Update: The fight here is over a staff position with the United Way. The organization missed its fundraising total and eliminated its labor liaison. The Labor Council didn't like that move and asked its member to withdraw funding from the United Way. Nobody had reliable numbers, but one person estimated labor accounts for 30-40 percent of the United Way's annual donations.
The liaison works with unions to encourage donations to the United Way. The Labor Councils still wants its members to make donations, just not to the United Way.
Original post:
The Kenosha County United Way and the Kenosha AFL-CIO Central Labor Council have split company, according to a letter to union members released today. The announcement marks the end of a four decade relationship between the two organizations.
The letter, written by Central Labor Council President Ronald Frederick, blamed the split on United Way.
"We did not walk away from the forty-plus year relationship with the United Way of Kenosha County," he wrote.
Specifics of the split were not included in the letter, and the reasons behind the separation were not readily available.
From what we can tell, this has no impact on the United Way of Racine County and its labor supporters.
What was the nature of the partnership?
ReplyDeleteWhy would the United Way have any more partnership with the AFL-CIO than it would with the NAACP, WMC, or the Kenosha Republican Party?