SACRAMENTO, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The head of AFL-CIO says members of three unions that left the U.S. labor organization last month may still participate in state and local AFL-CIO activities.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said even though the Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Service International Employees Union withdrew from the AFL-CIO during its Chicago convention, he still wants to work with them, the Sacramento Bee reported Friday.
Sweeney's comment marks a change from his initial response to their departures of around 4 million workers when he said members of the three major unions would be barred from all AFL-CIO activities.
Some California labor leaders welcomed Thursday's turnaround while others said it simply confirmed cooperative arrangements that were continuing at the state and local level.
