Myths on the Left: The Narrative and Discursive Practices of the AFLCIO News Francois Huot University ofIVIassaciiusetts at Amiierst The question that presents itself is what, if any, differences are there between the ultimate objectives of organized industry and those of organized labor? Suppose we pierce through the flaming slogans, noble writings and dramatic stories and look into the purposes and the philosophy of the organized labor movement in terms ofits contrastto the character oforganized capital . (Alinsky, 1969:26) Maybe it is because progressive academics can always remember a verse or two from a Woody Guthrie song or because they cannot make old images of striking Wobblies disappear, but the number of studies of the ideological practices ofthe labour movement remains surprisingly low. Even if a general mistrust of labor organizations exists in left-wing circles, trade- unions are often constructed as fundamentally 'good' organizations in which little ideological or symbolical manipulation is actually taking place. The defense of the oppressed, the nobleness of purpose and the trade-unions' democratic pretension are seen as saf(^;uards preventing this evoituality (Guerard, 1987:1994). I believe, however, that ideological work is taking place 'on the Left' and that Alinsky's question still needs to be asked. Are the American trade- Alternate Routes, Volumell, 1994 Alternate Routes, Volume 1 1, 1994 unions really different from organized industry? Which forms ofideological and symbolical manipulation are being used mside the labour movement? I mtendto bnnga preliminary answerto these questions by looking at a cultural production ofAmerican labour and by conducting an analysis ofthe narrative and the discursive practices of the AFL-CIO News, 21 biweekly newspaper distnbuted to the unions' officers, employees and subscribing members.^ However, before going any further, it is important to introduce the theoretical perspectives on ideology which allow for the examination of 'left-wing' practices and justify the selection of a labour newspaper as the object of analysis. Ideology: From Representation to Socul Practices When Rene Descartes defined the fundamental dichotomy between the mental process and the natural world (mind and body, subject and object), he also laid the groundwork that allowed for the conceptualization of ideology as a set of ideas or, to borrow from Althusser (1971), "representations." In classical Marxist thought, which must be situated inside this Cartesian paradigm, ideology can only be defined as the imaginary (false) representation of real (extenor) conditions of existence. From this perspective, two basic assump- tions emerge: first, the discovery of a true or valid representation is possible and second, ideology cannot exist 'on the Left' because what is created there, according to Marxist theory, is an exact representation ofone's conditions of existence. In the semiological formulation, on the contrary, meamng never simply reflects the 'real.' Meaning is earned by the sign which is created when persons, connect a signifier and a signified (de Saussure, 1 959). The creation of meaning appears as an individual process, but this does not imply a guarantee of total freedom: "We are not free to determine these relations [between signifier and signified] as we please: we are a part of a prearranged semiological world" (Lewis, 1991:30). As Angus and Jhally( 1989:2) point out: "People create their own meaning, but as Marx noted, 'not in conditions of their own choosing'." Huot/Myths on the Left The mobilization of this prearranged world of signification is the domain ofideological work. Thus, as Thompson (1984: 13 1) suggests, "[t]o study ideology is to study the ways in which meaning (or signification) serves to sustain relations of domination." This connection ofmeaning to the social order permits the transformation ofthe notion of ideology from a concept of internal ideas, into one of social practices. As Althusser notes, "certain notions have purely and simply disappeared from our presentation, whereas others on the contrary survive, and new terms appear...practices, rituals, ideological apparatus" (1971:159). These concepts open the door to the examination of the influence of cultural and ideological practices on the creation of meaning. Ideological practices must be connected to discursive and narrative practices and brought into the realm ofthe everyday, for they are a part of "a complex series ofmechanisms whereby meaning is mobilized in the discursive practices of everyday life" (Thompson, 1984:63). Ideological Practices and the Trade-Unions The production of a labour newspaper, the organization of a strike, the training of newly elected officers, the negotiation encounters, the rallies, the conventions, the meetings and even the informal tete-a-tete around a well deserved drink, all become occasions ofcreation, enactment and reproduction of ideological practices. These practices