The natural tension between private- and public-sector unions created a
visible fissure yesterday when members of the New Jersey State Building
and Construction Trades Council marched out of an AFL-CIO endorsement conference.
The protest was triggered by the AFL-CIO's decision not to endorse
three legislators, all of whom are also private-sector union members, as
punishment for voting in favor of public employee pension and benefit
reform.
The two Democratic legislators targeted tried to prove their pro-labor credentials by pointing to their history of supporting paid family leave, minimum wage increases, and card check. Senate President Steve Sweeney was prime sponsor of paid family leave legislation, and made NJ the second state in the nation with such a program.
After that proved not to be enough to be supported by the AFL-CIO, William Mullen, president of the 150,000-member building trades council, declared,
Charlie Wowkanech, AFL-CIO state president, called the escapade, "a terrible day."
It may have been terrible for organized labor, but it was also insightful. Private-sector unions, especially those related to the construction industry, are more reliant on an economic turnaround to regain or maintain employment. They also have a history of paying into their own health benefit and pension programs, and have never had the luxury of affecting or determining who would be on the other side of the negotiating table.
Mullen is wrong in part of his analysis. The AFL-CIO is not surrendering to a "small group of unions", but to the established trend in union composition. In 2009, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that for the first time in the United States, more public-sector workers belonged to a union than their private-sector counterparts. In 2010, unions represented just 6.9% of private-sector workers, but 31.1% of state workers and 42.3% of local employees.
This has major implications for the priorities of organized labor. Carpenters, ironworkers and crane operators can walk out of endorsement conferences as a sign of protest, but their voting relevance is still in descent and dragged down with it is what private-sector unions see as the most important characteristics of political candidates.
After that proved not to be enough to be supported by the AFL-CIO, William Mullen, president of the 150,000-member building trades council, declared,
"By its refusal to endorse Senate President Steve Sweeney, State Senator Donald Norcross and Assemblyman John Amodeo, the NJ State AFL-CIO has proven once again, its irrelevance in our state's political life. These are superb candidates who have spent their lives and careers advancing the best interests of the labor movement and making New Jersey one of the nation's most pro-labor states. But now, the NJ State AFL-CIO has surrendered to a small group of unions who want revenge against our honorable and productive legislators, and are trying to use one vote to dismiss and discredit their lifelong commitments to organized labor...."
Charlie Wowkanech, AFL-CIO state president, called the escapade, "a terrible day."
It may have been terrible for organized labor, but it was also insightful. Private-sector unions, especially those related to the construction industry, are more reliant on an economic turnaround to regain or maintain employment. They also have a history of paying into their own health benefit and pension programs, and have never had the luxury of affecting or determining who would be on the other side of the negotiating table.
Mullen is wrong in part of his analysis. The AFL-CIO is not surrendering to a "small group of unions", but to the established trend in union composition. In 2009, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that for the first time in the United States, more public-sector workers belonged to a union than their private-sector counterparts. In 2010, unions represented just 6.9% of private-sector workers, but 31.1% of state workers and 42.3% of local employees.
This has major implications for the priorities of organized labor. Carpenters, ironworkers and crane operators can walk out of endorsement conferences as a sign of protest, but their voting relevance is still in descent and dragged down with it is what private-sector unions see as the most important characteristics of political candidates.
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