He was also one of the few labor leaders active in opposing the Vietnam War and worked in the civil rights movement. In 1988 he was elected Secretary Treasurer of OCAW and served in that position until 1991 when he was appointed presidential assistant. He was a founding member of Labor Party Advocates, which led to the founding of the Labor Party in 1996. A lot of people have negative view of unions. Unions have to be more democratic and aggressive in their posture toward the boss.
Unions have to become more of a social movement.
There can't be bureaucratic negativism where the rank and file is separated from the top. Some things are changing. We have a long way to go, but the major impediment to union membership with all our faults is not people's perception of unions, it's the law. It's difficult to organize. The employer can use illegal tactics and get away with it.