Diversity Forum Sparks Talk About Change at the AFL-CIO Convention
Sunday, September 8, 2013
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Building a labor movement that is
inclusive to young workers, people of color and
the LGBT community is more than just holding a
meeting or attending a conference, said Tahir
Duckett, national young worker coordinator at
the AFL-CIO, at a pre-conference diversity
summit Sunday morning at the AFL-CIO 2013
Convention. "We're organizers," said Duckett.
"We have to ask young workers to get more
involved...it was someone investing time and
taking interest in (young worker leaders) that
encouraged more involvement in their union."
More than 1,200 participants buzzed with
earnest conversations on the topic of diversity
in the labor movement at this packed
conference. The table-top discussions from
participants after leadership speeches and a
panel discussion focused on figuring out why
the labor movement has not become more diverse
and involved at the community level, and then
it shifted to a discussion about how to change.
“It’s about power,” said a young labor
leader from New York. “The same people who
struggled and fought to break down the door are
blocking the door!” A table near the back of
the room had everybody laughing, and another
table of mostly young Latinos and Latinas
talked about the problem of boring procedural
rules for union meetings and how it’s
important for every meeting to have something
to draw in new people and to make them feel
welcome. Excerpted from a longer report on the AFL-CIO Now blog. For more
updates from the diversity conference follow
the hashtag #1uDiversity on
Twitter.
- Robert Struckman; AFL-CIO Now
blog