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Pick
any measure you want—union density; strike activity; concessionary
contracts; stagnant, even declining real wages and benefits—they all
point to one inescapable conclusion: the labor movement in the U.S. has
sunk to its weakest in living memory and the end of its decline is
nowhere in sight. But, in the midst of this gloomy recognition, the
April 23-25 Labor Notes Conference—a biennial event for the past
three decades—set a new attendance record.
With
a few honorable exceptions, most mainstream American unions do not
offer any comparable venue for the their ranks to discuss strategy and
tactics. Most top officials remain dedicated to the same old/same old
of trying to work in “partnership” with the bosses.
While
they are major campaign fund donors, the union heads have accepted
their role as no more than glorified precinct captains, taking marching
orders from their Democrat “friends.” Implementation of this debilitating
policy of class collaboration dominates most union gatherings from
national conventions down to shop meetings in lunchrooms.
More
than ever, the conference organized by the monthly publication Labor
Notes stands in sharp contrast to these official union assemblies.
There are no motions from a bureaucratically selected resolutions
committee to be voted upon, no unopposed officers to be elected.
The
biggest culture shock for unionists attending their first LN conference is always its
democratic character. All working-class points of view are welcome,
even encouraged, in the dozens of workshops and interest group meetings
that comprise the bulk of conference proceedings.
While
there are no formal action plans to be debated and voted–and so often
ignored—the three days of discussion is not idle chit-chat. It is
mainly about what people have done, or hope to do. Not all
contributions are of equal importance but collectively they add up to a
pretty faithful picture of the current state of the working class.
Who
were these 1200 participants? The gathering had a strong international
flavor, with over 20 countries represented. For the most part they were
rank-and-filers or shop stewards. But there were also a substantial
number of union staffers and full-time elected officers, even a few
national union officials.
Health-care
workers in National Nurses United, National Union of Healthcare
Workers, and SEIU were prominent. So were members of Teamsters for a
Democratic Union, the only significant rank-and-file national union
caucus on the scene. There were fresh contingents from UNITE HERE. More
teachers than ever, from both the NEA and AFT, were drawn to the
conference.
The
new leadership in Transport Workers Local 100, representing New York City transit workers was highly
visible. And union stalwarts from the UE and Farm Labor Organizing
Committee have never missed one of these conferences yet.
Since
its founding in 1979, Labor Notes, and the schools and
conferences they have offered, have centered on three major arenas of
the class struggle: shop floor struggles in the workplace, strike
solidarity, internal union democracy. Details of the conference agenda
can be found online at www.labornotes.org/conference.
In
addition, Labor Notes has effectively built many social
campaigns launched from within the labor movement—including some going
beyond their “core” perspective, such as the issue of immigration
rights.
LN
has been supportive of US Labor Against the War since that group
was launched in 2003. LN’s long relationship with the California
Nurses Association, now part of National Nurses United, facilitated
taking a positive stand on Canadian-style single-payer health-care
reform.
Parts
of this article originally appeared on www.kclabor.org/a_unique_worker_gathering.htm
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