interact and are mobilized in every phase of union life: the proceedings of a meeting are printed in the union's newspaper, which is studied in a training session and in turn, the knowledge produced there helps to solve an interpersonal problem that occurs in a local committee. Through these ideological practices, the leadership ofthe trade- unions will attempt to develop and maintain a hegemonic control of the organization. However, I believe that these ideological practices are better conceptu- alized as a set ofresources used by relatively autonomous parts (sub-systems) ofthe trade-union than as a set oftruths imposed upon the organization by the leadership. The 'control room' metaphor (Collins, 1 989) fails to explain the observed ideological coherence.^ As a resource, ideological practices will be m Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 aiacted by various actors in the everyday life ofan organization. In his work Asylum, which decribes the characteristics of total institutions, Erving Goflfman crafted the notion of institutionalized motives, or frames of refer- Qice, which "may nevertheless function to restrain other types of interpreta- tion" ( 1 96 1 :9 1 ). These frames of reference are ideological practices that will be used to regulate the organizational life. Nevertheless, even if such social actors can oijoy a relative autonomy, the battle for the hegemonic control of labour organizations persists. In this struggle, a newspaper like the AFL-CIO News remains a crucial apparatus that needs to be controlled bythe union leadership . In the everyday life ofthe American trade-unions, the AFL-CIO News provides the assorted stories, narratives and meta-narratives needed to interpret the social world. It presents the main social actors, describes their accomplishments and their predicaments, and constructs a totalizing representation of the world. The texts pnnted in this newspaper reflect the trade-union life and cannot be dissoaated from thepractices ofproduction and decoding (reading). Because of this connection between the texts and the organizational practices, an analysis of the AFL-CIO News will allow for the discovery of the forms of ideological and symbolical manipulation that are taking place inside the organization. Each and every story that is printed becomes a battleground in the quest for hegemony. When Barthes (1988b) discusses the nature of the text, he opposes the concept of a writerly text with the notion of a readerly one. The reader of a writerly text will be allowed to construct a variety of meanings from this source; thetext is characterized by its openness. "We knownowthat a text is not a line of words releasing a single 'theological' meaning, but a multi-dimensional space in which a variety ofwritings, none ofthem original, blond and clash" (Barthes, 1988b: 146). The cultivation of this hegemonic control is performed through multifarious efforts to close texts, to transform the wnterly into the readerly and to limit the possibilities of meaning creation/^ Huot/Myths on the Left The objective ofthis paper is to examine which stories are told, to find out who tells us these tales and to uncover which world view is promoted. The analysis will highlight the narrative and discursive elements that support three key ideological practices: practices of transformation, practices of commodification and practices of definition. The AFL-CIO News performs a transformation of the social actors' nature and characteristics: members who occupy an active social position as workers are transformed into the passive baieficiaries of the union's victories. The battles of the past—^the worker's struggles and victories—are reduced to simple discursive com- modities that are mobilized to support labour's image of continuity and radicalness. Finally, the newspaper defines, for the purposes of the internal debate, certain key political or organizational concepts: it establishes what are democratic practices, progressive attitudes and important issues. Through these practices, ideological structures that contribute to the perpetuation of the existing social and organizational systems are constructed, maintained and reproduced. Sources of Data and Methods for The Analysis The AFL-CIO News was founded in 1 955 at the time ofthe merger between the AFL's trade-based unions and the CIO's industry based ones,^ most probably out of a necessity to create some sense of organizational cohesive- ness in the renewed partnership. The publication evolved, slowly replacing articles constructed around formal statements of the labour's policy with stories more in tune with a modem 'journalistic' style. Nowadays, a rapid glance at any issue ofthe AFL-CIO News evokes images ofthe USA Today: colour on the first page, bold graphics, colour photographs and relatively short stories. Each story printed in the AFL-CIO News reproduces the name of the writer and this practice suggests the existence of mainstream media concepts such as