The AFL-CIO v. CTW: The competing visions, strategies, and structures

As the AFL-CIO approached its twenty-fifth biennial convention in July 2005, seven unions formed a new Change to Win (CTW) coalition to challenge the federation for lead position as the voice of the labor movement. These unions, most of which have disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO, formed the CTW to demonstrate their unsparing discontent with John Sweeney’s leadership of the federation. We examine the reasons for the current breach in the house of labor, the competing visions offered by the AFL-CIO and CTW, and the likelihood that the CTW’s strategy will revive unions. We find that the gulf between the two factions is philosophically deep and practically irreconcilable. The CTW advocates an “engineered breakthrough” approach to revitalize labor whereas the AFL-CIO relies on a more conservative “accelerated evolution” path. There are no guarantees that the CTW’s strategy will work. It presupposes an unmet demand for unions that can be tapped through vast new investments. If the current model of unionism is lacking, as the CTW suggests, a viable replacement must be found. The CTW, with its limited resources, will have to experiment until it finds the right model, if one does indeed exist. The task of rebuilding labor is daunting, but it arguably requires a bold and fundamentally different course from what has been pursued. From this perspective, the breakup seems a logical development.     

The U.S. Economic Polity,Social Identity,and International Human Rights

In this essay, I provide some complementary perspectives on certain themes that emerge in Judith Blau's (2016) timely and insightful article, “Human Rights: What the United States Might Learn from the Rest of the World and, Yes, from American Sociology.” In response, I offer some very brief reflections structured through two prisms by which we might think further about the United States and human rights. These perspectives pick up on the core issue of Blau's article, the U.S. rejection of socioeconomic rights, and how this issue in turn relates first to the “social identity” of the United States as a whole, and second to the role of the political economy in states' recognition of human rights.     

The case. Bad care, good care, and spiritual preservation

A cancer patient learning to walk again finds that his relationships with his two physical therapists affect his recovery. One woman gives hope as well as instruction. He advises healers to meet their patients as equals, "to take down as many barriers as they can, give away as many distancing privileges as possible."     

The Universal King? Memory,Globalization, and Martin Luther King,Jr.

This article examines how Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered and represented by journalists in Ghana, South Africa, and Mexico, looking at coverage of “critical discourse moments” from King's life and legacy (1963–2016). I argue that representations of King vary in terms of local resonance—how well foreign figures or events align with local myths, values, and expectations—and global salience—the perceived world historical importance of a past figure or event. I then propose a new typology of global memory reception.     

The Neglected Aspect of Foreign Affairs,by Charles Frankel. Washington,D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1966. 148 pp. $5.00 Hardbound

This article presents one portion of the findings from a research study of the relationship between a student's prior experience and his performance in solving social work problems commonly found in a first-year MSW program. It reports a beginning effort to find variables that appear to differentiate high-scoring students on the principal research instrument with previous work experience in social work, from low-scoring students. The findings should be of particular interest to members of admissions committees and to faculty involved in curriculum planning for advanced entering students to the master's program in social work.     

The history, economics, and financing of mental health care. Part 3: The present

1. Health care system changes, particularly the managed care plans, are altering mental health practices in significant ways. The autonomy and independent judgment of clinicians are being limited. 2. Market expansion created child and adolescent hospitals in the private sector. This market was very favorable to growth because of the great ambiguity in diagnosis and treatment, and the nonexistence of commitment laws for this population. 3. While insurance coverage for psychiatric diagnoses has expanded, more affluent people, with good employment possibilities, still have better insurance than poor individuals.     

The Doctor and the Social Services. Huws Jones,University of London,the Athlone Press, 1971. 56 Pages. Hardbound

Values in social work are part of the instrumentality for service delivery and decision making.

As an outgrowth of modern science, a value conflict has emerged between humanitarianism (the rights and dignity of the individual) and individualism (the distortion of individual rights into an antisocial mode). Current interpretations of individualism challenge the social value of mutuality upon which the “social” in social work is based Values cannot be “proved” in a logical positivist model of truth.

One example of the inappropriate use of logical positivism can be seen in social science research. A recommitment to values in social work theory and practice is emphasized and alternative research styles, stressing values, are suggested.