The AFL-CIO has posted a news release indicating that labor officials earlier this week issued a joint letter backing a proposal by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to allow ongoing participation of disaffiliated unions in state labor federations and central labor councils.The release appears below and also is available on the AFL-CIO web site here
The AFL-CIO site also includes links to a copy of the joint letter and to a separate web page with more information about the Solidarity Charters.
AFL-CIO State and Local Leaders Applaud Solidarity Charters
Aug. 18—Leaders of AFL-CIO state federations and central labor councils today issued a joint letter in support of the proposal by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to the AFL-CIO Executive Council to provide for continued participation of disaffiliated unions in state federations and central labor councils through Solidarity Charters.
Three unions disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO in July. Under Solidarity Charters, if a local union of a disaffiliated union wants to be part of a united local movement in their city and state, they can apply to be part of the central labor council or state federation. They will sign up with the same level of membership they had before their union left the AFL-CIO, or sign up at the average membership level for that city or state, whichever is higher.
They also will pay a 10 percent solidarity fee to the labor council or state federation to help offset the cost of services and mobilization systems provided by the national AFL-CIO and supported by its affiliated unions. The solidarity fee will go into the Solidarity Fund established at the convention that helps support local bodies affected by the unions’ decision to leave the federation.
In the letter, union leaders write: “The very concept of allowing continued participation in our local central bodies by unions which have disaffiliated from the national AFL-CIO is as unprecedented as it is important.”
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