AFL-CIO’s 10-Union Organizing Structures Have Built-in Obstacles that Limit Success - LaborTalk By Harry Kelber
There are two obvious reasons for the AFL-CIO’s failures. First, no series of major organizing campaigns can succeed without convincing millions of union members to become involved. But mobilizing them for action is something that our national labor leaders will not — or cannot — do. They prefer to sit at their meetings, using their brain power to chart new organizing strategies that don’t require membership input.
Second, the AFL-CIO will never organize the millions of workers who want to join a union unless it finds ways to reach out to them, with a program that meets their needs. Our leaders have not created a sustained national media campaign to reach these workers. And if you can’t talk to them, how are you going to organize them?