the objectivity of the press. The studywas conductedthrough an analysis ofthree issues ofthe AFL- CIO official newspaper: the AFL-CIO News. These issues were randomly selected over a one year period (1990). Each story and photograph was Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 constructed as a basic unit of analysis, using the concq)t oflexia defined by Barthes (1974:13): "the best possible space in which we can observe meaning." This method produced 131 different items for the analysis (89 articles, 35 photographs and 7 graphics/tables). The Social Actors ''Qiii est le donateur du recit?"" (Barthes, 1971:25). When he asks who gives us the tale, Barthes implicitly states the importance ofthe identification ofthe story's narrator. According to the framework developed in L 'analyse stnicturale du recit, the tale can either be narrated by a single individual (the expression of a personal subjectivity), or attributed to a total consciousness (a diffuse and Godlike authority). It is also possible for the characters of a story to give an account of their own actions. In the case of the AFL-CIO News, the second option seems to be the rule: a diffuse authority, the consaence of the union movement, describes a complex world in which r^ vanous protagonists aigage m social actions. The Photographic Evidence In the modem newspaper, the text is still an essential element, the photograph an optional one. Yet photographs, when they appear, add new dimensions of meamng to a text. As Roland Barthes has observed, "pictures ...are more imperativethan writing, they impose meaningat one stroke, without analyzing or diluting it." (Hall, 1972:53) Leaders Members Politicians Others Total Men 46 35 3 4 88 Women 1 11 1 3 16 Children 2 2 Total 47 46 4 9 106 Figure 1: The representation of persons according to gender and stated occupation With only one exception' the 35 photographs included in the selected issues of the AFL-CIO News represent persons taking part in various Huot/Myths on the Left activities. Figure 1 identifies the represented persons according to their gender and their stated occupation. The obvious situation revealed bythese numbers is that men outnumber women on a 5:1 ratio. The unions are descnbed as places where men take control ofthe action and occupy the roles of protector of women and owners ofthe public life. This description reinforces the dominant values of struggle, brute force and violence. In union life, women participate in protests or in membership meetings; the union allows some place for women but only ifthey assume a pre-defined role as a member. There is no place here for specificity, as the following story demonstrates: "For 114 years, conventions of the Marine Engineers have been a men only function. . . . The tradition ended this year... Two women delegates were present... They received a round of applause from the 46 male delegates" (AFL-CIO, 1990b:4). Even if the presence oftwo womoi is acknowledged the story will quickly reduce them totheirnormal status—simple delegates. In addition to this split along gender lines, a second division is established between the members and the leaders of the unions: the latter roughly equal the number of the former, but there is only one woman among the 47 leaders depicted. Furthermore, the distinction between leadership and membership is deepened, usingthecntena of vanety and senousness ofthe activity. Figure 2 describes the activities in which the leaders engage. Men who are leaders. . . Are taking part in a meeting or in a discussion 17 Stand or speak on a podium to a crowd 12 Talk to or listen to a politician 9 Lead a rally or a protest 3 Inspect a factory 2 Attend training sessions 2 Portrait of. . . 1 Figure 2: Activities of trade-union leaders. Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 The leaders are active. They take part in meetings and discussions with other union leaders or with important individuals such as technical experts, politiaans, public agenaes managers or company chairpersons. The repre- sentation ofthis activity simultaneously produces an opposition between the nature of the work performed by the officers and ordinary workers, and creates a theatrical opposition/relation between union and society's leaders. The dramatic action will be charactenzed by the exchanges between these important social actors, thus excluding the members from the definition and the resolution oftheir own problems. A second oppositional/relational pair is defined between the leaders and the union's members when the officers are represented standing on a podium, addressing a crowd or leading a rally. Each of these performances requires an audience and the members fulfill that function and contribute to the construction of a dynamic relation between the leaders' activity and the members' passivity. On the other hand, the members represented in the photographs of the AFL-CIO News act as good union members, holding signs, protesting or picketing. Figure 3 offers a complete tally ofthe pictured activities. Workers are represented almost exclusively as participants in union activities, empha- sizing their identity as members. This implied definition relates directly to the needs of the organization and to those of its leaders. It also excludes from labour's scene the non-unionized workers (unemployed persons, welfare reapients). The political and ideological life of the AFL-CIO and its social projects refer only to the world of the members. Men who are members.. . Protest, picket or hold signs 26 Talk and chat with other members 3 Work at their usual jobs 2 Take care of a child while protesting 1 Inspect the site of an accident 1 Sit on a couch with wife and child 1 Portrait of. . . 