United States 1995

Synopsis

In its 40-year history, the AFL-CIO had never had an election contest until John J. Sweeney successfully challenged the interim president, Thomas Donahue, in October 1995. The election was preceded by another first. Lane Kirkland, president of AFL-CIO since 1979, was forced to retire in June 1995. He left under pressure from labor leaders who included both Sweeney and AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Donahue, who would have been Kirkland's chosen successor in a normal uncontested election. The unions' depressed state, a condition that had developed during Kirkland's tenure, precipitated the unhappy circumstance. Unions lost clout and membership, which dropped from 22 percent of the workforce in 1979 to 15.5 percent by 1995. Prior to his election to the top post of the AFL-CIO, Sweeney had been president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest growing union with a membership of 1.1 million in 1995.

Timeline

• 1976: United...