Chicago, IL
National unions and their affiliates increasingly have undertaken strategic organizing campaigns directed at an industry or occupation in a particular geographic area. Often several unions have collaborated on these efforts. Strategic campaign planning can benefit from the objective review and advice of other affiliates, and strategic campaigns have a greater opportunity to succeed if they enjoy unified support from the labor movement.
In order to enhance the quality and success of strategic organizing campaigns, the Executive Council is establishing the Strategic Campaign Registration Program. Any national AFL-CIO affiliate or coalition of affiliates will be able to apply for official AFL-CIO support and protection for a strategic organizing campaign. The AFL-CIO President will appoint an Oversight Committee, composed of five members of the Executive Council Organizing Committee reflecting a cross-section of affiliates, to administer this program. Committee membership will rotate every six months.
The Strategic Campaign Registration Program will promote investment in large-scale strategic organizing campaigns by protecting them from back-door intrusions and attempts by other unions to "cherry-pick" the most easily organizable units encompassed by them. The program will generate substantive consultations among interested unions about specific campaigns and organizing particular sectors or geographic areas. These discussions will also generate additional organizing efforts that complement campaigns that are approved under this program.
Registration of a strategic campaign will entail two steps:
- An AFL-CIO affiliate or coalition of affiliates will submit a strategic organizing campaign plan to the Oversight Committee. The plan must provide detailed information on the overall campaign strategy; staff, material, political and other resources committed; employee groups covered; and schedule for completion. The plan must also list likely interested unions that should be consulted about the request for approval of the campaign.
- The Oversight Committee will undertake a rigorous review of the viability of the campaign. The Committee will notify and solicit comments from likely interested unions concerning the plan, including those identified by the applicant. The Committee will approve (as submitted or as the Committee modifies) or deny an application for registration following analysis of the following factors:
- Soundness of strategy and possibility of success;
- Commitment of resources; and
- Competing claims by other unions that reflect active contemporary organizing efforts or representation concerning some or all of the employees at issue.
A strategic organizing campaign approved by the panel shall be entitled to the following benefits:
- The AFL-CIO and its affiliates will endorse and support the campaign.
- No affiliate will be able to organize, affiliate or seek recognition for employees who are subject to the campaign.
- An Article XXI Impartial Umpire considering competing claims concerning an employee group covered by the campaign shall award exclusivity to the union waging the campaign for an appropriate period of time. The Executive Council will revise its Article XXI implementation statement to reflect this policy.
In order to accommodate every national union that wishes to participate in this new program, and in order to test the program widely, each national union will be permitted to secure approval for no more than one strategic organizing campaign during any given year. This limit will not apply to the participation of national unions in campaigns undertaken by coalitions of affiliates.