There's No Place for Abuse in the House of Labor

by The Editors

On Tuesday, May 25th, reporters with Spotlight Pennsylvania broke that Frank Snyder, the current Secretary-Treasurer of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and President-elect, would retire before taking office, ending a months-long controversy that resulted in a major investigation into misconduct.

Snyder, a long-time union official and member of the United Steelworkers, was accused of creating a hostile work environment at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. More than a dozen sources detailed allegations to Bloomberg, including that Frank often pushed female employees to tears, and routinely yelled and screamed at subordinates. One source alleged that Snyder called an employee a “fucking bitch,” another a “fucking loser,” and used homophobic slurs toward another.

Frank Snyder’s “retirement” is the outcome of the first major public test of the AFL-CIO’s landmark harassment policy, first adopted in 2017 in the wake of misconduct allegations also stemming from Pennsylvania. The policy foreshadowed the #MeToo movement that rose meteorically later that year, raising a national conversation on the misconduct, harassment, and assault faced by women, especially in the workplace.

Organized labor has not been spared the #MeToo movement. In late 2017, the Service Employees International Union investigation into Scott Courtney led to a reckoning within the Fight for $15, resulting in multiple resignations and dismissals. Some unions found themselves in the middle of complaints, and were accused at times of protecting the rights of harassers through a narrow interpretation of their responsibility to enforce collective bargaining agreements. In late 2019, then-National President of the American Federation of Government Employees J. David Cox Sr. was revealed as a serial sexual predator and ultimately resigned in disgrace a few months later. In September 2020, the President of the Pittsburgh News Guild, Michael Fuoco, resigned after an investigation into misconduct; triggering a broader push for reform of harassment policies within the Guild and Communications Workers of America. Others, like UNITE HERE and AFA-CWA, embraced the #MeToo movement as an opportunity to protect members from rampant gender based violence.

But accountability has seemed lacking within the movement, and despite the fortuitously timed approval of the AFL-CIO’s process to handle complaints, there has been little public evidence of the policy in action. Allegations from 2018 against Jon Hendry, President of the New Mexico State Federation, resulted in his sudden removal from office by the national federation. After Hendry’s removal, the AFL-CIO claimed it lacked jurisdiction over the internal investigation conducted by Hendry’s union, the International Association of Theater and Stage Employees, and referred press requests to IATSE. Faced with a real test of the AFL-CIO’s commitment to squashing misconduct within the movement, the national federation punted.

Indeed, containing the problem is often deemed as of coequal or greater importance with accountability. Organized labor has a culture of discipline and silence: one that has often been justified and necessary in the context of a long struggle against powerful political and corporate enemies that seek to exploit any weakness or controversy. It’s understandable to a point, given that even routine union business is distorted to create an image of impropriety. But in the era of #MeToo, a culture of silence – especially silence at the expense of accountability – is unacceptable. We cannot be a movement for dignity and respect in the workplace if we fail to keep our own house in order.

Snyder’s “retirement” – a quintessential moment of jumping before you’re pushed – is a much needed, albeit incomplete, step forward toward greater accountability within the labor movement. For too long, labor leadership,often fairly criticized as “male, pale, and stale,” has been characterized by a self-replicating “good old boys” culture that fosters harassment and misconduct. Although this is far from the norm, it is all the more egregious in a movement built upon notions of justice and equity.

Snyder’s removal alone is not evidence of the system working, and known problems – such as Dave Regan, the President of SEIU-UHW – continue to wield significant power and influence. Labor leadership continues to be too “male, pale, and stale,” with a culture to fit. Although Liz Shuler has broken ground as the first woman to head the national AFL-CIO, and although Secretary-Treasurer elect Angela Ferrito is poised to become the first woman to head the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, more needs to be done, and we can’t place the sole burden of fixing the movement on the women who have risen to positions of authority.

Those that wish for a more inclusive, just labor movement – one that lives its values – should welcome Snyder’s exit from labor leadership. But the rarity of his exit, and the length of time it took to hold him accountable, underscores how much work remains to be done. Snyder will ultimately be able to hide behind the pretext of “retirement,” rather than resignation in disgrace. Although his departure is progress, it is not full accountability, nor is it the standard to which the movement should hold itself.

If we want a labor movement to be called a movement for justice, we can’t be fully satisfied with Snyder’s quiet departure. We are better for him being gone, but it’s only a step forward. Now, we must take the next steps.

This editorial represents the viewpoint of the majority of Strikewave’s editors.

AdminJune 16, 2022