AFL-CIO

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AFL-CIO
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
Founded 1886
Cur. affiliation date 1955
Members 9,000,000+ (2006) [1]
Country United States, Canada
Affiliation ITUC
Key people John J. Sweeney, president
Office location Washington, DC
Website aflcio.org/
1

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is America's largest federation of unions, made up of 53 national and international (including Canadian) unions, together representing over 9 million workers. The AFL-CIO was formed in 1955 when the AFL and the CIO merged after a long estrangement. From 1955 until 2005, the AFL-CIO's member unions represented virtually all unionized workers in the United States. Since 2005, when several large unions split with the federation, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), with over a million members, is the largest union in the AFL-CIO.

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[edit] International policy

The AFL-CIO is affiliated to the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation, formed November 1, 2006 and incoroporating the member organizations of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, of which the AFL-CIO had long been part. The ITUC is the most representative international labor grouping. The AFL-CIO also sponsors the American Center for International Labor Solidarity.

[edit] Presidents

[edit] Other officers

[edit] History

For the history of the AFL-CIO prior to and including the merger, see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and Labor unions in the United States.

The AFL-CIO began an intense internal debate over the future of the labor movement in the United States in 2003, with the creation of the New Unity Partnership (NUP), a loose coalition of some of the AFL-CIO's largest unions. This debate intensified in 2004, after the defeat of labor-backed candidate John Kerry in the November 2004 U.S. presidential election. The NUP's program for reform of the federation included reduction of the central bureaucracy, more money spent on organizing new members rather than on electoral politics, and a restructuring of unions and locals, eliminating some smaller locals and focusing more along the lines of industrial unionism.

In 2005, the NUP dissolved and the Change to Win Coalition formed, threatening to secede from the AFL-CIO if its demands for major reorganization were not met. As the AFL-CIO prepared for its 50th anniversary convention in late July, three of the federations' four largest unions announced their withdrawal from the federation: the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("The Teamsters"), and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). The Laborers' International Union of North America and the United Farm Workers remain members of both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win.

In addition to the issues listed above, the dispute was seen as deeply personal. SEIU President Andy Stern, the most outspoken leader of the Change to Win coalition, was once considered the protege of former SEIU President and current AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney.

[edit] Member Unions

Below is a list of some of the Unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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