SEIU's 'United We Win' Opens Debate on the Crisis Facing Working Families and the Labor Movement LaborTalk By Harry Kelber
The Service Employees International Union is the largest union in the AFL-CIO and has the best organizing record, so its views on the future of the labor movement deserve to be taken seriously.
SEIU's report, 'United We Win,' offers a series of proposals to reverse the continuing decline in labor's strength and workers' living standards. The report states: 'The labor movement needs a structure, rules, and culture that help workers build industry and market strength.' It says that a focused industry and market strategy is essential for 'achieving breakthroughs in raising standards for pay, benefits and working conditions and reducing employer interference with workers trying to join unions.'
I don't think anyone will quarrel with the report's assertion that unions would be stronger and workers better off if they could gain greater market share through more intensive organizing in specific industries. But how do we achieve that goal?