The AFL-CIO’s state and local infrastructure is a tremendous asset to the unions of the AFL-CIO. Continued unity at the state and local level is critical to moving the labor movement’s program forward. The Solidarity Charter program, which has been a great success in maintaining unity and strength at the state and local levels, is hereby extended, and the Executive Council shall continue to have the authority to determine the terms, conditions and duration of the program, as efforts to reunify the labor movement at the national level continue.
At the same time, fairness dictates that the national union affiliates of the AFL-CIO should not have to bear the entire financial cost of the AFL-CIO’s support of its state and local organizations—support in the form of Solidarity Fund grants, political and issues mobilization work, organizational development and capacity building work, the Leadership Development Institute and more. The AFL-CIO, in conjunction with the Executive Council Committee on State and Local Strategies and the State Federation/Central Labor Council Advisory Committee, should develop mechanisms for obtaining a fair share contribution from organizations participating in the Solidarity Charter program. These measures should be developed and implemented as soon as practicable, as determined by the president of the AFL-CIO.
More
