Labor Under Fire

Labor Under Fire This page intentionally left blank Timothy J. Minchin Labor Under Fire A History of the AFL- CIO since 1979 The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill © 2017 Timothy J. Minchin All rights reserved. Set in Arno Pro by Westchester Publishing Ser vices Manufactured in the United States of Amer i ca The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Minchin, Timothy J., author. Title: Labor under fire : a history of the AFL- CIO since 1979 / Timothy J. Minchin. Description: Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016042815 | ISBN 9781469632988 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781469632995 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: AFL- CIO— History— 20th century. | AFL- CIO— History— 21st century. | Labor unions— United States— History— 20th century. | Labor unions— United States— History— 21st century. Classification: LCC HD8055.A5 M56 2017 | DDC 331.880973— dc23 LC rec ord available at https: / / lccn . loc . gov / 2016042815 Jacket illustration: Solidarity Day— lead group. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Mary land Libraries. Chapter 3 was previously published in a dif er ent form as “Together We Shall Be Heard: Exploring the 1981 ‘Solidarity Day’ Mass March,” Labor: Studies in Working- Class History of the Amer i cas 12, no. 3 (September 2015): 75–96. Portions of chapters 9 and 10 were published in “ ‘ Labor is Back?’: The AFL- CIO during the Presidency of John J. Sweeney, 1995–2009,” Labor History 54, no. 4 (October 2013): 393–420, and “A Pivotal Role? The AFL- CIO and the 2008 Presidential Election,” Labor History 57, no. 3 (July 2016): 299–322. All material used here with permission. To Anthony John Minchin This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowl edgments xi Introduction 1 Chapter One The Roots of Decline: The AFL- CIO in the Meany Years 14 Chapter Two A New President and a New De cade 48 Chapter Three Kirkland Fights Back: The 1981 Solidarity Day Mass March 73 Chapter Four From Solidarity to Defeat 101 Chapter Five Defending What We Have: Survival and Decline in Reagan’s Second Term 127 Chapter Six Partial Détente: George H. W. Bush and the AFL- CIO 150 Chapter Seven He’s on Our Side?: Hope and Betrayal in the Clinton Years 184 Chapter Eight Saying No to the Status Quo: The 1995 Leadership Challenge 214 Chapter Nine Big Visions and Big Hopes: The Early Sweeney Years 237 Chapter Ten Our Job Has Never Been Harder: The Sweeney Presidency in the Bush Era, 2001–2009 264 Epilogue: Holding On in the Trumka Years 297 Notes 315 Bibliography 395 Index 407 Illustrations George Meany 20 Lane Kirkland with President Lyndon Johnson 27 Lane Kirkland with President Jimmy Car ter 46 Lane Kirkland with President Richard Nixon 50 Lane Kirkland with Tom Donahue and Irena Kirkland during the PATCO strike 67 Solidarity Day poster 78 Bayard Rustin speaks at Solidarity Day 81 Coretta Scott King speaks at Solidarity Day 82 Protesters enjoying free transport at Solidarity Day 83 Main crowd at Solidarity Day 84 Aerial shot of march at Solidarity Day 85 Lead group at Solidarity Day 86 Protesters with stickers at Solidarity Day 87 Protesters at Solidarity Day 89 Protesters supporting PATCO at Solidarity Day 90 Sign- bearing protesters at Solidarity Day 91 Jesse Jackson speaks at Solidarity Day 92 Jerry Wurf speaks at Solidarity Day 92 President Reagan meeting with AFL- CIO leaders 95 Lane Kirkland with his second wife, Irena 115 Lane Kirkland with President George H. W. Bush 153 Lane Kirkland, Richard Trumka, and John Sweeney - civil disobedience 162 Lane Kirkland and Lech Walesa 182 Lane Kirkland with President Bill Clinton 191 Lane Kirkland, John Sweeney, and Hillary Rodham Clinton 193 This page intentionally left blank Acknowl edgments This book would not have been pos si ble without the help of friends, colleagues, and institutions in the United States, UK, and Australia. While it is impossible to acknowledge all those who have assisted me, I would especially like to thank the Australian Research Council (ARC), as Labor Under Fire is the main outcome of a three- year discovery grant that the Council awarded me for this proj ect. This book could not have been contemplated— let alone completed— without the ARC’s generous support. Prior to this, I was assisted by a grant from the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, where I was a “researcher in residence” in July 2012. During this fellowship, I formu- lated the ideas behind the book and conducted early research. I am especially grateful to Brendon O’Connor and Shane White, Sydney- based scholars who encouraged me to pursue the proj ect. I would also like to thank La Trobe University for its consistent support, especially in awarding me a period of research leave during the writing pro cess. The research for the book was