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Vol. 2 No. 2 Summer 1996

More from the AFL-CIO At the just concluded Pacific Coast Labor Law Conference Mr. John P. Hiatt, General Council AFL-CIO was the luncheon speaker. Highlights of his speech are: * The Union is revived and we are in the news! * Little organizing - mostly servicing members has been the past 15 year history of the labor movement. Thank is over!! * Multi Union organizing efforts on a related or industry basis. John Sweeny has spoken about how the Union was becoming irrelevant. John Sweeny, as President of the AFL-CIO has resolved to change the tide. *Image will be important, that's why we created a Women's Division, Youth Division, coordination with Civil Rights Groups (churches, EEO, etc.), joint surveys, focus groups etc. to see what workers want. *Workers are upset about corporate greed. Disloyalty by the company has created anger. *The social contract of the 50's was changed in 70's. US management decided to compete through lowered wage cost. Since 1973, productivity has gone up but workers did not get their fair share. Currently CEO's are paid 187 times the average workers pay. 15 years ago is was 40 times. Workers are not getting their fair share. * More people are forced to work. In most cases, with all adults in the family working. (next column)

* Employers must change and unions also. The AFL-CIO is dedicated to make the change. *The change is 30% of Union resources to organizing. Unions will get back to a monopoly of the supply of labor by organizing every employer in an industry - such as all government employees. *We will be turning out 1,000 new organizers a year into the workforce. Some will "salt" the workers by getting jobs with employers then organizing from the inside while being paid by the employer itself. This reduces our cost and has the employer pay for our organizing. We will be organizing with multi union campaigns to get an entire employer all at once. *1996 will be "Union Summer" to get 150 to 200 youth involved in organizing. *We are renewing our political efforts. Members want us in politics as educator and to inform members about issues. How are congressional reps voting - we will tell our members. We will train 3,000 activists to become active in politics. Including minimum wage and other issue groups on a local basis, city by city, county by county, state by state. *A Corporate Affairs Department will be set up in the AFL-CIO to monitor and provide information about corporations, how to attack them. Where are their weaknesses. (next column)

*We will set up a joint management study to force management to share real power with workers. Workers are not going to just be turned out any more. Workers will have power through their contracts. *Lastly we are restructuring the ALF- CIO Legal Department to use the legal system to further our objectives to regain our position as a major force in America. This is how the ecology movement brought big business to its knees we will do the same. *We will be making big political news about of our gains. We want workers to know LABOR is on the move. We will be having 29 City/Town Meetings to build political support for Unions. Those meetings have begun and will give us a foundation for further action. Mr. Hiatt concluded his remarks with a promise that the era of labor decline is over and employers are on notice they are a target. Questions or Concerns Please Contact: BRAUN Consulting Group 1326 5th Ave, Suite 339 Seattle, WA 98101 (top)