National Affairs: Into the Open

Although some of its member unions have endorsed presidential candidates in recent elections, the American Federation of Labor has not done so since 1924, when its Executive Council supported Bob La Follette on a third-party ticket. Ever since passage of the Taft-Hartley Law in 1947, however, some A.F.L. leaders (notably the Garment Workers' Dave Dubinsky, the Railway Clerks' George Harrison and A.F.L. Secretary Treasurer George Meany) have been determined to maneuver the federation into openly avowed support of the Democratic presidential candidate. Dubinsky & Co., maneuvered well. Last week, when 800 delegates to the federation's 71st annual convention arrived in New...