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A Militant, "Minority" Union?
Early, Steve
http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/4019Date Written: 2013-11-01 Publisher: Against the Current Year Published: 2013 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX20277 At the AFL-CI0 convention in Los Angeles in September 2013, a small group of rank-and-file workers managed to alter the convention agenda -- by threatening to protest the presence of Kaiser Permanente, which happens to be their employer. Abstract: - Excerpt: Just before the convention, five NUHW-CNA supporters at Kaiser wrote to AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka, questioning why he was showcasing Kaiser as a "model employer." They noted that several AFL-CIO unions "are currently in the middle of an epic struggle at Kaiser to defend standards that workers have fought decades to establish." They asked Trumka "and the rest of the AFL-CIO to stand with us and not with this multi-billion dollar HMO." These NUHW supporters also prepared a leaflet detailing their employer's recent mistreatment of workers and patients in California. And they prepared to distribute the flyer to the 1,600 delegates and guests attending the convention's opening session. Shortly before that deadline, the AFL-CIO informed NUHW-CNA that Kaiser was dis-invited. Time slots sides aside for the marketing of Kaiser’s Labor-Management Partnership (LMP) and its LMP-backed corporate wellness program suddenly disappeared from convention schedule. Subject Headings |