PITTSBURGH (AP) — The face of American organized labor is getting older and grayer, but the AFL-CIO's new leaders said Monday they intend to change that trend and spark a resurgence in union membership.
When Richard Trumka becomes the newest president of the labor federation this week, one of his top priorities will be tackling the perennial problem of making unions appeal to recent college graduates and other 20- and 30-somethings in the work force.
"They don't hate us, they don't like us, they just don't know us," said Liz Schuler, 39, who is set to become Trumka's top deputy and head his youth outreach efforts.
Schuler spoke to reporters at the AFL-CIO's convention in Pittsburgh, where delegates heard Monday from Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Caroline Kennedy and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.
Trumka boasted that Schuler "shatters the record" for youngest-ever secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. Her goal is to make the idea of joining a union relevant to workers whose views of organized labor are based on stereotypes from the 1960s.
"They just speak a different language and I think the labor movement has been a bit behind in how they communicate with those young workers," said Schuler, who is a top adviser at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
"Even the term 'worker' may be something that younger people may not identify with as much," she said.
The failure of labor to connect with those new to the work force is one reason the average age of AFL-CIO union members is now 47. Only one-quarter of AFL-CIO members are under 35.
Overall, union membership rates last year were highest among workers 55 to 64 years old, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest rates were among workers 16 to 24 years old.
"It's a huge problem," said Amy Dean, the former head of AFL-CIO's operations in Silicon Valley who has written a book about the future of the labor movement. "We're missing a whole generation of people if we don't focus on them."
Dean said gaining younger members is crucial if unions are to have any chance of remaining a force. The workplace is increasingly made up of younger, female and minority workers, while the job market is also shifting away from industrial jobs and more toward the service sector.
Many college graduates start out in jobs where they don't intend to stay too long. Dean said these workers often don't give much thought to long-term benefits like pensions and health care and don't think of the advantages a union can bring.
"I don't think workers come to the workplace with the same expectation of stability as their parents did," Dean said. "They start out optimistic and hopeful and in a very short time become cynical."
Dean said union leaders need to show workers they are involved in the community and care about the issues young people care about. She also suggested they connect with people "where they live, they work, they play," not just at the work place.
Trumka and Schuler plan to travel to college campuses and make better use of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Efforts to get younger workers are also part of broader efforts to step up organizing. Trumka plans to build a "strike force" of 1,000 young organizers that can be directed as a rapid response team to help affiliated unions with organizing drives.
To be sure, unions expect a dramatic surge of new members if Congress passes legislation that makes it easier for workers to organize unions. Democratic lawmakers are working on a compromise version of the bill, the Employee Free Choice Act, but it has stalled under intense opposition from business groups.
In her speech to the convention's delegates, Solis said the Obama administration would fight for passage of the union-friendly bill. President Barack Obama delivers remarks to the convention on Tuesday.
Schuler said she expects the aggressive push to yield results.
"They need us," she said of young workers. "They just don't know we're the answer to their problems."
