The Foreign Policy Conflict in American Labor

Abstract

In 1966 foreign policy issues and overseas operations overshadowed almost all others that came before the governing bodies of the AFL-CIO. On three separate occasions the Executive Council gave considerably more than routine attention to foreign affairs. In June, an extraordinary meeting approved the American worker delegate's boycott of the International Labor Conference in Geneva. In August, the regular session rejected criticism of labor's Latin American operations and voted a strong endorsement of American policy in Vietnam. In November, the Council reaffirmed all major foreign policy positions taken since the merger in 1955. All three gatherings evoked well publicized internal disagreements. The first two concluded with split votes, though rather lopsided ones. The third one faintly portended the possibility of a break in labor unity when UAW President Walter Reuther decided at almost the last minute not to attend a comprehensive foreign policy review held at his own request. These events reveal a side of American labor's activities which does not often receive notice. There can certainly be no doubt that over the past two decades labor's commitment to a variety of international activities and causes has become substantial, controversial, and probably irreversible. It is equally clear that the emotions which international issues arouse among the small group of

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