MEANY SUGGESTS REUTHER CHOOSES TO IGNORE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000100820007-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 17, 2014
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: February 21, 1967
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 50-Yr 2014/01/17:
CIA-RDP73-00475R000100820007-0
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?Tht (I WALT, STiLEVZ JOURNAL Stall 'Reporter
MIAMI r3F,AcH ?]-? AFL-CIO President
1 George Meany struck back at the charges
?s,Valter Reuther has been hurling at him and
at the labor federation. But he purposely side-
'stepped any frontal assault on the United Auto
Workers chief himself.
Meany, at 'a press conference,. read a
i carefully worded statement.. which, without
ever referrring directly to Mr. Reuther, told
ethe UAW president. that the place to make
? complaints . is inside the federation, not
; outside. The statement, and Mr?Meany's an-
swers to reporters' . questions, left no doubt
of the federation chief's conviction that no
useful purpose Will be served by an open bat-
' ' tle now over Mr. Reuther's resignation from
the AFL-CIO Executive Council and his
;charges that the federation is "Stalled ? on
dead center" under the Moony lea.dership. [For
examination of what Mr. 'Reuther. hopes
to achieve by his independent coUrse, please
tan to page 18.]
Mr. Meany stoutly refused to expand .on his
;dire-parograph. statement. "There it is," he
-holding up the statement. "That's all
'there ? is to it."
In-the Statement, which, was adopted -Gnarl-
'?imotisly by the 28-member Executive Council,
the :federation president replied to Mr. Reuth-
er's .colnplaint of "undemocratic" 'Meany con-
.7)
trol of the Council by declaring that it oper-
ates on ."an open' agenda."' ? ?
"Any matter that any member of the coun-
cil desires to have considered by the council
is -considered, fully and freely, to the. point' of
decision," the statement said.- ? - _
Then he directed- a. barb ? at Mr. Reuther's
inability to rally voting strength on the. coun-
cil by adding: "There is only* One 'limitation
upon the extent. to Nvhicli. any individual -or any
organization within th,le. trade union movement
can influence the, 'direction of the AFL-CIO, its
programs and 'policies' or .the- ?character, and
identity. of its leadership.. As in any. demo-
cratic order, they 'must be able to. persuade
-the majority that their complaints are valid,
that their., proposals- are. sound, and that-their
alternatives are. preferable. Neither sizef ? fi-
nancial resources, nor extravagance ..of ? Ian-
guage.can overcome or substitute for that .sim-
ple basic ?requirement." .
.? Mr. Meany .said..the.vacant Reuther seat Is,
to be filled at-this, session .of the council.. But
he declared that he Wouldn't ."discuss. the Reu,.
ther.case any other place" hut within the coun-`.
cils of the AFL-Q10. Be insisted that. "there is',
no feud: I haven't had a:cross wOrd With. Reu-
ther in the last. five. years". except Over last.
year's.; walkout of the. delegation to, the 'Inter-'
national Labor .Organization_ Meeting,. when a)
Communist-bloc country ...representative was
elected temporary chairman: "I have had.
'nothing hut the nicest relation's" with Mr.. Reu-..
ther, he remarked: , .
To. questions about* possible 'AFL-CIO
volvement with the Central Intelligence Agen-?
...cy, Mr. .Ivicany said he "knows nothing about"'
reports that the American Newspaper Guild,
,..an AFL-CIO affiliate, 'received CIA 'money. for.
international activities through -several.fpunda,
.:tons. Asked if the' CIA had financed any AFL-
-CIO operations, Mr. Meany snapped: "Abso-
..,lutely not.". Victor Reuther, brother of' Walter
nd head of the. IJAW's international dePart;
ment, had- claimed that the 'CIA. bad funneled
. money into Latin America through_the Ameri-
can institute .of _Free Labor Development,an
. organization partly supported and financed. by
the AFL-CIO.. ?- ? ??
. Mr. Meany added that he has a "natural,
ingrained opposition to spy operations." He
said he feels that the CTA can fulfill its role
"without subsidizing -the trade union .move-
ment." ? - ? ???? ?
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/01/17:
CIA-RDP73-00475R000100820007-0