underpinned by a series of lengthy research trips to the United States, particularly Washington, DC. On my travels, a number of former AFL- CIO leaders and staf were enormously helpful. Tom Donahue— who served as AFL- CIO secretary-treasurer and president—put me in touch with many retirees and was extremely generous with his time. He also shared his personal papers, including original material on the 1995 leadership contest. Special mention should also go to Lane Windham and Joe Uehlein, who helped arrange a number of interviews, especially with staf from the John Sweeney era. In addition, I should thank Mark Anderson and Steve Rosenthal, valuable interviewees who also gave me access to personal written material. At the AFL- CIO headquarters, Pat Lleras and Angie Forsythe gave me a place to work and helped with interviews, while Arlene Holt Baker, Liz Shuler, John Sweeney, and Richard Trumka were especially generous with their time. Several former leaders of Change to Win, particularly Anna Burger and Andy Stern, also agreed to be interviewed and were very helpful. All of these people— and many more— helped make my trips to Washington, DC, productive and enjoyable. They ensured that I came away with more inter- xii Acknowl edgments views than I had anticipated, providing a rich resource that complemented the detailed archival rec ords. Throughout this proj ect, many librarians and archivists were also very helpful. In par tic u lar, I would like to thank Jen Eidson and Lauren Brown from the Hornbake Library at the University of Mary land. Jen and Lauren provided speedy access to the AFL- CIO Papers when they were moved from the George Meany Memorial Archives in 2013. With their assistance, this re- location was not as disruptive as I had feared. Jen also helped me to navigate the post-1979 part of the collection, a vast resource that the AFL- CIO kindly gave me permission to use. In addition, I would like to thank Sheryl Vogt and Jill Severn from the Richard B. Russell Library for Po liti cal Research and Studies at the University of Georgia, and the staf at the Ronald Reagan Pres- idential Library in Simi Valley, California, for all of their help. At the University of North Carolina Press, Brandon Proia was very en- couraging and saw the manuscript through to publication with admirable ef- ficiency. Several other Press staf— especially Jessica Newman— guided me through the publication and permissions process. My Australian- based research assistant, Bronwyn Hislop, worked with me throughout the proj ect and did a great job of organ izing a vast amount of material. Early on, Jeremy Bigwood, Patrick Funiciello, and Jon Keljik collected material from the AFL- CIO Papers, helping to get the proj ect of the ground. One of my gradu- ate students, Holly Wilson, took time out from her own research at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, to copy material for me. Throughout the proj ect, Mandy Rooke tackled the transcribing of interviews with skill and dedication. I am grateful to them all. Conversations with colleagues were also formative. On a visit to Mel- bourne, David Garrow unexpectedly put me in touch with Tom Donahue, a crucial early breakthrough. In Washington, DC, I had a number of enriching conversations with Joe McCartin from Georgetown University. Several other colleagues, including Tony Badger, Roland Burke, Clare Corbould, and John David Smith, guided and supported me. I also benefited from fruitful discus- sions at the conferences of the Australian and New Zealand American Stud- ies Association, allowing me to test and improve my ideas. As ever, close friends and family were also vital. Penny and Chris Harvey provided me with a home away from home in Sydney. Chris VerPlanck and Abby Bridge did the same in San Francisco. When I was devising the proj ect, John Salmond— who sadly passed away before its publication— provided val- ued friendship and wise guidance. My wife, Olga, has been enormously sup- portive throughout, while our three children— Alexander, Natasha, and Acknowl edgments xiii Anton— have been very tolerant of their father’s idiosyncrasies. I would also like to thank my parents, Tony and Christine Minchin. I would like to dedi- cate the book to my father. Throughout his long life, he has taught me a great deal about labor history and social justice, and I am very grateful. October 2016 Melbourne, Australia This page intentionally left blank Labor Under Fire This page intentionally left blank Introduction On July 1, 2008, Richard Trumka gave a remarkable speech to the United Steelworkers convention in Las Vegas. Speaking to a packed auditorium com- posed largely of white men, the secretary-treasurer of the American Federa- tion of Labor- Congress of Industrial Organ izations (AFL- CIO) made an impassioned appeal.

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