Labor’s Foreign Policy
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efforts that primarily benefit entities outside of the labor movement, although they may or may not
benefit the labor movement in the long run, must be presented; (c) a lack of transparency about such
efforts, even in the face of formal action within established labor bodies, must be established; and (d) an
on-going effort not to report participation in such efforts must be established, which means that formal
reports of meetings taking place at least one year prior have not been publicly published in labor
journals/publications nor posted on labor movement web sites which, in this case, means the web site of
the AFL-CIO. Should all four criteria be met, then the claim of “reversion” shall be established.
It is to a discussion of past and present research findings that we now turn.
LABOR’S FOREIGN POLICY PRIOR TO THE SWEENEY ADMINISTRATION
The AFL-CIO has long been known to carry out a reactionary labor program around the world. It
has been unequivocally established that they have worked to overthrow democratically-elected
governments, have collaborated with dictators against progressive labor movements, and have supported
reactionary labor movements against progressive governments (Scipes, 2000: 12). In short, this program
has been denoted as “labor imperialism” (see, among others, Scott, 1978; Barry and Preusch, 1986; Cantor
and Schor, 1987; Armstrong, et. al., 1988; Spaulding, 1988; Sims, 1992; Buhle, 1999; Scipes, 2000a).
Yet, this “labor imperialism” did not begin with the merger of the AFL-CIO in 1955: it actually
began under the AFL (American Federation of Labor) in the early 20
th
Century, before World War I, under
President Samuel Gompers. The AFL was engaged in counteracting revolutionary forces in Mexico
during that revolution, actively worked to support and defend US Government participation in World
War I, and then led the charge within US foreign policy circles against the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
(Scipes, 1989; Andrews, 1992; Nack, 1998). Although ultimately unsuccessful, it included an effort to
establish a Pan-American Federation of Labor (PAFL) to control labor movements throughout the
Hemisphere, and most importantly, in Mexico. The effort to establish the PAFL was underwritten by a
$50,000 grant from the Wilson Administration to the AFL (Snow, 1964).
Although most foreign efforts ended with death of Gompers in December 1924, they were revived
during World War II. The AFL was particularly active within labor circles in Europe, initially against the
Convention