AFGE's Public UnionBlog

Black History Month: Blog By Bill Fletcher

Bill Fletcher, Jr. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:11:00 EST

The president of the Maryland and DC AFL-CIO, Fred Mason, had an idea. Following the electoral victory of Barack Obama he found himself perplexed by the enthusiastic, yet very unfocused, response of organized labor as to what should happen next. While there was optimism in the air, what was missing was real content. But what was especially missing was any sort of public display of both support AND concern by US workers for an incoming Administration at a point of significant economic and political crisis.

The traditional labor union response to incoming Administrations, particularly those viewed as favorable by and towards unions and workers, has tended to be side-bar meetings where an agenda is discussed. These behind-the-scenes gatherings might have worked when unions were in a stronger position, but the diminishing power of workers and unions has resulted in such meetings having limited impact.

Mason, a long-time progressive, African American union activist and leader, started suggesting a different course of action. Why not have unions hold or sponsor celebratory parades around the USA to make plain both their support for President-elect Obama, but also the important issues that the incoming Administration must address that have a direct impact on working people?

Mason received two responses to his suggestion, which is what makes this commentary a "good news/bad news" piece. On the one hand, there were few takers on the idea of nation-wide rallies. True to form, there were no explicit objections raised to the suggestion; instead, silence. The failure to respond is illustrative of the crisis facing organized labor and the challenge to overcome it. A movement that has over-relied on lobbying and small meetings has strayed light years from the notion that a movement is disruptive and challenging. A social justice movement cannot always play by the rules, but has to call upon its members and supporters to make their voices heard-publicly and defiantly. In fact, mobilizing our base(s) is often the only weapon that we have in order to win in the court of public opinion.

The silence that Mason encountered represented something far more dangerous than what at first glance could appear to be timidity. Rather, the silence was the result of years of defeat that have been rationalized away. The decline of the union movement, largely the result of mega-economic factors (for example, globalization) combined with vicious political assaults (such as the mass firings of the air traffic controllers in 1981 by then President Ronald Reagan), is as well the result of internal problems that inhibit many leaders and members from understanding the global economic and political battlefield on which we operate. Thus, when Mason suggested a nation-wide mobilization, the leaders' collective silence in effect said the following: "If we can even mobilize our members-which many of us think that we cannot-we run the risk of antagonizing political and business leaders. If we antagonize them, we will not be invited into meetings and we will be condemned to the wilderness."

What Mason recognizes, along with some other key union leaders and activists, is that the union movement was condemned to the wilderness a very long time ago by political and business leaders in the USA. The problem that the union movement confronts is how to change the terms of the discussion and ensure that the voices of the voiceless are heard on a national stage and can actually shift reality.

Though Mason was unsuccessful with his first proposal-and here comes the good news-he won support for 'Plan B': a union contingent in the 56th Presidential Inaugural Parade on January 20th under the banner "America's Workers United for Change." What makes this contingent of more than 250 workers of particular interest in addition to it historical significance is that it brings together union leaders and activists from the AFL-CIO unions, Change to Win, the National Education Association, and constituency groups affiliated with the AFL-CIO. In other words, despite a painful split that the union movement suffered in 2005, Mason was able to bridge the divide and help representatives from both sides, plus the independent NEA, join together to convey critical messages to a nation-wide audience.

Workers, through their unions welcome the election of President Obama.

Workers, through their unions, are demanding immediate action by the incoming Administration to support an economy that works for all; equitable economic development through the creation of GOOD JOBS - GREEN JOBS; and creating GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS as a critical to enhancing the participation of American workers in the global economy.

Workers, through their unions, will support the Administration in taking on the task of reforming our healthcare system to provide healthcare for all.

Workers, through their unions and community allies must demonstrate that they will prepare to support the administration in meeting the great challenges ahead, but that they are unwilling to retreat in the face of the onslaught of employer attacks being felt, be they the auto loan issue-which is a de facto attack on auto workers-or the threats in state governments across the country to layoff workers and cut back on public services.

In this sense, this contingent is not the equivalent of a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. While union members can look at this contingent with pride and see themselves after years of being treated as both disposable and invisible, this contingent is not mainly about making people feel good. This contingent, more than anything else, is a public statement. Just as the workers at Chicago's Republic Windows made a statement in their takeover of the plant when Bank of America initially cancelled loans and denied the workers the compensation they were due, this labor contingent is putting the incoming Administration on notice: workers in the USA have had enough, and are not prepared to fall any deeper into despair; further retreat is simply not an option.

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Bill Fletcher, Jr. is the executive editor of BlackCommentator.com, and a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum, and the co-author of Solidarity Divided, which analyzes the crisis in organized labor in the USA.

Also published in Black Commentator

Rural VA Outpatient Clinics

Jeff Hall — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:29:00 EST

I see a lot of advocacy work for VA hospitals. What about those of us in the rural outpatient clinics? Hoping to hear issues of fellow VA workers in the same situations. What are your concerns and needs from the union?

