Solidarity has given way to liquidation over at the AFL-CIO.
That’s The People, Inc. to you, and they just lost a big
crop in the form of the Service Employees International Union (the
largest of the member unions). This split causes a good deal of
anxiety on the left, if only for the trouble of appointment books.
The way that Democrats have arranged their schedules resembles a
reciprocal of the Stations of the Cross. One cannot be too terribly
sure of the order, but we can be certain that paying respect to Big
Labor is probably the penultimate stage to the predictable
electoral crucifixion. That stage has just been multiplied by
three, and even if each group is more streamlined, the
strength of the grand union is far less dramatic.
Which is what has their blue-ringed socks in a bunch. A year
ago, SEIU president Andrew Stern expostulated in such a way that
had other union officials sounding like he had just taken a
position as CEO of General Electric. He had the gall to suggest
that the enormous alliance of unions suffered from a concentration
of power which was too elitist, and did not concern itself with the
plight of the worker as much as it did great political causes. To
prove that the receiving ears were indeed deaf, AFL-CIO president
John Sweeney had his spokeswoman agree that those issues should be
addressed — but after the Nov. 2 presidential election.
This is a problem, but not delimited at John Sweeney’s paycheck.
Sweeney was a member of the SEIU, and given its secession, he is
now… disorganized? Disunited? And so is a cash cow for the
Democrats. The loss of the union worker for the AFL-CIO is the same
as the loss of the nonradical Democrat in the party — both signify
a departure for better or worse.
The union as a force for righteousness is in desperate need of
change, if not dissolution — far from producing the age-old cries
for justice and equality, the labor camp has largely fostered a
protectionist agenda unwilling to recognize the economic importance
of keeping business profitable. And as soon as a compromise has
been made, the members themselves will feel compromised. Yet the
strikes most in the headlines are not for the affranchisement of
young boys in mineshafts, but rather the compensation of
disgruntled and highly paid athletes at the expense of even higher
paid owners. Something is awry.
J. Middleton Murry wrote of Shakespeare’s Othello that
the tragic events leading to the social breakdown of the plot were
no more the result of Iago’s meddling than how things were
structured to begin with. We can blame John Sweeney’s poor
management, or even John Kerry’s presidential loss, for setting off
the discontent of the masses, but it was bound to happen, and this
is yet only the beginning. Labor is beginning to rethink the way it
make its political appeals.
The crisis for the Democrats falls under who gives them a blank
check. Labor, civil rights groups, and feminist groups all turn to
the Democrats as the reliable purveyor of their ideals. How those
views come together in harmony is something to wonder about, given
the disconnect that should exist between the dandy Ivy League queer
theorist and the machinist with an associates degree. But these
organizations should soon decide whether they exist for the
Democrats, or the Democrats for them. Following that line of
thinking, what can the Democrats accomplish for them that the
Republicans cannot? What has the party of Roosevelt, Wilson, and
Truman done for you recently? Or is that the party of
Carter and Johnson?
This question is both a threat and a promise. If the Republicans
face a weak opposition which is philosophically alveolate and
inchoate, then expect party discipline to slacken (see also, Bill
Frist). And if other traditionally Democratic groups go the same
route, we will see a party realizing what it means to be
politically accountable.
Will they? It’s doubtful. But for the time being, laughs can be
shared at the visage of John Sweeney, dangling in the wind,
realizing that he has no claim to the AFL-CIO presidency without a
union to be a party to. In time, Ted Kennedy, Howard Dean, and yes,
even Hillary Clinton, will be in the same exact position.
