Business Union vs. Business Union? Understanding the Split in the US Labour Movement

By Ian Greer

In summer 2005 the US trade union movement split into two rival confederations.

The split was precipitated by the 2001 disaffiliation of the carpenters' union, the Republican electoral victory of 2004, and the decline in union membership. Seven unions accounting for 40% of the membership of the AFL-CIO, formed Change To Win as a response to that federations' ineffectiveness. This article concludes that the split may lead to new techniques for campaigning, but that it will not affect the fortunes or the social vision of the trade union movement.

(Capital and Class no 90, Autumn 2006)