Chicago
AFL-CIO Executive Council statement
Over the past two years, a number of national unions, led by the UA, the Roofers, IAMAW, SMWIA, IUPAT, IAFF, IBEW and USW, with the active support of the AFL‑CIO, have been involved in an extraordinary and successful effort to create a new organization, the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA).
USA is designed for union members and their families who hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors. These eight unions recognized that all of their members have interests over and beyond the worksite, and that a high percentage, more than 70 percent in some unions, particularly enjoy outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. They understood, as well, the need for their unions to be supportive of these interests in the eyes of their members.
That is why USA was created in partnership with the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), the leading hunting, fishing and conservation organization in the United States.
The goals of USA include the expansion and preservation of access to lands and waters so millions of union members who hunt and fish can recreate in the outdoors.
Today, nine national unions, CWA and IBEW being the most recent, and the federation have joined USA as charter members. They have made serious financial commitments to making USA a success. An additional 11 unions are affiliated with USA and encourage their members to join its ranks.
For these reasons, the AFL-CIO endorses the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, a dues-based, union-dedicated sporting club, and its goals of expanding and preserving access to lands and waters for millions of union members who hunt and fish and recreate in the outdoors.