Let's Make a Change in 2013

In 2013, let's activate our community supporters to fight alongside us!

The AFL-CIO is the most effective progressive organization in America. The Texas AFL-CIO is the most effective progressive organization in the Lone Star State. We have the structure we need to be a lot more effective, if we activate it.

The constituency groups can energize union members and community supporters at the same time. Women, Latinos, African Americans, Asians, youth and other people are represented in the AFL-CIO by different constituency groups. Those that aren't union members can join Working America for almost nothing, if it's needed.

Bring us together on labor's program

My suggestion is that we try to activate all the constituency groups and have them meet together monthly soon after the regular Central Labor Council meeting. After a short plenary session, each group could retire to a different corner for their separate meetings. Our job, in general, would be to mobilize people to help with the problems that the labor movement identifies. Meetings might also be good occasions for educational purposes or for expanding labor's cultural identity.

The point is to expand labor's ability to mobilize our members and our communities to face the challenges ahead. It would certainly help with the upcoming local elections, and it would help with the long term fight to make American labor strong again.

--Gene Lantz