Unions NOT Behind WI Boycott

MILWAUKEE (PAI) - The latest twist in the saga of right wing Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker's war on workers is a series of media stories, which leaders of the state AFL-CIO and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council have flatly scorned, that the fed has concocted any boycott in Wisconsin aimed at Walker's policies.

Not only does federal law make calling boycotts tough, but so do internal AFL-CIO rules. "If we had a boycott, trust me, we would be shouting it from the rooftops," noted Sheila Cochran, chief operating officer of the Milwaukee council.Requirements and rules are stricter on unions than on corporations - not just on boycotts, but on every action - from how they support candidates to how they report money spent, how they organize and protest, and even to set up picket lines.

If anything, the requirements escalate in a boycott. A boycott can only be imposed when endorsed by the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Only then will union members be urged "don't buy"- which means not to use the service or buy products.

So what's behind the rumors of an AFL-CIO boycott in Wisconsin? The short answer, and the same one that triggered the mass protests in Madison - and around the country - against the Walker-GOP law that killed collective bargaining rights, is: Grass-roots activism.

keep reading at: http://www.peoplesworld.org/unions-not-behind-wisconsin-boycott/