Alliance for Labor Action
United States 1969
Synopsis
In late 1968 the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), under the leadership of Walter P. Reuther, officially disaffiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The UAW's split with the AFL-CIO developed over several years, during which time a widening rift divided Reuther from George Meany, the AFL-CIO's long-standing president. Political differences and personal rivalries caused the division. Politically, Reuther differed from Meany in his activist vision for the labor federation. Personally, Reuther expected to be the next president of the AFL-CIO, but Meany refused to give up the reins of power despite his advancing age. Reuther criticized what he felt was the AFL-CIO's complacency in domestic politics and acceptance of United States' foreign policy. Early in 1969 the UAW created a pact with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America to form the Alliance for Labor Action (ALA). The ALA's mission was to gain the support of unorganized workers, students, and liberal intellectuals. Reuther hoped that the ALA would address the issues that—in his opinion—the AFL-CIO did not pursue. The UAW's alliance with the Teamsters, however, was short lived; the ALA ended in 1972.
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