page_title: Social Democrats, USA
section_title: Criticism of AFL–CIO
hierarchical_section_title: Social Democrats, USA / Member activities / Tom Kahn / Support of Solidarity / Criticism of AFL–CIO
caption_attribution_description: Lane Kirkland
context_page_description: Social Democrats, USA is a small political association of democratic socialists and social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term party in the SPA's name had confused the public. Replacing Socialist with Social Democrats, SDUSA clarified its vision to Americans who confused social democracy with the ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which SDUSA opposes.
  SDUSA pursued an electoral strategy of political realignment intended to organize labor unions, civil rights organizations and other constituencies into a coalition that would transform the Democratic Party into a social democratic party. The realignment strategy emphasized working with unions and especially the AFL–CIO, putting an emphasis on economic issues that would unite working class voters. SDUSA opposed the so-called New Politics of Senator George McGovern, pointing to the rout suffered in the 1972 presidential election.
  SDUSA's organizational activities included sponsoring discussions and issuing position papers—however, it was known mainly because of its members' activities in other organizations.
context_section_description: The AFL–CIO's support enraged the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Its support worried the Carter administration, whose Secretary of State Edmund Muskie told Kirkland that the AFL–CIO's continued support of Solidarity could trigger a Soviet invasion of Poland. After Kirkland refused to withdraw support to Solidarity, Muskie met with the Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobyrnin,to clarify that the AFL–CIO's aid did not have the support of the United States government.
caption: SDUSA leader Tom Kahn was appointed by Lane Kirkland (pictured), the President of the AFL–CIO after George Meany, to organize the AFL-CIO's aid to Solidarity, the Polish labor union that challenged communism in 1979[48]
exif: {}