The Two Latin American Foreign Policies of the U.S. Labor Movement: The AFL-CIO Top Brass vs. Rank-and-File *

Abstract

In the foreign policy of the U. S. labor movement in Latin America, two sets of policies have emerged in the past 30 years. One is advanced by AFL-CIO top bureaucrats, operating primarily through the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD). The Institute (over 90% U. S. government funded) usually echoes official U.S. pronouncements. Since 1960, it has taken actions often detrimental to Latin American unions and workers. Its efforts have been kept largely secret from U. S. unionists and the public. Middle level organizers along with the rank-and-file have fashioned an alternative policy which seeks to truly represent the interests of all working people North and South. Both sides are engaged in an increasingly public struggle to make their position the one that represents U. S. labor. In the 1980s, the battle centered primarily around Central America.