John W. Wilhelm was elected president/hospitality industry of UNITE HERE at the union's founding convention on July 9, 2004. He was elected president on June 30, 2009, at the union's first constitutional convention.[1] (wikipedia)
We've become persuaded that, after two years of trying to reform the national AFL-CIO, it is unwilling to change,
We can't change labor law until we organize a lot more people.
The only way to find out if an alternative road works is to set out in that direction. The only way to reverse the decline in living standards is for the labor movement to be bigger and stronger.
Labor has too often been the political arm of the Democratic Party. That ends now.
It's not our intention to force a strike, unless the hotel employers leave us no choice.
Strikes are always a possibility. But we are not a strike-happy union. I look at strikes as a failure.
Our efforts to make real changes at the AFL-CIO have ended, but our board vote today was done with no ill will towards any member union of the AFL-CIO. UNITE HERE remains committed to working with any union and community organization at local, state, national and international levels.
We're not mad at anybody, but we believe that we have to build a labor movement that focuses on organizing unorganized workers who want to be unions, on partnering with employers who want to work with us and on integrating immigrants into our society.
Leaving the AFL-CIO has nothing to do with saving money. It has to do with redirecting that money toward organizing.
Leaving the AFL-CIO has nothing to do with saving money, ... It has to do with redirecting that money toward organizing.
