Kerry Defeat Smolders For AFL-CIO’s Sweeney By Sherie Winston, Engineering News Record
If SEIU and its 1.7 million members flee the federation, they would have company. Carpenters’ union President Douglas J. McCarron and his 520,000 members left the AFL-CIO in 2001 over differences with Sweeney. McCarron has no current plans to reaffiliate.
There has been speculation that SEIU might join with the carpenters and a couple of other unions and form a new labor federation. While sources expect some consolidation, particularly among smaller unions, a drastic revamp likely would not be supported by the Executive Council.
If Stern’s merger plan were to be adopted, there would like-ly be only three construction unions–a heavy and highway union, mechanical union and electrical union–instead of the 15 unions that now comprise BCTD. That is not likely to happen, says one source.