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The John McClellan-led Senate investigations into Teamster corruption were motivated, in part, by the senator's need to secure his political base in Arkansas. In the mid-1950s, the state's labor movement, led by Teamster official Odell Smith and former governor Sidney McMath, was putting together working-class blacks and whites into an effective political coalition. Dedicated to the expansion of public power and public education, the elimination of the poll tax, reform of the state's regressive tax code, and revocation of Arkansas's “right-to-work” amendment, the labor-led biracial coalition threatened the state's conservative elite as well as McClellan's political organization. The Senate investigations-by prompting the expulsion of the Teamsters from the AFL-CIO-damaged Arkansas's labor-led biracial coalition, making the state safer for conservative politicians like McClellan.

In the spring of 2006, millions of Latinos and their supporters marched through America’s streets to demand legalization for the nation’s undocumented immigrants. Many factors contributed to these protests for immigrant rights in the United States. But central to the largest events in Los Angeles and elsewhere was the active support of immigrant rights by the labor movement and the religious community. Labor unions had long opposed measures to protect undocumented immigrants, while relations between the Catholic Church—the most common place of worship for Latino immigrants—and progressive and labor activists became strained over a series of labor disputes starting in the late 1980s and continuing for over a decade. This chapter begins by tracing how Miguel Contreras used the United Farm Workers’ organizing model to help develop the Latino-labor alliance that boosted the cause of immigrant rights, and his role as political director of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. It then discusses the AFL-CIO’s participation in the immigrant rights movement, the Active Citizenship Campaign, and the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride.

This chapter traces the initial diffusion of the PAC concept from the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to other labor organizations, including the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and liberal ideological groups. Though the AFL had previously opposed the CIO’s partisan electoral strategy and the formation of P.A.C., it came to emulate both following passage of the Taft-Hartley Act by a Republican Congress in 1947, forming Labor’s League for Political Education (LLPE) to engage in elections. That same year, two avowedly “liberal” groups were created to bolster the anti-Communist Left and champion liberal Democrats: the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the National Committee for an Effective Congress (NCEC). The chapter traces the intertwined electoral efforts and tactical innovations of these liberal and labor organizations through the AFL-CIO merger in 1955, the subsequent creation of their joint PAC, the Committee on Political Education (COPE), and the latter’s activities in the 1956 elections.

This chapter traces the diffusion of the PAC concept from the left to the right of the political spectrum in the late 1950s, with the formation of conservative electoral groups such as the Americans for Constitutional Action (ACA) to counter liberal ones like the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA). By the early 1960s the business community had cast off its earlier resistance to overt electioneering, with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) forming the Business-Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC) to channel campaign resources to favored congressional candidates. Though they initially sought to bolster the conservative coalition, these groups soon embraced a dynamic partisan strategy focused on the Republican Party, seeking to shift it rightward much as labor and liberal groups sought to push the Democratic Party to the left. This reactive process culminated in the presidential election of 1964, a contest to which the roots of modern partisan “polarization” are often traced.

This chapter analyses how from the Taft-Hartley Act to the Reagan–Bush Boards the subordination of workers’ rights to the economic interests of employers became more established, particularly as a result of key Supreme Court decisions. The chapter also discusses organized management’s efforts to block U.S. government ratification of international workers’ rights conventions.

This chapter offers guidelines for partnering with labor unions. Some union officials were initially suspicious about the motives of worker centers. Today, international unions, state federations, and central labor councils recognize the valuable role worker centers play in reaching out to workers who are not members of unions and finding unique ways to stop or reduce wage theft. This chapter first makes suggestions on getting started with unions and for working with unions before discussing the reasons why unions want to work with worker centers, and vice versa. It also looks at some of the challenges faced by worker centers in establishing partnerships working with unions, along with the support provided by AFL-CIO to worker centers. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of building deep relationships with the unions that organize in sectors targeted by worker centers.

This chapter chronicles the passage of Social Security Disability Insurance in 1956. Party competition, a desire to show the political power of a newly united labor movement, an intellectual competition between those who wanted to expand the Social Security program and those who wanted to advance the cause of rehabilitation, and the particular needs of Senator Walter George all contributed to the outcome. The proponents made many concessions to the opponents in order to pass the measure by one vote.