1 Figure 3: Activities of trade-union members. Huot/Myths on the Left Outside the Organization The members simply do not exist as significant social actors in the public sphere, outside the organizational realm. This public world belongs to the unions' leaders. Labour's action, an essentially collective process, are individualized and reduced in the AFL-CIO News' reports to the union leader's activities. Leaders are named and their functions and responsibilities are always spelled out. "AFL-CIO Vice-President Lenore Miller... Vice- President Owen Bieber of the UAW... Charles B. Dale President of the Newspaper Guild... Alfred Di Tolla, President of the Stages Employees..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:8). This techniquetransforms the benefits ofthe collective action into the results of the hard work of certain individuals, a direct connection to the dominant ideological values ofindividuality. The unions are successfiil because they have effective leaders. In addition, the trade-unions are transformed into tools or resources personally owned by the officers. In the following story a reader may believe that the leaders are pledging their own money to support the New York Daily News strikers. Vice-President Morton Bahr of the Communication Workers pledged $50 000, while Vice-President John J. Sweeny of the Service Employees and John Kelly ofthe Office and Professional Workers each pledged $30 000..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:8) In the social world, labour's leaders interact with various politicians who are always referred to as representatives of one political party. In the description of the politicians, there are no surprises: the Democrats are the good guys "...an amendment was offered by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). Supported by the AFL-CIO, it would have granted supplemental benefits. . . " (AFL-CIO, 1990b:3) and the Republicans the bad ones "...symbolic of the scraps left over for working people under the Bush capital gains tax plan" (AFL-CIO, 1990b:3). The leaders also meet with employers (the real producers of wealth') and appeal to judges (who protect society from the actions of the greedy captains of industry). O Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 A Study of the Narratives Now that the key actors that inhabit the world of the AFL-CIO News have been identified, an analysis ofthe narrative structures used in the newspaper may reveal how they act and what is the nature of the relations between the protagonists. The organization of the narrative constructs an internal struc- ture into the text and, in so doing, limits the reader's ability to create meaning. Eco ( 1 981) illustrated how such configurations organize the decoding of a specific story. However, the influence of the narratives goes beyond this internal effect: the repetition of specific structures produces an ideological effect by limiting the range of possible decodings oftexts. The interpretation pattern thus created will be transferred and used in the interpretation of a wider range of social events. The study of the labour movement's publica- tions reveals the existence of a central narrative and the presence of a series of secondary narratives used as supporting stones. The Main Narrative The main narrative is reproduced in a number of stories and it can be used to integrate the remaining articles inside a coherent ideological framework. An effective way to introduce this narrative is to examine a story constructed around it: Local 802 also won a first contract for the musicians who perform with the Concert Pops of Long Island. Those members over- whelmingly ratified a first contract with the New York Brass Choir Inc., the parent group ofthe Concert Pops. The three year accord provides job secunty for the 39 musicians who were organized in July 1990. Complaints of late payment ofwages and of arbitrary dismissals had prompted the organizing dnve. The contract addresses those issues. (AFL-CIO, 1990c:7) The basic narrative structure displayed here consists of a succession of three different moments: the union won a contract, the members approved it Huot/Myths on the Left and finally, the contract provided benefits to the union's members. Two