Joe Hansen, president of the 1.4 million member United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has just proposed adoption of the constitution for the new federation. “We are here to change course,” he said. “Adoption of the constitution is the first step.”
The constitution proposes what James Hoffa called a “lean, mean organizing machine” — a federation of unions with a small bureaucracy at the center, committed to spending 75% of its income on organizing.
A small Leadership Council will run the new federation, and strategic organizing will be the focus of Change to Win’s activity. The fee for membership will be only $0.25 per member per month — far lower than what the AFL-CIO currently charges its members.
Like the CIO in the 1930s, the constitution obliges the new federation to focus on industry-wide organizing, spanning across multiple unions.
As I write these words, Anna Burger is providing delegates with a summary of the constitution.