How Does the AFL-CIO Influence Policy?

The answer lies in the organization’s structure if you are wondering how the AFL-CIO influences policy. While the federation has leadership, the establishment maintains close ties with the Democratic Party. Whether that ties will be beneficial or detrimental, these organizations will continue to influence policy in a way that benefits them. If you are wondering how the AFL-CIO affects policy, read for some information that may surprise you.

Politics

The AFL-CIO is the largest union in the United States, with considerable organizational, financial, and political influence. Founded in 1886, the two organizations began their rivalry as separate bodies, each focused on different aspects of industrial unions. They remained rivals until the merger in 1955. This merger brought a new sense of unity to the labor movement, and the associations could influence policy in ways they had never imagined.

After Sweeney retired, Trumka was elected as AFL-CIO president. Trumka, the controversial former head of the United Mine Workers of America, was Secretary-Treasurer under Sweeney. However, he assumed office despite scandals regarding spending, including $150,000 on a political ad campaign against Teamsters president James P. Hoffa. He even invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during testimony before federal regulators, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he was doing.

The AFL-CIO’s list of beneficiaries is long. It includes liberal economic think tanks and mobilizing groups. Groups supported by the AFL-CIO include the Center for Popular Democracy and the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The AFL-CIO also supports groups that promote progressive policies, including the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARWA), which opposes public pension reform. And it funds the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, a group for union-member hunters.

The AFL-CIO’s membership base is vast. As the largest federation of unions in the United States, it has over nine million voting members and about three million associate members. It represents American labor overseas and adjudicates disputes among affiliated unions. It also coordinates national and state activities. It also makes recommendations regarding labor policy. Its political influence dates back to the 1930s.

Political culture

How does the AFL-CIO influence policy? The AFL has a long history of interfering with policy. In 1944, they created the Free Trade Union Committee, which was designed to undermine the Communist-led unions in Western Europe. The organization was led by Jay Lovestone, expelled from the Communist Party USA in 1929 because of his close ties to Nikolai Bukharin. The Free Trade Union Committee is the most prominent organization in the world, with a membership of over one million people.

The AFL-CIO also has ties to the CIA. In the early 1980s, the AFL-CIO applauded President Ronald Reagan’s aggressive foreign policy. The president fired 11,000 air traffic controllers in 1981. The AFL-CIO supported anti-communist groups and became a core grant recipient for the National Endowment for Democracy. The organization’s close ties to the CIA helped the AFL-CIO gain considerable political influence.

In the early 1950s, the AFL received CIA funding to buy union officials in different countries. AFL/CIA officials financed anti-communist splinter unions in countries with strong Communist partnerships. AFL-CIO officials partnered with the State Department and organized a corps of labor attaches to isolate European Communist-led associations. As a result, the AFL has been a partner of the CIA for decades.

In the past, AFL-CIO officials have supported the ideology of “business unionism.” This ideology opposes the rise of class-conscious labor movements and does not aim to overthrow capitalism. Instead, it advocates a limited version of workplace bargaining. Moreover, it promotes economic nationalism, focusing on lower unemployment and easier access to foreign markets for US products. These ideas are not conducive to socialism, and they’ve fueled racism and xenophobia among the working class.

Political contributions

The AFL-CIO is a union and is active in political campaigns. AFSCME is the largest member union, and it has run ads attacking Romney for opposing the auto bailout and linking him with Medicare fraud. The AFL-CIO analyzed Federal Election Commission records to determine the amount of money each association contributed. Those records show how much money each group receives, including contributions from individuals, families, and corporations controlled by super donors.

Labor federation’s skepticism

In the 1950s, the AFL-CIO was primarily run by zealots opposed to communism and the Communist Party. Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO from 1979 to 1995, subscribed to this anti-communist philosophy. He was also groomed for a career in the diplomatic service and was a close personal friend of Henry Kissinger.

But the AFL-CIO hasn’t done enough to repent for its actions in the Cold War. It has not apologized for undermining foreign democracies or endorsing militarism. Its efforts helped strengthen transnational capital, not workers. Instead, they weakened the power of workers.

Despite its de-emphasis, the AFL-CIO continues to count as new members solicited by Working America; an organization initially set up for political action. Working America claims 3.2 million members without any workplace connection and receives $10 million per year in union donations. The AFL-CIO’s de-emphasis of the AFL-CIO’s influence on the policy will only serve to divide the labor movement further.

In the early 1950s, Victor Reuther, head of the UAW’s foreign relations, made a controversial claim: the AFL-CIO was involved in the CIA. Reuther also criticized the AIFLD’s role in the coup in Brazil. Later, several journalistic exposes proved that the CIA was closely tied to the labor federation. Meany vigorously denied this link, and his union skepticism about the CIA’s influence on foreign policy was unfounded.

The AFL-CIO split had a similar impact on the US labor movement. The CIO took a rightward turn and purged left-leaning affiliate unions from its ranks. This made the CIO a pale shell of its former self. Eventually, in 1955, it was absorbed into the AFL, a more conservative organization. The US labor movement began its long decline in the 1950s.

Kirkland

While his career had little impact on American labor, his death is a sobering reminder of how the AFL-CIO affects policy. Although most American workers have never heard of Kirkland, his passing says much about the AFL-CIO and the working class. What is the relationship between the unions and the corporate establishment? How can one change it?

Meany and the AFL-CIO hired Kirkland to coordinate their political campaigns for the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in 1976. Many questioned whether labor’s support for Carter was based on hope rather than experience. The AFL-CIO and the Carter administration established a national accord in 1979, in which the AFL-CIO promised wage restraint to protect the poor and corporate profits. Carter agreed to refrain from using unemployment to fight inflation. Meany retired from his position in 1979 and was replaced by Kirkland.

While some may view Kirkland as a reactionary, it is essential to note that his political senility was more than a reactionary trait. His tenure as AFL-CIO president culminated in a calcified trade union movement unable to offer the working class a meaningful voice. The union movement under Kirkland revealed a fundamental conflict between the working class and organizations dominated by the upper middle class. During his tenure, the AFL-CIO also openly turned itself into a tool of big business. Furthermore, it also revealed regressive, nationalist, and pro-capitalist politics.

The AFL-CIO was generally center-left until Meany and Kirkland became president. He retired in August 1995 and was succeeded by Thomas R. Donahue. Sweeney, the head of the SEIU, claimed to be the Democratic Socialists of America. The AFL-CIO was then the source of many political disagreements. While the current leadership is considered a centrist, the AFL-CIO has a long way to go before it finds its political identity.