Executive Council Statement | Better Pay and Benefits

Establishing AFL-CIO Solidarity Charters

Local unions chartered by one of the four national unions recently disaffiliated from the national AFL-CIO (the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union), and who have been affiliated with state, area, and local labor bodies, and local councils of trade or industrial departments (hereafter described as “central labor bodies”), may be readmitted to these central labor bodies by applying for and being granted a Solidarity Charter as a special affiliate of one or more central labor bodies.

  1. All applications for charters must be accompanied by an application form provided by the national AFL-CIO and signed by an executive officer of the local union attesting that the local union will abide by the requirements of the charter. Charters will be issued by the national AFL-CIO after review and approval of the application by the national AFL-CIO and the central labor body(ies) involved.
  2. Solidarity charters will be granted for a period of time ending December 31, 2006. After such date, absent action by the AFL-CIO Executive Council, all such charters will expire.
  3. Solidarity charters may be revoked at any time by the national AFL-CIO if the local union fails to fulfill its obligations and promises under the charter.
  4. Local unions granted Solidarity Charters are required to make per capita tax payments on their membership to the central labor body(ies) at the regular rate applicable to affiliated local unions. Local unions must pay per capita tax at a percentage of membership level that is at least equal to that on which they were paying when their national union disaffiliated, or at the average percentage paid by all other affiliated local unions, whichever is higher.
  5. In addition to these regular payments, local unions granted Solidarity Charters will also remit monthly an additional Solidarity Fee calculated at 10% of the local union’s per capita tax payments (with a minimum of five cents per member per month) to be forwarded by each central labor body to the national AFL-CIO’s new Solidarity Fund, established by the Convention to assist central labor bodies affected by these disaffiliations.
  6. Local unions granted Solidarity Charters must:
    1. Participate fully in the Federation’s member mobilization and political programs, including granting access to membership lists, and be bound by whatever actions or decisions of the Federation that are binding on all affiliated local unions;
    2. Comply with the no-raiding and organizing dispute resolution principles and determinations of the AFL-CIO and provide no aid or assistance to any union undertaking actions that violate these principles or determinations;
    3. Support the regular struggles of unions in their jurisdiction, including organizing campaigns, strikes, boycotts and other activities;
    4. Seek readmittance to all central labor bodies to which they were affiliated at the time their national union disaffiliated from the National AFL-CIO (and once readmitted, shall remain affiliated until and unless their charters expire or are revoked);
    5. Recognize that no individual who is a member of a union not affiliated with the national AFL-CIO, even if that local union has obtained a Solidarity Charter, may run for or hold executive office in the central labor body in that capacity; provided, however, that such local unions shall otherwise have the same participation and voting rights applicable to affiliated unions in the central labor body. This restriction on holding office shall not apply to incumbent officers from a disaffiliated union under the following conditions: (a) the officer commits to supporting within his or her union the reaffiliation of their national union with the national AFL-CIO; (b) the officer’s local union applies for and receives a Solidarity Charter no later than September 30, 2005; and (c) the Executive Board or delegate body of the central labor body concurs with the officer remaining in office for the remainder of his or her unexpired term;
    6. Recognize that local unions of national unions not affiliated with the National AFL-CIO may not participate in any governing body or convention of the national AFL-CIO.
  7. Upon request of a trade or industrial department of the AFL-CIO, the AFL-CIO may also issue Solidarity Charters to local unions wishing to reaffiliate with a local council of that trade or industrial department, pursuant to these same rules and principles. In such cases, the local council shall remit an additional solidarity fee, as described in paragraph 5 above, directly to the applicable trade or industrial department. A local union reaffiliating with the local council of a trade or industrial department must also seek reaffiliation to all other central labor bodies to which it was affiliated at the time its national union disaffiliated from the National AFL-CIO, as required in paragraph (d), above.
  8. The President of the AFL-CIO is authorized to take such actions and adopt such interim rules as he deems necessary to implement this program, and shall report to the Executive Council on these actions.