preliminary stages usually appear before this dramaticprogression: the union knows how to act and, using this knowledge, it initiates the action. If these initial phases are included in the basic framework, the completed sequence of action unfolds in the order illustrated in figure 4. The AFL-CIO News Main Narrative Union knows what to do i , Union takes action i Union wins agreement I Members accept the aggrement i Society benefts from union action Figure 4: The AFL-CIO News main narrative structure. The first moment ofthe sequence is characterized by the construction ofthe union as a legitimate organization: the unions know what to do. This legitimation is performedthrough a series ofstories that promotethepersonal qualities of the union leaders. A recurring column, appearing in every issue oftheAFL-CIONews, is entitled "Newsmakers." Inside this feature informa- tion regarding the whereabouts of the movement's leaders is published. "Robert T. Mclntyre, executive Vice-President ofthe Pennsylvania AFL- CIO. . . recently was presented the first annual WilliamE. Cockerill Sr. award by the Umted Way of Lackawanna County..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:9). In addition, the unionists will appear in photographs that represent them working, often early in the morning, in the company of important public personages. "Sen, John Glenn (D-Ohio) addresses nuclear concerns at a breakfast meeting with conference delegates" (AFL-CIO, 1990b:4). At a second level a valorization of the technical skills mastered by the union officers is produced when the AFL-CIO News promotes the organization's O Alternate Routes, Volume 1 1, 1994 training program: " The craft ofnegotiation. Negotiation and writing contract language. Advanced arbitration and Working with the news media..." are several of the showcased skills (AFL-CIO, 1990c:7). However, this fabncation of the unions' legitimacy depends for the greater part on the appropnation (reinterpretation) of the past and on the continuous demonstration of the justness of the orgamzation's cause. In the first issue of the year the AFL-CIO News ran a three-page story oititled "Amencan Labour in the 80's" (AFL-CIO, 1990a: 10- 12). This article presCTits a senes of cases in which the persistence displayed by the workers lead to important victories. The Clothing and Textile Workers won a contract at J. P. Stevois after a 17-year struggle. T&n years after the UAW began an organizing drive, the tenacity of its members finally yielded a contract with Ortner Freight Car Co. (AFL-CIO, 1990a: 10) The survey ofthe previous battles is used to construct the image ofthe 'noble worker.' It associates this image with the American trade-unions and creates a reservoir of tales that will be slowly added to labour's mythology. The article moves forward and gives the reader the official history of the preceding decade. The 1 980 's were marked by another phenomenon: the emergence of the two-tier contract, which permitted lower wage scales for new entrants. . This management demand was less than palatable for workers and their unions. But the double-digit unemployment rate of the Reagan Recession was taking its toll on workers and their families, and unions reluctantly bowed to this economic necessity. (AFL-CIO, 1990a: 11) TTiis reinterpretation ofthe past will be etched in stone and will become as definitive, within the movement, as is the story of the Great Depression. Union members or officers who opposed this political line ofconcessions will not be able to refer back to their own interpretation of what is now labelled as the 'Reagan Recession.''' The bottom line is that the labour movemait Huot/Myths on the Left survived the Reagan years and business can go on as usual. "A union card remains the worker's best friend" (AFL-CIO, 1990a: 12). This commodification ofthe workers' past struggles through ideologi- cal practices does not stop there as selected worker's biographies are used to Intimatethe union's actions. A series ofarticles on the issue ofoccupational health and safety accomplishes this task bypresenting several cases ofinjured workers. "Harold Gallegos, a soft-spoken man, has endured two years of untold pain and suffering since being contaminated by a chemical soup mixture..." (AFL-CIO, 1990b:7). This is the classical appeal to a higher moral ground: ifthe unions are fightingto protect the sick and even to prevent death, how can one oppose its actions? The second stage of the narrative sequence occurs when the union initiates action. This narrative moment reifies the union itself and presoits it as the real initiator ofvarious actions. As a consequence, workers and umon members are excluded from the key moments of collective action, the elaboration ofthe strategy and the deci sion to act. Ifthe union can be identified as the source ofthe action, the future benefits will be attributed to the union, thus justifying its existence. This process is used in the body ofthe various stories. "The