AFL-CIO launches ‘Modernizing the Movement’ initiative

The AFL-CIO is launching an initiative to upgrade Central Labor Councils and the U.S. workers represented by groups such as the West Central Illinois Labor Council.

Approved at the labor federation’s national convention, it’s starting as a pilot project, Illinois is one of six states at the forefront of the plan, along with Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas.

“There’s going to be change,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, visiting the West Central Illinois Labor Council meeting at the UAW hall last month.

“It’s hard to change after 66 years,” he added. But “you have to change to get better. We have not changed much since the AFL and CIO merged in 1958, and think about what the labor movement looked like then and what it looks like now.”

“Modernizing the Movement” will organize around principles expressed in its Value Statement.

The key areas the plan is focusing on are Alignment, Effective Political Programs, Crisis Response & Management, Strong Legislative Advocacy, Community Engagement, and Organizing & Mobilization.

Drea said organizing labor in Illinois showed its potential power in organizing and mobilizing to approve the state’s Workers’ Rights Amendment referendum in 2022.

“Between 16% and 17% of Illinois workers are union,” he said, “but we get about 22% of the vote. For the Workers’ Rights Amendment, we got 58% of the vote for passage.”

Some of that campaign’s energy came from the state’s 21 Central Labor Councils, but their influence varies from place to place. Some CLCs represent six or more counties; some are a single county.

“In a few cases, we want to help put some life into them and improve them,” Drea said. “West Central Illinois is a major player. We appreciate you. We know your involvement is a labor of love.”

Along with the key areas are updating day-to-day structures, so the AFL-CIO is suggesting clarifications to by-laws, annual reports and the political-endorsement process.

“We want transparency for affiliate [unions],” he said. “And we have to get on the same page.”

Drea anticipates the first changes will be enacted in the second half of this year, and the pilot project will finish in about 18 months.

A possibility is to have a few union staff statewide committed to the effort, Drea said.

“If we could get staff from affiliate [international unions], that would be a Godsend,” he said.

In other business, the Labor Council heard from two candidates.

* Morgan Phillips, of Lostant in LaSalle County, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Illinois State Representative from the 105^th District. The daughter of an American Federation of Teachers member, Phillips said she wants to concentrate on better conservation assistance for farmers and to “vote for the future – to consider how actions today will affect our future beyond the next election.”

* Retired UAW member Marci McCann introduced herself as the Democratic candidate running against Republican incumbent Republican Nate Hoerr in District 8 on the Peoria County Board District 8. It’s McCann’s first attempt at running the public office.