What's the Meaning of 'Crisis'?
From the President, Gerald W. McEntee
Crisis: a time of intense difficulty or danger; an unstable condition as in political, social or economic affairs.
Crisis: what working families in America confront today.
Crisis: workers facing tremendous challenges in hostile corporate and political environments; jobs outsourced at an alarming rate; layoffs and job cuts rampant; pensions raided by big corporations; rights to organize and collectively bargain under attack; overtime protections curtailed; the public sector being dismantled; National Labor Relations Board stacked against workers; Social Security threatened with privatization and benefit cuts; Medicaid earmarked for billions of dollars in cuts; health care coverage on the chopping block; national debt skyrocketing; states and municipalities facing sharp budget cuts. The debate about a solution to these crises is raging within labor. Its outcome will affect the direction of the AFL-CIO, the organization that pulls together massive financial and human resources in behalf of workers' rights, and social and economic justice. With a $121-million annual budget, the AFL-CIO and its members, including AFSCME, stand at the center of this debate. In July, the member unions will meet for the AFL-CIO Convention to determine how we address these crises as a collective body.
AFSCME is committed to a two-pronged approach: growing our membership and increasing our political power.
Rx: POLITICAL VICTORIES. We must get pro-working- family candidates into office at the local, state and national levels. Victories in politics can blunt these day-in, day-out assaults on workers' rights. Elected officials have caused so much of the crisis. Along with the rest of labor, we have expanded our political programs. Our membership outreach for the 2004 elections was more extensive and more sophisticated than ever. We achieved record member turnout for our endorsed candidates.
But building political power is not enough. At the same time, we have to increase our membership, which in turn helps us build more political power. We must help public-sector employees win the legal right to organize and bargain. We must organize employees in the private sector, from school bus drivers to direct care workers, who deliver public services. By improving members' wages and benefits, we lessen the appeal of privatization. And we must reach out and try to organize the so-called independent providers who take care of the children, elderly and people with disabilities — all of whom our members used to care for.
21ST CENTURY COMMITTEE. So we've got our two-pronged approach. But we need a bold plan and new ideas to put it into effect. That's why we created the 21st Century Committee at our 2004 International Convention. This committee has been designed to take a hard look at AFSCME and start a new chapter in our history. With its five subcommittees, the 21CC is examining our union — International and affiliates alike — from top to bottom. Then, with maximum member input, the committee will make recommendations on how to build more political power and grow our union more effectively.
As we solve the ongoing crisis for working families, nothing could be more important than growing and getting stronger at both the ballot box and the bargaining table. Our job is to remain focused on what matters: helping workers improve their lives. AFSCME has been and will always be dedicated to that. So let's add this AFSCME definition to the word Crisis: not only a challenging struggle but also an opportunity — to increase our numbers and our political strength, and to make our great union even greater.
