Twists and Turns After Seattle

The AFL-CIO, Gore, and China Trade

In the wake of Seattle, the AFL-CIO tops declared they were determined to defeat the Clinton-Gore administration’s campaign in Congress to grant China permanent normal trade status. Still, they are spending at least $40 million and spurring union activists to elect presidential candidate Al Gore, and a Democratic congressional majority. The obvious contradiction in electing open foes of the AFL-CIO’s China trade policy presented some tactical problems for AFL-CIO President John P. Sweeney. According to the February 20 New York Times, “some labor leaders are voicing fears that Mr. Gore’s support for the [China trade] deal could cause many rank-and-file union members to sour on the vice president.”

“If I were this administration [said Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union], I wouldn’t hold this vote now. It will not generate enthusiasm among union members, and certainly, among parts of the labor movement, it’s going to be debilitating.” So the union heads tried to convince Clinton and Gore to postpone the China trade vote until after the November elections. A postponement scheme would give the union tops a chance to trick their members into voting for candidates who oppose the AFL-CIO’s own China trade policy. In other words, the “union leaders” were scheming to pull a fast one on their members.

After a private meeting with the AFL-CIO and most of the “international” union chieftains on February 17, Reuters reported, “AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told USA Today in an interview...that Gore promised to push for stronger labor and environmental protections in the China trade deal if Congress puts off the vote until next year and he wins the presidency.” Several irate business groups then asked, Did that mean that Gore would oppose the China trade agreement that President Clinton favored? They rushed to demand that Gore clarify his position on the China trade pact. In response, Gore sent “a letter to a powerful business group reaffirming his support for the China accord,” the New York Times reported.

Bruce Josten of the United States Chamber of Commerce told the Times that business had a big stake in the China deal. “If the deal is rejected, he said, American companies will continue to face trade barriers in China, and European and Japanese competitors will have an advantage in exporting to the world’s most populous nation.”

In February, the West Coast longshore workers union (ILWU) [despite its president’s militant verbiage, quoted in the previous article] endorsed Gore’s  bid for the presidency, leaving the Auto Workers and the Teamsters still holding out, still refusing to endorse Gore.

February 25, 2000