US Labor's Global Anticommunist Crusade During the Cold War

AFL-CIO's Cold War Investment

• 💡 The AFL-CIO became increasingly invested in the US government's Cold War aims during the 1950s and 60s, receiving government subsidies to direct their efforts.
• 🚀 Even before World War II ended, the AFL created the Free Trade Union Committee to establish rival anti-communist unions in Western Europe, aiming to divide working classes.
• 🧠 The CIO, initially more reluctant, was pushed into Cold War involvement due to McCarthyism, while many union officials saw themselves as experts in combating communists.

Government and Union Entanglement

• 🤝 The US government viewed labor movements as a crucial battleground in the Cold War, seeking to keep them firmly in the US camp.
• 🌍 The AFL-CIO, with its working-class connections, was seen as vital for opening doors and influencing union officials globally, from Europe to Latin America and Asia.
• 💰 The AFL-CIO received millions of dollars from the US government for programs that ostensibly focused on worker training but also included strategies to suppress leftist dissent within unions.

Mafia Connections and International Operations

• ⚠️ The CIA, working with anti-communist unionists, hired gangsters and mafia figures to ensure the flow of weapons to Indochina by intimidating striking dockworkers.
• 🔗 These connections led to the emergence of heroin trafficking networks, like The French Connection, involving the CIA and AFL.
• 🚢 Mafia leaders like Myer Lansky and figures like Jimmy Hoffa were involved in smuggling weapons to arm Zionist militias during the creation of Israel, bypassing arms embargoes.

Lessons for the Modern Labor Movement

• 🚫 Unions should avoid taking money from the State Department, as this historical entanglement often harmed workers both domestically and abroad.
• 📉 The AFL-CIO's focus on foreign policy interventions weakened labor movements in other countries and facilitated corporate offshoring and division.
• ✊ Genuine internationalism for labor should be based on solidarity, which may require conflict with US foreign policy, as seen in current calls for a ceasefire and arms embargo in Gaza.
• 🗣️ The refusal of the Biden administration to heed union calls on foreign policy issues risks tarnishing his legacy as a pro-union president.