A Weekly Analysis of 10 Major Issues
That Can Determine Labor's Future

Issue 10. July 18, 2005: Unions Must Develop a Crop of Leaders with Ties to Rank-and-File — html — pdf

Issue 9. July 11, 2005: Labor Leaders: Empty Rhetoric & Exodus of Jobs — html — pdf

Issue 8. July 4, 2005: Heads of 15 Largest Unions Plan Permanent Control of Labor — html — pdf

Issue 7. June 27, 2005: Will Union Members Lose Their Rights? — html — pdf

Issue 6. June 20, 2005: Can Unions Organize if They Don't Talk to Workers? — html — pdf

Issue 5. June 13, 2005: Organizing New Members Is Major Task — html — pdf

Issue 4. June 6, 2005: Will Reshaping the AFL-CIO Boost Power of Leaders or Members? — html — pdf

Issue 3. May 30, 2005: Labor Leaders and the 'Employee Free Choice' Law — html — pdf

Issue 2. May 23, 2005: Sweeney and Stern Agree on Labor in Politics, But Avoid Problems — html — pdf

Issue 1. May 16, 2005: Will More Money and Mega-Unions Solve Problems of Past Organizing Failures? — html — pdf

Each week, in the ten weeks preceding the quadrennial convention on July 25-28, we shall clarify and analyze the core views of John Sweeney, AFL CIO president, and Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, on ten major issues that will determine whether America's workers will have a strong labor movement to speak out in their behalf.

We intend to strip away the rhetoric, polemics, feuding and self-serving verbiage that clutter their lengthy documents in order to present what Sweeney and Stern actually propose — and let you judge whether what they offer makes sense and serves our interests.

Our first subject, will be union organizing, and it will be posted on our Web site: www.laboreducator.org on Monday, May 16. Every Monday thereafter, a new topic will be analyzed. Here is the tentative list:

• Political Action

• Legislation

• Structural Changes

• Collective Bargaining

• Union Democracy

• Communication

• Governance

• Globalization

• Convention Rules

The tenth column will appear on July 19, and will deal with the prospects for a free and fair election of AFL-CIO executive officers and members of the Executive Council, exactly six days before the start of the convention. We will welcome your comments.

Our weekly "LaborTalk" and "The World of Labor" columns can be viewed at our Web site: www.laboreducator.org. Harry Kelber's e-mail address is: hkelber@igc.org.