Class Talk is Back: Live Blog from AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles

Lane Windham

I’m blogging live for a few days from the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles.

President Trumka gave his keynote this morning. I swear I didn’t write this speech –I don’t do that anymore - but I feel like I could have. It showcased a class-based rhetoric - -

Highlights here: “This is a rich country, so where’s all the money going? …We can shout about the Koch brothers and nasty little conspiracies, and it’s true – there are powerful forces in America today who want our country to be run by and for the rich. But greed and hate have always been with us. The question is what are we going to do about it? …We can’t win economic justice only for ourselves or the union movement…it’s just not possible…all working people rise together or we will fall together.”

And catch this. Trumka asserted “We must ignite our movement not so we can have bigger unions, but so we can make all working people’s lives better.” Wow, so the President of the AFL-CIO is saying the goal is NOT just bigger unions. That’s one for the record.

Yesterday, Elizabeth Warren wow’d the nearly 5000 people who are here. There’s much buzz about whether she’ll throw her hat in the ring for president. Her message: “Our agenda is America’s agenda!” She skewered the Supreme Court for its corporate focus. Pointing out that five of the Supreme Court justices are among the top 10 most pro-biz justices in history, she warned, “If keep on this track, the court will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of big business.” Amen. (She also talked about trade deals that don’t work for workers. That’s something we could use from a Dem.)

The highlight of yesterday was when domestic workers from across the globe marched singing to the dais to receive the Meany / Kirkland human rights award. George and Lane would have had quite a shock were they still alive to see it. The women are part of the International Domestic Workers Network.

Overall, the AFL-CIO has put much effort into making this convention about diversity. That’s not new, exactly. One of the sleeper stories from the 2005 split convention was that the delegates passed a resolution requiring that the 2009 convention delegates accurately reflect the membership in turns of race and gender. At this convention, 46% of the delegates are women or people of color (though a number of the trades and uniformed services’ delegations are STILL all white guys.)

But what is new is that the AFL-CIO is doing more things that will naturally bring diversity. For example, the new Executive V.P. is going to be Tefere Gebre, an Ethiopian immigrant. That’s huge. It was only in 1999 that the AFL-CIO even reversed its historic policy opposing open immigration. Now, one of the top three officers will be an immigrant.

Also, seated among the union delegations were members of the Taxi Workers Alliance - - as real delegates, not as guests. That’s a big deal, and begs the question of whether other “alt-labor” groups - - like the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Restaurant Opportunity Center - - or even groups like the Sierra Club or NAACP, might one day come to the convention as delegates.

Finally, as a former union spin meister, I hear a difference in the rhetoric in many of the speakers. It’s more class-focused. Maria Elena Durazo, LA County Fed President, welcomed the crowd saying that we are in a “real class war.” In his opening remarks, Trumka nodded to class: “This is where we confront the truth of what we have to do, to build shared prosperity and to build a new working class movement.” He echoed that again this morning “It’s time to turn America right side up. It’s time to build a working class movement that can do it.”

Then Trumka ended the key note today by pulling up dozens of workers - - taxi drivers, teachers, construction workers, immigrant workers - - in a rousing, shouting, energy-infused speech. I hope it sets a tone for the whole movement.