This chapter presents a portrait of Jay Lovestone, who helped found the American Communist Party in 1919 and lived to see the Iron Curtain fall seventy years later. His life was consumed by the fate of world Communism, first as one of the American party's most energetic and creative leaders, then as a man burning in his hatred for the people and ideas to which he had once given such loyalty. Lovestone helped erect the ideological Iron Curtain that walled off the unions from an entire generation of New Left activists and civil rights militants whose energy and talent was essential to the health of a truly “free” labor movement. Instead, Lovestone and his friends turned their faces rightward, helping to drive the AFL-CIO into the arms of those neoconservative Democrats and Reaganite intellectuals whose opportunistic regard for the liberties of the Polish working class was nicely balanced by their indifference to the decline of living standards at home and the near-destruction of the American union movement in the years after 1981.

This chapter describes the rise of the Democratic Coalition in Texas. Before it was extinguished, the coalition would reach deeper into the state’s black and brown neighborhoods than ever before, reactivating old networks of veteran activists and recruiting and training tens of thousands of new grassroots organizers. It would create additional space for PASO and labor to extend their joint organizing efforts and would help the Texas AFL-CIO become a civil rights organization in its own right. And it would support the arrival of the black civil rights movement on a statewide level, resulting in a new wave of direct action protests and culminating in the state’s largest demonstration to date.

Chapter 3 sheds light on the efforts to create a transnational labor organization, the National Alliance of Mexican Braceros in the United States. This organization, founded by braceros, initially challenged policy restrictions that prohibited braceros from organizing through unions. However, the subsequent demise of Alianza solidified the growing divide between Mexican and American labor-organizing efforts in the United States. This chapter describes Alianza’s goals and limitations, and explores the organization’s relationship with the prominent labor activist, Ernesto Galarza. Galarza began by working with the Alianza to incorporate guest workers into his American unionizing efforts. However, after he grew frustrated with the Mexican government’s repressive treatment of the Alianza, he changed his tactics from unionizing braceros to working to terminate the Bracero Program itself.

The introduction explains how the history of the AFL-CIO has been neglected, especially in the period since 1979, when Lane Kirkland took over from George Meany as president. What has been written - on fragmented parts of the AFL-CIO’s history - has usually been very hostile, particularly in terms of criticizing the AFL-CIO’s support for U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, its bureaucratization, and its patchy civil rights record. I explain that my aim is to write a balanced history that recognizes the AFL-CIO’s achievements and its limitations, and focuses largely on domestic affairs. The book draws on newly-available archive sources, particularly unprocessed parts of the AFL-CIO Papers, and more than sixty oral history interviews conducted by the author. The introduction highlights the AFL-CIO’s ongoing relevance as the only mass membership, national organization fighting for working people in Washington. The AFL-CIO has performed this role – as the “People’s Lobby” - since it was established in 1955. The AFL-CIO speaks for all Americans who work, and - despite a media interest in union decline - in 2011 it still had more than 12 million members.

This chapter surveys the AFL-CIO’s history between 1955, when it was founded, and 1979, when Lane Kirkland replaced George Meany as president. For this entire period, George Meany served as president. The chapter focuses on the AFL-CIO’s power during this period, particularly in enacting a great deal of progressive legislation during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Meany’s ideas – such as his anti-communism and strong leadership characteristics –are also covered. The chapter surveys the Meany era in considerable detail, emphasizing that he left Lane Kirkland a troubled legacy, especially as he was slow to recognize the ‘’roots of decline” and organize new members. Meany was particularly slow to respond to the entry of women into the American work force, and the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council remained all-male throughout his presidency.

This chapter surveys the early period of the Kirkland presidency, from when he took office in November 1979 through to the summer of 1981. It explores Kirkland’s character and personality in unprecedented detail. It shows how Kirkland – and the AFL-CIO – enjoyed a brief honeymoon in the closing days of the Carter administration. Kirkland undertook some important reforms e.g. he placed the first woman (Joyce Miller) on the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council. Two events – the 1980 election and the 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike – transformed the political climate, placing the AFL-CIO on the defensive, or “under fire.” Kirkland’s presidency was thrown into crisis, his leadership questioned. It was the start of a new era, one in which the AFL-CIO operated in a hostile economic and political climate. For Kirkland, the turnaround was a shock, and he struggled - at least initially - to respond. His leadership was questioned by the press, especially after the 1980 election, which saw Ronald Reagan elected comprehensively, receiving many blue-collar votes in the process.

