-CIO despite joining the Change to Win coalition of unions that have left the giant federation of more than 50 unions in an effort to forge a new direction for organized labor.

“We are leaving so that we can place our full efforts and focus on growth in order to help millions of construction workers improve their lives,” said Richard Greer, a spokesman for the Laborers, which told the AFL-CIO on Monday that it would leave June 1.

The Change to Win coalition is made up of the Laborers, Service Employees International Union, Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers, Unite Here, United Farm Workers and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.

AFL-CIO officials did not comment on the Laborers’ move.

The breakaway unions have complained that the AFL-CIO was putting too much emphasis on electoral politics and not enough on organizing people to join the labor movement.

The federation’s leaders have contended that organizing and politics are equally important in protecting the rights of workers. Despite their differences, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win recently announced that they would work together this year to coordinate political efforts.

Laborers has about 700,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, mostly in the construction industry, but also in demolition and removal of hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead.

A large share of the union’s newer members are recent immigrants, including many Latinos.

Greer said construction workers had seen declines in wages, benefits and working conditions during the last decade.