Change at AFL-CIO attempts to heal rift
Organization to ax top 2 elected posts
Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
Published April 20, 2007 at midnight
The Colorado AFL-CIO plans to cut its top two elected posts and hire an executive director who can bring unity to a labor organization fraught with internal divisions.
The national AFL-CIO took charge of the state federation's daily operations this year because of internal conflicts among its top leaders.
The conclusion: The organization's structure must be changed to restore peace within the splintered group.
"We'll be looking for new leadership," said Rick Bender, the Washington state labor leader serving as trustee of the Colorado group.
Colorado AFL-CIO President Steve Adams will continue lobbying through the end of the legislative session in May. Secretary-Treasurer Paul Mendrick has been on paid leave since the national office took control of the state organization. Both of their jobs will be cut.
"If we were to keep one or the other, we would probably lose one half of the unions" in the state, Bender said. "There was no way we could bring unity. That's the rationale."
A search for an executive director from either Colorado or another Western state will begin soon. The new person likely would stay in that role through 2008. A decision about whether to retain that structure or elect another president will be up to the state AFL, Bender said.
Adams acknowledged the president's job and the secretary-treasurer post both would be cut. But he said it remains unclear what his future role might be.
"We've had some great successes here that I'm quite proud of," Adams said of his time at the AFL. He said he plans to meet with Bender and others this week to get "more clarity" on his status. He noted matters had deteriorated quickly at the federation, whose members differed about its direction.
The group, along with other state federations, suffered a blow about two years ago when several key labor unions left to form their own coalition, Change to Win.
kelleyj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5068
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