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Omaha Unions May 'Have to Regroup' Despite a Split Developing on the National Level, Local Leaders Believe the Labor Community Here Will Remain Closely Knit.

Posted on: Monday, 25 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Omaha labor leaders said Monday the decision by four of the country's largest unions to boycott the annual AFL-CIO convention likely will change how some Omaha locals organize workers and lobby politicians.

Yet, while the federation looks like it could unravel at the national level, leaders in Omaha believe the labor community here will remain closely knit.

The boycott Monday set the stage for two of the dissident unions -- the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union -- to withdraw from the federation. The other unions boycotting the meeting were the United Food and Commercial Workers and Unite Here.

All have locals in Omaha except Unite Here. They are three of the largest unions in the Omaha Federation of Labor/ AFL-CIO.

Terry Moore, president of the Omaha Federation, said he doesn't expect the schism to end cooperation among unions in Omaha, but it could change how some organize workers.

"It would impact us a great deal," he said. "We'd have to regroup."

The loss of the Teamsters would leave the Omaha Federation with about 25,000 members, including government workers and the building trades.

Local 554 of the Teamsters in Omaha represents about 3,500 Nebraska and Iowa workers. Local 226 of the Service Employees represents about 3,000 workers, most at Omaha-area schools.

Labor leaders at the national level have inveighed against the organizing efforts of the AFLCIO as union membership has dwindled to its lowest level in almost 80 years, with about 8 percent of workers represented.

To address organized labor's decline, some national and international leaders want smaller unions to consolidate and pool resources. At the same time, they argue that the AFL-CIO is too diffuse and that splitting the federation would allow individual unions to better focus on organizing workers and lobbying politicians.

Moore said the decision of some unions to sever ties with the AFL- CIO would hurt the Omaha Federation, but ties among Omaha locals would remain close and coordination of resources probably would change little.

He noted that even though the Carpenters Union split off from the AFL-CIO in 2001, leaders from Local 444 in Omaha have maintained a close relationship with the Omaha Federation, attending meetings and working in concert with other unions.

"This is going to impact more on a national level," he said. "You're going to see all across the country coalitions forming to continue the work of labor."

Kim Quick, president of the Teamsters in Omaha, agreed that at the local level, the split would be largely symbolic.

"We still intend to work with other labor unions," he said. "I don't foresee a lot of changes."

The Teamsters in Omaha already have their own lobbying arm in the statehouse, so little would change in terms of the union's political efforts. But Quick said he thinks the union will be able to devote more resources to organizing workers, which could be better long- term for Nebraska labor.

Gary Golden, president of local 226 of the Service Employees in Omaha, said leaving the AFLCIO would prove "a very big loss" for his local, yet he also thinks that any changes in how the union interacts with other locals would be minimal.

The United Food and Commercial Workers did not announce plans Monday to leave the AFLCIO, but like the other unions boycotting the convention, it is at odds with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney over how to revive the power of organized labor.

Donna McDonald, president of Local 271 of the Food and Commercial Workers union, said any changes at the national level wouldn't affect how the 5,000 workers the union represents coordinate their efforts.

"I really don't see any changes in the way we operate here," she said. "We'll continue to organize and build our unions."

Source: Omaha World - Herald

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