NAF Training

stan Lusczynski — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:41:00 EST

Does anyone know where we can get Proper Training For NAF. We are so different than most federal Departments. We have no training thats offered to us that would help us

Judd Gregg

Phil Glover — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:25:00 EST

Maybe I am missing something? Did the Democrat's win the election? Did labor play a huge role in money, time, bodies, and votes? If so, then why the appointment of an person with a 4% voting record by the AFL-CIO to run a huge government agency (Commerce)?

This same Senator voted to close the department in 1995. Now he's the best person to run it? Is there any sense of history there? He will be in charge of the 2010 CENSUS for goodness sake when all the Congressional Districts will be affected.

While I want to support the president, I have to question a few of his recent decisions. I hope he keeps his promises to labor, to federal employees, and do what he put in writing he would do. I hope he doesn't try to pacify labor and do other things that undercut us.

77% of African-Americans Attend Inauguration For First Time

Ryan Williams — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST

77% of African-Americans Attend Inauguration
For first time; 63% Say Obama Presidency
Signals Improvement in Race Relations;
Nearly half (45%) Say Obama Most Like Kennedy;
Consensus on the Economy as Number One Issue
--New TV One/National Association of Black Journalists
Inaugural Poll Reveals

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 22, 2009 - As an estimated 2 million inaugural attendees witness the first African-American be sworn into office as president of the United States, scores of African Americans/Blacks celebrate the historic occasion by attending the inaugural festivities-many for the first-time, according to a new TV One/National Association of Black Journalists Inaugural Poll.

The poll of 462 inaugural attendees was conducted by Ariel & Ethan Polling and Market Research via face-to-face interviews during the Jan. 20th swearing-in ceremony and parade. Survey highlights include:

Three of four (77 percent) of African-Americans were attending the inauguration for the first-time, with seven in ten (70 percent or more) at age 30 or older.
Nearly two in three (63 percent) say the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president signals an improvement in race relations, yet nearly a quarter (22 percent) somewhat agreed and 15 percent disagreed. Age factored into opinion, however. Among those who strongly agree with the statement, 75 percent were 65 years of age or older-versus 4 percent of respondents between the ages of 45-64 who strongly disagreed.
Nearly half (45 percent) liken President Obama most to former president John F. Kennedy. Significant percentages see similarities between the President and former presidents: Bill Clinton (20 percent); Abraham Lincoln (17 percent); and Lyndon B. Johnson (5 percent). In term of age, younger attendees (18-29 years of age) were among those who most often chose Kennedy- with more than half (55%) drawing a comparison between the two presidents.
Nearly eight in ten (78%) chose the economy as the number one issue- the majority (83%) dwelling in cities with populations at or beyond 100,000.

Ariel & Ethan Polling and Market Research, Pollster Shawnta Walcott: "This survey is chock full of nuts and bolts that offer keen insight on how to frame messages intended to reach urban America and citizens throughout the diaspora."

The poll also provided keen insight into the shift away from traditional network news media for urban Americans, with 59 percent of attendees saying that their primary source for news and information is cable television.

National Association of Black Journalists President Barbara Ciara: " In a day and age where information is power-the survey results will be helpful in determining what governance issues are important to the African-American community-and how our community chooses to receive information."

For a complete report of poll results, go to www.nabj.org

Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvoneonline.com) serves nearly 47 million households, offering a broad range of entertainment, reality and lifestyle -oriented original programming, classic series, movies, and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers. TV One's investors include Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners; Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA and CMCSK; www.comcast.com], the leading cable television company in the country; The DirecTV Group; Constellation Ventures; Syndicated Communications; and Opportunity Capital Partners.

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services to and advocates on behalf of black journalists worldwide. Founded by 44 men and women on Dec. 12, 1975, in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation. Many of NABJ's 3,300 members also belong to one of the dozens of professional and student chapters that serve black journalists nationwide. www.nabj.org

Ariel & Ethan, LLC is a full-service polling and communications firm based in Bethesda, Md. and Washington, D.C. Committed to unparalleled accuracy, Ariel & Ethan, LLC operates from a core belief that no poll is too large or too small for the care and precision that has quickly become our hallmark. From our 2005 poll of the Haitian presidential election, to numerous commercial and political polls conducted for corporations and campaigns of varying sizes, A&E has established a reputation for accuracy and precision in the field of survey research.

Methodology -Ariel & Ethan, LLC was commissioned by TV One and National Association of Black Journalists to conduct a survey among 462 African American/ Black inaugural attendees. Respondents were chosen at random. All interviews were conducted via face-to-face on inaugural day January 20, 2009. The margin of error is +/- 4.6 percentage points. Margin may be higher in sub-groupings, Slight weights were added to "gender" to more accurately reflect the overall population. Ariel & Ethan, LLC surveys employ sampling strategies in which selection probabilities are proportional to population size.