Arkansas AFL-CIO joined in a complaint to the Federal Communication Commission claiming that a major television station slanted its coverage on a state ballot question" {AFL-CIONews, 1990c:5). But most often it operates in the headlines' text. "Unions seek right to act to save workers lives" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2). The other technique used to produce this effect is to credit the union's leader with the initiation of the action. A typical illustration of this method can be found in the caption of one photograph: "Union Presidents Vincent Sombrotto, left, and Moe Biller rally members of the Letter Carriers and Postal Workers outside the USPS headquarters" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:6). The members disappear from the scene as the union leads the way: "AFL-CIO Vice-President Lenore Miller of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Umon, said RWDSU pledged $75 000, with $55 000 coming from its Local 1 199." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:8) The Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 fact that real members contnbuted their own money in solidarity for the New York Daily News strikers becomes irrelevant. The natural consequence of any action on the part of the union is that the union wins an agreement, this constitutes the third stage ofthe narrative. The union gains new benefits for its members, "Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) at three Arizona supermarket chains won wage increases andlump-sum payments under anewfive-year contract" (AFL-CIO, 1990a:2); signs agreements with employers, ". . the UAW has won agreements that the companies will join in the effort for a national solution to the U. S . health care problem" (AFL-CIO, 1 990c: 1 ) or wins court battles, "ACTWU legal action wins retiree center for 20 000" (AFL-CIO, 1990b: 13). Once again, the contribution made from the workers becomes an element ofthe background. Sometimes the workers have to strike: "A week long stnke by 1 1 000 members of the Services Employees Local 399..." (AFL-CIO, 1990b: 15). However, even ifthis action was staged bythe union's members, the headline of this article reads: "SEIU local wins contract at HMO." The reified union becomes the true social actor. The fourth stage ofthe narrative begins when the members accept the agreement which the union obtained for them. The role reserved for the members is quite limited, essentially they will have the opportunity to cast a ballot to approve the results ofthe bargaining between the union ' s representa- tives and the employer. "lAM members at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Co. ratified a three-year agreement that provides a 1 1.5% wage increase plus lump-sum bonuses over the contract term" (AFL-CIO, 1990a:2). In this article, the percentages of the approval vote are emphasized. This provides a clear indication of the democratic structure of the union and, especially when the result of the ratification vote is overwhelming, gives an indication of the approval rating of the union performance. To give an impression of being a democratic organization seems to be important. Another story explains that a union organized a ratification vote through a mail-in ballot. What can be more democratic than a vote in which every member had the opportunity to express his/her opinion in the pnvacy ofhis/her own home? No Huot/Myths on the Left membership meetings where anti-democratic practices may take place, no debate and no pressure. The kind ofdemocracy promoted bythe trade-unions bears a striking resemblance to the mainstream American practice of voting once every four years without taking part in any kind of public debate. The last part of the central narrative describes how the workers and society in general benefit from the trade-union's actions. The workers' gains are presented in every article reporting on the settlement ofa negotiation. The descriptions ofthe benefits are usually very detailed so that everyone can have a precise idea ofthe gains reaped by the union. Moreover, the effects of the union's action reach not onlythe workers but also members ofsociety at large. In a report ofa conference on nuclear safety this is stated in a straightforward manner: "Concerned activity by the various unions have helped reduce risks in recent years, but the greed ofprivate contractors and the lax administration ofthe DOE has added to those risks" (AFL-CIO, 1990a:4). But sometimes the connections are far more subtle. One article runs under the following headline: "UMAWwins right to work Navajo repeal" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:5). The story explains how the Navajo Tribal Council, under pressure from the United Mine Workers of America, removed a right to work disposition in favour ofthe Navajo workers from the local l^slation. The result ofthe vote was 34-33. "[S]aid Eugene Badonie, president ofUMWA Local 1924. 