Wed Sep 25 08:55:00 UTC 2024: ## American Labor’s Cold War Legacy: From Partner to Pawn?
**A new book reveals how US labor unions, particularly the AFL-CIO, actively supported and fueled the Cold War, often at the expense of workers both at home and abroad.**
For decades, the AFL-CIO, one of the largest labor organizations in the US, operated as an extension of Washington’s foreign policy apparatus. This partnership, fueled by anti-communism and the belief that a US-dominated international capitalist order would benefit its members, saw the AFL-CIO actively divide and suppress labor movements worldwide, often with the help of the State Department and CIA.
The book “Blue-Collar Empire” by Jeff Schuhrke lays bare the disturbing history of this relationship. It details how the AFL-CIO, under the leadership of figures like George Meany and Walter Reuther, actively sabotaged international labor unity efforts, propped up anti-communist splinter groups, and even participated in US-led interventions in countries like Chile and Vietnam.
The AFL-CIO’s partnership with Washington often came at the expense of American workers, as the US government simultaneously undermined domestic labor rights and failed to protect union jobs. The book points to the irony of the AFL-CIO receiving substantial federal funding for its foreign labor programs while the Taft-Hartley Act, a significant anti-union law, remained in effect.
While the AFL-CIO has attempted to rebrand its international activities under the banner of the Solidarity Center, a successor to its Cold War-era institutes, the organization remains heavily reliant on US government funding and continues to operate in line with Washington’s foreign policy priorities. Critics argue that the Solidarity Center, despite its commendable work in some areas, represents a continuation of the same Cold War playbook, further dividing the global labor movement and serving US interests.
The book “Blue-Collar Empire” serves as a stark reminder of the dangerous consequences of labor movements being entangled with national politics and foreign policy agendas. It emphasizes the need for a truly unified working-class movement, based on international solidarity and dedicated to collective liberation, rather than serving as an extension of a nation’s foreign policy objectives. It remains to be seen whether the AFL-CIO will break free from its Cold War legacy and embrace a more genuinely internationalist approach to labor unity.
First Piper 