Abstract

LABOR DEBATES ITS FUTURE

Focuses on the labor movement in the United States. Role of Andy Stern as the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Debate between Stern and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) ; Reference to the labor federation's executive council meeting in March 2005; Claim that the debate should focus on a movement for economic democracy and social justice rather than organizational structure; Discussion of wages and employment conditions in the U.S. under President George W. Bush; Decline of labor union membership; Statement that the labor movement needs to increase its political power; Role of former SEIU president John Sweeney in encouraging unions to organize; Discussion of Stern's ideas for reorganizing the labor movement.