US Labor’s Foreign Policy under John Sweeney:
Are “Missteps” Aberrations--Or a Return to “Traditional” Labor Imperialism?
The long-standing set of reactionary AFL-CIO foreign operations—leading to the appellation,
AFL-CIA—appeared to be undermined with the 1995 election of John Sweeney to the presidency of the
labor center. In 1997, organizational restructuring reforms initiated by his administration provided even
more encouragement. However, refusal to “clear the air” regarding the AFL-CIO’s foreign operations in
the past, and then its later involvement in the 2002 coup in Venezuela against a democratically-elected
president, suggests a reversion to the unsavory “old days.” Are these later developments evidence of
reversion to the past, or are they, themselves, simply an aberration to the progressive changes undertaken
by the Sweeney Administration?
This paper takes several steps to answer this question. First, historical background is provided
that reports the long-standing nature of Labor’s foreign operations prior to the Sweeny Administration.
Then changes under Sweeney are discussed, and subsequent developments are surveyed. Following,
efforts by labor activists to hinder and ultimately stop these reactionary foreign operations are noted, with
the major effort being to expose and then mobilize rank and file members to take action to stop these
foreign operations through organizing within their own labor organizations. Finally, recent research
results are presented, detailing AFL-CIO foreign policy leaders’ involvement in US Government-directed
efforts.
To answer the question as to whether later developments are a reversion to the past (i.e., before
Sweeney) or simply aberrations to progressive changes undertaken by the Sweeney Administration,
considerable research is reported. A finding of “reversion” is a very serious one that could long-affect the
reputation and well-being of the labor movement, as the old foreign operations have been repudiated
almost completely by social and economic justice activists in the US and around the world. Accordingly,
the criteria required to support any claim to “reversion” must be made quite strenuous. The criteria that
must be met to affirm a reversion to the past are of four parts: (a) empirical evidence of such operations in
at least one other country must be presented; (b) evidence of on-going participation by labor leaders in
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