7 billion in assets and 13. Hoffa Says a Powerful Labor Movement Key to Strong Middle Class

LAS VEGAS, The middle class is under attack in this
country and workers desperately need a strong labor movement to give them a
voice at work and dignity on the job, Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President,
said Monday at the annual Teamsters Unity Conference. That is why the
Teamsters Union is leading a reform coalition of unions dedicated to devoting
the resources and the energy necessary to produce rapid growth in the labor
movement. Affordable health care and secure retirements are becoming a
thing of the past," Hoffa said. "We must act boldly
today in order to win tomorrow.

labor philanthropy

"
Joined by the presidents of the Service Employees International Union,
Laborers and UNITE HERE in a show of solidarity and unity , Hoffa declared that
labor unions are the strongest hope for working Americans struggling in a Wal -
Mart economy."
History shows that sinking more money into politics will not stem the
decline of union membership, said Bruce Raynor, General President of UNITE
HERE.

organizations unions

"America needs a strong labor movement to
restore the American Dream.

philanthropy u

"The American Labor Movement may be a lot of things, but it is not
politically impotent, financially bankrupt or lacking in allies," said the IAM
in "Use Our Power," a report with detailed recommendations about how the labor
movement, with $6.
"The Machinists' view is that how we use our power is the acid test of the
labor movement ," said the report, which cites 28 million union members who
voted in the 2004 presidential election and the million who joined Working
America as examples of a still vibrant and potentially influential movement. "We need to
change the AFL-CIO or we need to build something stronger. Following the
conference , the presidents met to develop a strategy for winning major reform
of the AFL-CIO.

unions way

Additional suggestions in the 11-page strategy document include: expanding
AFL-CIO support for civil rights and women's movements; reevaluate how
disputes are resolved within the AFL-CIO and provide affiliates with far more
information and input over the development of AFL-CIO programs and budgets.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
represents nearly 700,000 active and retired members and is among the largest
industrial trade unions in North America.

"Working people are facing the worst crisis in generations.

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The IAM is opposed to proposed 'reforms' that would force smaller unions to
merge with the larger AFL-CIO affiliates."
Teamster leaders throughout the country are attending the annual Unity
Conference.

movement philanthropy

3 million members, can better use
its financial and human resources.

movement united

Machinists Union Unveils Reform Strategy for AFL-CIO

Among the key recommendations in "Use Our Power" are: invest $200 million
to create a labor-owned cable network that projects a positive image of union
members and the American labor movement; establish a health care database to
leverage the purchasing power of over 50 million union members and retirees
and expand the number of votes cast by focusing political efforts on states
with heavy concentration of union households. A link to "Use Our Power" is
available at http://www.

Teamsters Lead Reform Coalition to Strengthen Unions Empower Workers

"We're not going to grow stronger if our numbers grow smaller," said Andy
Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union.

philanthropy movement

"Here at the Machinists Union, we believe the current fight for control of
the AFL-CIO is a waste of time, energy and resources," said the report
commissioned by IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger , a vocal
supporter of independence and autonomy for international and local unions.
"Unions have always been the way that working people have made it into the
middle class and achieved the American dream - and we can do it again," Hoffa
said to more than 3,000 Teamsters and other union members. "The only people who can save working people in America are working
people in America," he said. They are joined by hundreds of other union members from SEIU, the
Laborers, UNITE HERE and the United Food and Commercial Workers.

work way

WASHINGTON, The International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today unveiled "Use Our Power," a
sweeping seven-point strategy document that focuses on labor's core strengths
and is certain to reinvigorate the debate over the future of the AFL-CIO. We need a labor movement that is equipped to fight
for workers and win.

movement society

goiam.org. Good jobs are
being destroyed."
"It is time for us to wake up and shake up the American labor movement,"
said Terry O'Sullivan, General President of the Laborers International Union
of North America.
Added John Wilhelm, UNITE HERE's Hospitality Industry President: "The
leadership of the AFL-CIO is not providing the vision, the energy and the hope
that workers in America need today.