Freedom Socialist • Vol. 29, No. 3 • June-July 2008

As bosses get tough, so do union militants
Rank-and-file caucuses and activism on the rise

Linda Averill

Mark Cook, a founding member of OWLS, joins the ILWU’s May Day rally. Credit: Steve Hoffman / FS

With healthcare costs rising, wages shrinking against inflation, and union jobs getting “outsourced,” there’s no room for friendly contract negotiations with bosses.

Yet typically, union officials don’t get tough. They hardsell bad contracts to members as “the best that we could do.” That was the scene in Amalgamated Transit Union 587, the bulk of whose 4,000 members work at a public transit agency in Seattle.

In January, activists pushed back when ATU officers proposed a weak contract that included more discipline. Members defeated it, revived a rank-and-file-caucus, and voted 45 percent against another proposal in April.

ATU’s story isn’t unique. Soldiers of Solidarity is a well-known opposition group that gained ground in the United Auto Workers when UAW officials helped the auto bosses slash and burn their workers.

On May Day, 25,000 dock workers stopped work on the West Coast — despite threats from bosses, and pleas from union officials. It is no coincidence that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union was the first to pull off a political strike against the war, and tie it to contract talks. The ILWU has a history of political radicalism and rank-and-file democracy. As one docker said, “we don’t take our orders from the arbitrator ... the rank and file goes out and does what it has to do.”

Why the surge in activism? Richard Newton, a self-described “old school union radical” put it this way: “the social conditions that necessitated our origins as unions are returning today.”

As bosses drop their pretense of being “partners” with workers, labor officials face two paths: mobilize the unions to fight — or act like Pinkertons.

SEIU’s rising rebellion. What a change from two years ago. In 2006, bureaucrats waxed prolific on ways to revive labor’s power. Members were sidelined as Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern implemented his novel solution: create an alternative to the AFL-CIO.

But the federation he helped to create, Change to Win, is no alternative to the AFL-CIO. Both tie labor’s fate to the Democrats. Both preach labor-management “cooperation” — and SEIU, the largest union in CTW, is taking all this to new lows.

SEIU is notorious for accepting “template” contracts, especially with nursing home companies, that hurt patients and condemn workers to low wages and poor conditions.

SEIU tops also are angering members by merging smaller locals into huge locals, often run by Stern’s handpicked appointees. In Puerto Rico, SEIU is muscling in on a militant teachers’ union that was decertified by the government for going on strike.

All this, and more, is fueling rebellion among SEIU’s 1.9 million members. Given its past record of militancy this is great news! Imagine if SEIU’s members, vastly underpaid women, workers of color and immigrants, pull off a mutiny against Stern and his sweetheart deals with bosses. The uprising could be contagious.

One of the most visible groups to demand change is SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today. SMART (see www.seiureform.org) calls for elected representatives on all bargaining committees; development of a national strike fund; uniform pay standards for all workers in an industry — regardless of who they work for or where they work; and direct election of SEIU officials. SMART will take these demands to SEIU’s convention in June.

Showing solidarity in Seattle. Although members were ignored, they weren’t quiet when the AFL-CIO split. In Seattle, several unionists formed Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity, to unify at the grassroots level. OWLS is a multi-union, multiracial caucus “dedicated to reviving labor’s fighting spirit” and coordinated rank-and-file action. It explicitly calls for labor’s independence from the Democrats.

OWLS activists quickly filled a void in Seattle’s labor scene. They marched against the war. They wrote and organized around a strong resolution on immigrant workers’ rights that includes calling for unions to protest ICE raids. After passing several locals, the resolution was adopted at the State Labor Council convention. OWLS has no illusions on the resolution. They know the challenge lies in getting action.

Leadership inaction was not the problem, however, when OWLS exposed the anti-labor policies of Democratic Party politicians. On Valentine’s Day, OWLS leafleted the public to support County employees — including transit workers in ATU 587. The message: Ask Democrats who run the County to “have a heart” and negotiate a fair contract.

With lightning speed, ATU officers wrote a resolution, rubberstamped by the King County Labor Council, telling OWLS to “cease and desist” its solidarity! But the censure backfired when several unionists and Council delegates protested in an open letter.

The letter defended OWLS right to free speech. It also pointed out the victories that labor can achieve through the type of labor-community alliance building that OWLS did. Inside ATU, members condemned the pro-management resolution; it was tabled for lack of support at the union meeting.

But the episode revealed just how hostile ATU officers are to putting heat  on politician-bosses. Outraged by officers’ sabotage, ATU’s rank-and-file caucus, FOR Workers Activism and Rank-and-file Democracy, redoubled efforts.

As negotiations dragged on, FORWARD built solidarity between drivers and mechanics, and petitioned for an all-members meeting — and real gains in wages and conditions.

Many of FORWARD’s goals are similar to SMART (see FORWARD587.com). As in SEIU, officers are attacking FORWARD’s members to undercut their organizing. But the group will grow until leaders start fighting for all members.

Boot the bureaucrats — but then what? A common goal of rank-and-file groups is to replace bad leaders with good ones. But that’s no sure bet. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and SEIU’s Stern were “insurgents.”

So what is a union militant to do? Organizing for union democracy is a start. Labor’s Giant Step, by Art Preis, shows what’s possible when the ranks call their shots. SMART’s platform is filled with worthy reforms to fight for.

And fighting is what it takes! To forge unions that champion workers’ interests, as capitalism crumbles and crashes, is a revolutionary proposition.

The fat that labor skates built their careers on is gone. So are the crumbs they won to buy “labor peace.” As bosses rob workers to balance their shrinking bottom lines, unions must learn to fight again — for bread and butter, and on political issues like war. Dues need to go for strikes, not handsome salaries.

Real union democracy requires that the interests of all members be represented — especially the lowest-paid. And to win, unions must defend and organize the unorganized.

Change doesn’t come from above. It starts with groups like SMART and OWLS, who inspire the ranks to take their unions back. They rebuild labor’s leadership with new militants — and give members tools to quickly recall any leaders who won’t carry out a militant program. All power to the ranks!

Linda Averill, an activist in ATU 587, is also a founding member of OWLS and FORWARD. OWLS can be reached at OWLS@riseup.net.