AFL-CIO hosts historic diversity conference

By Roberta Wood

This article was reprinted from the April 11, 1998 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.

LOS ANGELES - It wasn't even starting time, but the grand ballroom in the Los Angeles hotel, set up for 600 trade unionists, was bursting at the seams with nearly a thousand eager participants in the AFL-CIO's Full Participation/Civil Rights Conference.

The historic gathering, held March 27-29, was another first for a militant labor movement under dynamic new leadership, bringing the top officers of the AFL-CIO together with leaders and members of six "constituency groups."

The groups are the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Labor Committee for Latin American Advancement, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute and Pride at Work.

The overall theme was Economic Justice and Organizing for the 21st Century. Determination and unity of purpose were clear in the goal of strengthening the AFL-CIO and all its member unions by making its leadership "look like its members."

Organizing was the overriding theme. Special urgency was attached to defeating California's Proposition 226 - the "muzzle labor's voice" initiative - and Proposition 227, the anti-bilingual education initiative.

Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, opened his speech by calling the gathering's participants "the best America has to offer."

He pointed to the fact that today the top 1 percent in America has more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.

Trumka called for making full participation the secret weapon of America's working families in changing the political direction of the country, "in rebuilding and rejuvenating the only voice in our society that speaks exclusively for workers and our families."

Trumka said, "We can make full participation a reality by organizing people of color and women. We can win against that 1 percent now in control. We can and will win because we are a movement of many people who speak with one voice."

At the end of the first day's session, a boisterous picket line led by APALA's Executive Director Kent Wong and AFL- CIO Executive Vice-President Linda Chavez-Thompson marched from the hotel through an El Nino rainstorm to the airport to support the struggle of United Airlines security workers seeking a living wage.

The following day, organizing workshops covered affirmative action, immigrants, women of color and labor/community alliances.

Participation was so enthusiastic that one workshop which had been cancelled by the organizers due to the absence of the scheduled leader was spontaneously convened by the determined participants.

Chavez-Thompson, who was obviously the guiding force of the gathering, closed the meeting quoting labor balladeer Woody Guthrie: "This land was made for you and me." She urged attendees to greater level of activity.

"Go to our labor federations and give reports on behalf of the constituent groups," she urged. "Many unions are putting more and more resources into organizing. Many of the organizers look like us. Many of the organized look like us. We are going to make sure that the next millenium has a union bug on it!"

Roberta Wood, legislative vice president of the Chicago Coalition of Labor Union Women, represented her chapter at the AFL-CIO conference in Los Angeles. She is a former steelworker and currently a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.