Hmmmm...so, the United Auto Workers today endorsed John Sweeney for re-election. Before I go further, I remind people that I was a UAW local president and am still a proud UAW member so figure that into anything I say (or don't say). The statement from UAW prez Ron Gettelfinger says that, "As AFL-CIO president, John Sweeney has been unafraid to try new strategies and approaches for strengthening the labor movement. He is a leader who listens to and respects the concerns and ideas of the AFL-CIO’s member unions, and he has actively encouraged a lively, open and much-needed debate on the future of the labor movement."
The endorsement is significant in one way: the UAW had voted with the insurgents at the March Executive Council meeting in Las Vegas on the rebate proposal (to return 50 percent of the per capita taxes back to the affiliates). SEIU's Andy Stern and Bruce Rayor of UNITE-HERE had met with Gettelfinger for breakfast in Vegas but guess they didn't nail him down for the long-term. In fact, I'm pretty certain the insurgents were not counting the UAW in their nose-counting calculations leading up to the July convention. So, count one move that shores up the Sweeney camp.
And Gettelfinger does seem to be directing criticism at the insurgents when he says, "During this debate, President Sweeney has focused squarely on issues and on doing what’s in the best interest of workers and their families, refusing to be drawn into divisive personal squabbles. He believes in reaching out and bringing people together, not driving them apart.”
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