This chapter focuses on “Solidarity Day,” the largest U.S. labor march ever held, and one of the largest marches in all of American history. Held on September 19, 1981, Solidarity Day was organized by the AFL-CIO as a protest against President Reagan’s budget and tax cuts, as well as his claims to speak for working Americans. According to the National Park Service, 260,000 people attended Solidarity Day, more than the number that had turned out for either the iconic March on Washington in 1963 or the Vietnam War Moratorium in 1969. Many reports, moreover, suggested that around 400,000 people had taken part. Closely monitoring events, the Reagan administration estimated that no fewer than 250 organizations had taken part, including 100 unions and a variety of civil rights, religious, and civic groups. Drawing on new archival records and interviews with participants, this chapter provides the first detailed analysis of Solidarity Day. The march showed that Lane Kirkland could fight back and mobilize the AFL-CIO’s mass membership. Sustaining the march’s momentum in the longer-term, however, would be a challenge, especially given the broader conservative political climate.

The chapter explores the difficult period between Solidarity Day and the 1984 presidential election. Facing a hostile political climate and an ongoing economic recession, the AFL-CIO tried to continue fighting back. In 1982, 1983, and 1984, Kirkland organized Solidarity Day II, III, and IV, and all were large marches. There were some significant internal reforms, as Kirkland oversaw the continued diversification of the Executive Council. Other changes strove to improve the AFL-CIO’s image in the media and to increase communication with members. Kirkland also launched a major organizing campaign in Houston, a brave effort in hostile territory. Continuing to see itself as a “People’s Lobby,” the Federation had some success in defending important social programs, particularly Social Security. Overall, however, Kirkland’s reforms did not go far enough, and union density declined at a rapid rate in these years. President Reagan also won re-election easily in 1984, placing the AFL-CIO and its members further under fire.

This chapter explores Reagan’s second term, a very difficult time that was, in many ways, as dreadful as the AFL-CIO had feared. During these years, there was no let-up in the Federation’s decline. Between 1979 and 1989, union density fell sharply, from 24.1 percent of the work force to just 16.8 percent. Almost every other measure of union strength, including the number of strikes and the number of NLRB representation elections, also plummeted. Organized labor, summarized one labor relations expert, had endured a “terrible time” under Reagan. There were some positives, including a recovering economy (which helped organizing), and increased unity within the AFL-CIO. In 1986, labor also played an important role in helping the Democrats to regain control of the U.S. Senate. The AFL-CIO also fought successfully to preserve progressive legislation that benefitted millions of Americans, including Social Security and OSHA. Overall, however, it remained very much “under fire.”

This chapter examines the AFL-CIO’s history during the presidency of George H.W. Bush (1989-1993). Overall, the Bush era was a moderate improvement for the AFL-CIO, and for American working people. During Reagan’s presidency, vice-president Bush had forged a workable relationship with the AFL-CIO, and the Federation’s leaders viewed him in a more positive light. Bush was not as hostile to labor as Reagan, and – helped by the improved economy – organizing picked up, there were some defensive victories in labor disputes, and the AFL-CIO also found common ground with the Bush administration in foreign affairs. As one AFL-CIO staffer put it, these years were characterized by a partial détente. Ultimately, however, there was no fundamental turnaround in labor’s fortunes.

After the difficult Reagan-Bush years, the Federation expected a lot from new Democratic president Bill Clinton, and played an important role in his election. This chapter explores the AFL-CIO during Clinton’s presidency, particularly his crucial first term. To be sure, Clinton did much more for working Americans than his Republican predecessors. Consulting closely with the Federation, he passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, issued a reemployment order for the former PATCO strikers, and appointed more sympathetic officials to the NLRB. Despite these important achievements, Clinton’s administration failed on the three key issues that the Federation had identified: health care reform, workplace fairness legislation, and trade. Rather than ensuring fair trade, moreover, the administration pushed through NAFTA with considerable zeal. In an effort to stop NAFTA, the Federation launched an unprecedented campaign among its members, but the President’s commitment to the Agreement won the day. Demoralized after this defeat, the AFL-CIO failed to campaign sufficiently in the 1994 midterm elections, helping the Republicans to make stunning gains. The GOP’s clean sweep of Congress destroyed hopes for progressive reform, and led to internal criticism of Kirkland’s leadership, which continued to baulk at fundamental reform. The stage was set for Kirkland to be overthrown.