AFL –CIO Leaders Use a Phony Argument
To Justify Their Corrupt Voting System

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and the 51-member Executive Council have been defending a clause in the Federation’s Constitution that virtually guarantees they will get re-elected, again and again, with not even token opposition, and without bothering to campaign.

That constitutional provision has thus far made it impossible for any potential candidate for national office to challenge incumbents, In fact, since 1886, when the American Federation of Labor was founded, no officer or member of a State AFL-CIO or Central Labor Council has ever been elected to the Executive Council.

The constitutional clause that gives international union presidents a monopoly of power within the AFL-CIO is contained in Article 4, which gives international unions as many convention votes as their total members, while State AFL-CIOs and Central Labor Councils are limited to one vote each.

In practical terms, a big international union, like the American Federation of Teachers, is entitled to more than 1 million convention votes, while the combined total of affiliated state and local bodies can never reach more than 700 convention votes. Thus, when major policies are voted on at AFL-CIO conventions, the state and local organizations are little more than wall-flowers, even though they represent millions of members.

This convention system is obviously unfair and undemocratic. It gives international union presidents a monopoly of power within the AFL-CIO and encourages a variety of corrupt practices, since tbey are not accountable to the union membership.

Aren’t Dues-Payers Entitled to Proper Representation?

Since Trumka and his coterie of international union presidents can’t defend Article 4 of the Constitution without revealing their undemocratic behavior, they have developed a rationale for retaining the provision that safeguards their control of the AFL-CIO. Here is how their position was argued by Morty Bahr, former president of the 600,000-member Communications Workers of America:

Bahr said that, since international unions pay per capita to the AFL-CIO, and states and local affiliates do not, the current convention voting system is justified.

But it is the nation’s dues-payers who supply the internationals with the money to pay the per capita tax. Aren’t they entitled to fair representation at conventions? Why can’t we have fair elections where any AFL-CIO member has the right and opportunity to run for national office? And why should AFL-CIO leadership be limited to middle-aged or elderly, mostly white males, as it has been for a long time, with a poor record of accomplishment?

We pay our dues and we have a right to be properly represented. We are entitled to fair and honest elections. We want to choose leaders whose competence and integrity we can trust and who are able to inspire us to action.

We won’t get any of this unless we are able to rescind Article 4 of the AFL-CIO Constitution and replace it with a democratic provision for “One Delegate, One Vote.” Unless we can do that, millions of AFL-CIO members will be disenfranchised in their own organization.

We are reminded of that Colonial America slogan: “No Taxation Without Representation!” We want something for our dues money.—Harry Kelber

LaborTalk (88) will be posted here on August 6, 2010 and on our two web sites, https://www.laboreducator.org/ and www.laborsvoiceforchange.org.