the DEEP PURPLE tit twister hoiks another oyster

here's reportage 
on cousin andy's latest
        LOOEY  



===================

 "The president 
of the nation's largest union 
on
Wednesday 
called for major reforms 
in the AFL-CIO 

and
suggested 
that he would pull out (in time )
            if
 changes weren't quickly adopted.

"We have spent too much time 
writing too many reports
with too many recommendations 
that in the end 
the leaders did not have
 the courage to adopt,"
 said Andrew Stern,
 president 
of the 1.7-million-member
 Service Employees International Union.

Stern, an outspoken proponent 
for a corporate-style
consolidation in the labor movement,
 maintains that
 the number of national unions 
should be cut from about 60
to fewer than 20 
and that each 
should be limited to
members in its sector, 
such as healthcare 
or
construction. 

That would make each union stronger, 
he
argues, allowing it 
to bargain more effectively.

Most labor leaders agree 
that unions are in crisis
after years of declining membership 
and that they must change to survive. 

Organized labor represents fewer
than 13% of all workers, 
compared with a third 
when the AFL-CIO was created
 about 50 years ago 
as an umbrella
organization.

Not all agree with Stern's ideas, 
however, and some
privately fume 
at what they view
 as his aggressive
approach.

Stern's threat came 
at a meeting Wednesday 
of about 50
national union presidents, 
called by AFL-CIO President
John J. Sweeney 
to review labor's efforts
 during the presidential campaign.

Stern came armed 
with a 10-point proposal
 for change,
which he released 
to reporters 
before the meeting began. 

In addition to union consolidation,
 he called
for the AFL-CIO 
to return half of all dues 
to unions 
to fund aggressive organizing drives.

 And he said the
federation should set aside 
about $25 million -
 out of
its $118-million annual budget -
 for an effort to
organize Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A person at the meeting 
who asked not to be named 
said
some attendees considered 
the plan and its public airing 
to be "quite presumptuous," 
and that Stern's
actions could further alienate 
him from other union
leaders. 

Already,
 the 700,000-member 
International Assn. of Machinists  
has
complained about what it considers 
to be Stern's heavy-
handed approach 
and threatened 
to pull out of the
federation 
if he or his allies 
took control of it.

 federation  president
  Sweeney assigned
 a  committee 
to review the
restructuring proposals,
 along with ideas 
from other
affiliated unions.

 He said the issue 
would be on the table 
when the union presidents
 next meet
 in February
in Los Angeles.

As the head 
of a voluntary federation 
with many strong-
willed, independent members,
 Sweeney is limited
 in his
ability 
to force radical change, 

but he said the AFL-CIO
 was already doing 
some things 
on Stern's list.

For instance, he said, 
it has a Wal-Mart task force
investigating ways
 to organize 
the adamantly nonunion
retailer.

 Sweeney also
 recently 
discussed possible
restructuring 
with the presidents 
of several large
unions,

 although Stern 
was not among them,


Stern, a fiery Ivy League-educated leader 
who has
steered his union 
through success in organizing
janitors, healthcare workers and others,
 said that if
the AFL-CIO didn't take action
 at its February meeting,
the SEIU might leave 
to 
"build something stronger."

He said an internal union committee
 was already
considering that option. 

"We are reviewing what are the
implications of our leaving,
 what kind of agreement
would we have [with the AFL-CIO],
 and who else would be
with us," Stern told reporters 
after the meeting.

Taking 1.7 million members 
out of the 13-million-member
AFL-CIO would have 
a deep financial effect, 
but the
larger hit 
could be psychological.

 As a fast-growing
union whose members 
are in occupations that can't
easily be shipped overseas,
 it is one of the brightest
lights in organized labor.

The SEIU wouldn't be alone 
in leaving the federation.

Three years ago,
 Doug McCarron, 
president
 of the International Brotherhood 
of Carpenters,
 pulled his
union out 
in a similar disagreement 
over direction
 and
structure.

Some speculate 
that Stern
 has already 
decided 
to leave 
and is
now merely laying
 the groundwork.

-------------------------------------