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Why Is the AFL-CIO Going After Its Vermont Affiliate?

David Van Deusen, president of the Vermont State Labor Council, says his organization is facing investigations and threats of further action.

Maximillian Alvarez

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Over the past couple years, the Vermont State AFL-CIO and its membership have embraced a more democratic, rank-and-file strategy, building up bonds of solidarity with community organizations, and bringing much-needed energy into a labor council that was on the verge of dying. Instead of commending and encouraging these efforts, however, the AFL-CIO national and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka are monitoring, investigating, and threatening ​“further action” against the Vermont labor council. Why? We talk with David Van Deusen, president of the Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

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Maximillian Alvarez is editor-in-chief at the Real News Network and host of the podcast Working People, available at InThe​se​Times​.com. He is also the author of The Work of Living: Working People Talk About Their Lives and the Year the World Broke.

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