WHEREAS:
AFSCME recognized long ago that the decline in the number of unionized U.S. workers, from over 35 percent of the labor force to 16 percent today, imperils our members and threatens the American way of life, a way of life built upon the foundation of free and strong unions; and
WHEREAS:
AFSCME has been a leader in organizing by matching the rhetorical commitment to organizing with real resources, a devoted corps of organizers, and innovative organizing techniques and strategies; and
WHEREAS:
AFSCME’s commitment to organizing resulted in 200,000 new members during the 1980s, despite Reagan-Bush policies, and almost 100,000 new members since this decade began; and
WHEREAS:
Organizing the unorganized remains AFSCME’s top priority; and
WHEREAS:
AFSCME is tooling up for the organizing challenge by mobilizing community support and solidarity, training organizers, worker education and utilizing volunteer and lost-time activist organizers.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME supports the following nine-part organizing program, the most ambitious and demanding organizing effort of any union. AFSCME will:
SUBMITTED BY:
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD