AFL-CIO to address longer terms for officers Longer terms for officers at issue during AFL-CIO convention: [A Edition]

Abstract

The election fight came as [John W. Olsen], Secretary-Treasurer Tamar MacFadyen and other AFL-CIO leaders were fending off attacks on the newly adopted state income tax at the Capitol.

MacFadyen said the change would bring stability to the AFL-CIO staff and operations, allowing the organization to spend more energy fighting labor's adversaries instead of inward challenges.

MacFadyen said the proposed change is not in response to last year's events, but part of a push by many state AFL-CIOs to give their officers more time to concentrate on labor's agenda.

This may be an election year, but the state AFL-CIO convention set to start Wednesday isn't likely to have the kind of political electricity that ran through last year's gathering.

Last September, a challenger took on the incumbent president for the first time in eight years. John W. Olsen, president since 1988, got 56 percent of the vote and won a new, two-year term. His other top officers ran unopposed.

Still, Hank Murray, a longtime staff member for the United Auto Workers, received about 44 percent of the votes for president, a clear demonstration of political divisions within the federation.

The election fight came as Olsen, Secretary-Treasurer Tamar MacFadyen and other AFL-CIO leaders were fending off attacks on the newly adopted state income tax at the Capitol.

This year, the top leadership is putting forth a proposal to extend the executive committee members' terms from two years to four years. It is a move that MacFadyen said is taking place in other states as well.

"There are too many things to be done," she said. "We need more longevity so we can concentrate on programs, rather than running for office every other year."

The constitutional amendment would extend the terms for the federation's top five officers. It would take effect after next year's elections.

MacFadyen said the change would bring stability to the AFL-CIO staff and operations, allowing the organization to spend more energy fighting labor's adversaries instead of inward challenges.

"You had to be on the inside to realize how much time and energy went into last year's campaign," she said. "I couldn't give the campaign anywhere near the attention I wanted to give it because I was spending so much time at the legislature. But those duties have to take priority."

The proposed constitutional amendment is likely to get a fight from some of the same groups that opposed Olsen's re-election bid last year.

Among the leaders of the Murray campaign were the United Auto Workers, the International Association of Machinists and District 1199 of the New England Health Care Employees Union.

Philip A. Wheeler, regional director for the UAW, said his union hasn't yet taken a position on the amendment, but he is inclined to vote against it. A four-year term, he said, would be longer than any officer's term in the UAW.

"If the only argument is that {elections every other year} detracts from doing your job, I don't think that is a good argument for doubling the length of time someone should hold office," Wheeler said. "That is basically saying democracy doesn't work. I think it does. Doing a good job is the best way to campaign. If you do a good job, people are going to re-elect you."

Bill Meyerson, a spokesman for District 1199, said delegates from his union have not yet discussed the amendment, though, on principal, he thinks District 1199 will oppose it.

"We think it's better that the delegates to the convention of the state's labor movement have a chance to vote more frequently rather than less frequently for their leaders," Meyerson said. "That leads to more discussion as to what the direction should be, and it leads to a more vital organization. That's regardless of who the officers are."

Jim Parent, president of the state Council of Machinists, said his union also has not yet taken an official position on the amendment. He wants to hear why Olsen and MacFadyen want the change before making up his mind.

"I know the election we had last year for AFL-CIO officers created some turmoil in the organization," Parent said. "If that is the reason for extending the terms, it's certainly not a good idea."

MacFadyen said the proposed change is not in response to last year's events, but part of a push by many state AFL-CIOs to give their officers more time to concentrate on labor's agenda.

"I would prefer to have my state federation officer doing what he or she was elected to do, rather than running a campaign," MacFadyen said.

Whatever debate the proposal brings this week, the labor leaders predicted that the convention should run smoothly. It is set to start Wednesday morning at the Sheraton-Hartford Hotel and run through noon Friday.

And whatever the internal differences, MacFadyen said she expects the delegates to leave the convention united and ready to work for the Democratic ticket in the presidential election. That's a change labor leaders at the state and national level seem to support.

Michael Remez is a Courant business writer