In convention, state union members “Organize to Meet the Moment”

Union members from across the state recommitted to organizing and solidarity at the 15^th Biennial Convention of the Connecticut AFL-CIO themed “Organizing to Meet the Moment.”

Culminating the first year of leadership by president Ed Hawthorne, and secretary treasurer Shellye Davis, the packed agenda included plenary speakers, panels and workshops that gave the delegates an opportunity to share recent worker victories and organizing drives under way, and the strikes by SAG-AFTRA and UAW challenging corporate greed.

Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark got a rousing reception as did SAG-AFTRA New York Local executive director Rebecca Damon,

The convention, held at Foxwood Casino's celebrity ballroom, opened with welcomes from the casino's unionized workers

A workshop on Race and the Economy led by Clayola Brown, AFL-CIO advisor on Strategic Partnerships and Racial Justice, featured a board game with fact cards exposing systemic racism and discussion on how to talk with co-workers.

Resolutions opposed privatization of public schools and paraeducators, called for banning child labor, repealing WEP and GPO penalties so all public service workers receive their full Social Security benefits, and stood in solidarity with the UAW strike against the big three auto companies.

Resolution One “To Continue the Work of the Racial and Economic Justice Committee,” asserted that “understanding race and racism is central to unifying the labor movement and to the renaissance of organized labor,” calling for a day-long discussion “Racism and Uniting Workers” on October 21 with Bill Fletcher, senior scholar at Institute for Policy Studies.

Speaking at the convention, Fletcher emphasized labor history, agreeing with ball player Tony Clark that “social movements are a combination of timing and organizing.”

Fletcher said the labor movement has “exploded and advanced when there is strategic organizing and strong leadership,” recognizing the political left that led union organizing and was purged during the cold war, but continued to organize.

“Today we are living in the legacy of cold war scare tactics,” he said. “We are watching the collapse of neoliberal economics and growth of the fascist movement. We cannot sit around waiting and not embracing union members on the left,” he concluded, calling for unity.

The convention closed with presentation of awards to 20 unions that won organizing drives including locals from AFT Connecticut, AFSCME, .Amalgamated Transit Union, IBEW, IUOE, SEIU 1199, UAW, UFCW, UNITE HERE and CWA.