'From now on, the Navajo people will have good labour laws'" (AFL-CIO, I990c:5). One man's notion ofprogress is another man's notion ofgenocide. The Power of the Main Narrative The basic form ofthis main narrative is so predominant in the articles ofthe AFL-CIO News that it will be used to report the 'not so successful ' contract negotiations. "The United Transportation Urnon reached agreement with the CSX Corp. railroad subsidiary to reduce crew sizes. About 375 workers will be affected bythe change. . . . Another 1 75 furloughed brakemen will not return to their jobs under the accord. They may have either a $5000 separation allowance or the relocation money ($20 000 if jobs are available)" (AFL- CIO, 1990a:4). In this story, the main narrative sequoice is used and its Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 ideological dominance allows for the presentation of this defeat (375 elimi- natedjobs) as an ordinary bargaining report. The employer bargained in good faith and reached an agreement, the union did its job and the employees will be awarded a separation allowance. A defeat becomes a victory. The narrative structure clearly limits the possibility to look for global explana- tions outside the typical pattern. If it cannot be explained, then it becomes an Act of God. The Narratives for Action In the second stage of the main narrative the unions organize and engage in various social actions. The examination ofthe different conceptions ofsocial action displayed in the AFL-CIO News reveals a strong preference for legal action, political action and collective bargaining. Figure 5 shows the articu- lation of these different modes of action. Negotiation with a 'good' capitalist Union wins an agreement Union takes action Negotiation with a 'bad' capitalist Union organizes a strike Legal action lobbying Society benefits from union action Figure 5: The narratives for union action Initiating legal action is one of the preferred tactical avenues used by Amencan trade-unions. A labour organization instigates l^al action to gain Huot/Myths on the Left gaieral benefits for its members or to solve a complex bargaining process. Legal action is important for the labour movemait mostly because its conception ofthe interrelations between the social system and the legal world is similar to the point ofview usually promoted in the American society. The possibilities for individual and collective action are embodied in 'rights' which are created by laws. "That includes the right to refuse life-threataiing work without suffering recrimination for the employer, and the right for the workers' representative to participate fully..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2). In consequence, pressing to get new legislation passed is constructed as an important activity because this action results in further protection for members and society. "The Communication Workers urgedthe swift passage of legislation to curb workplace violations of privacy by employers and to protect the rights ofworkers and consumers" (AFL-CIO, 1 990c: 11). Getting new l^slation is the way to reform society and to use such tactics demonstrates complete agreement of the labour movemait with the actual 'rules of the game.' "Orgamzed labour is completely committed to gettmg reform l^slation introduced in the next Congress and 'we will do everything wecan do to get it passed' Donahue said" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2). Whenthelaw is constructed as the prime ruling force of society and when the U.S. Constitution provides 'Justice for All,' appealing to the Courts to obtain justice becomes the legitimate wayto act. "A union and human rights alliance is suing the Bush administration..." (AFL-CIO, 1990b:4) or "The lawsuit was brought by Civil Service Employees Association Local 830, on behalf of 7000 public workers" (AFL-CIO, 1990a:3). Even if the Courts are portrayed as neutral bodies, the union prefers to keep a firm control over their actions. "Biller said that the unions still would like to settle negotiation without proceedingto arbitration, 'where anything can happen'" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:l). In this context, the activity of lobbying becomes an appealing way to press for new legislative protection. Union leaders perform this mission whai they schedule meetings with state or federal politicians. " Georgia Building Trades delegation calls on Rep. Bai Jones (D-Ga.) dunng the BCTD Alternate Routes, Volume 1 1,1 994 legislative conferoice in Washington" (AFL-CIO, 1990 b:3). The promotion of members' interests is also acxx)mplished through public lobbying, when unions stage press conferences in which the leaders present their policy proposals on vanous topics. "In a white paper titled 'Legacy of Neglect: Amenca's Decaying Roads and Bndges' Iron Workers' President Jake West warns that the decaying road system also would undercut productivity, jobs and even global competitiveness" (AFL-CIO, 1 990c:3). Yet, a more effective way to exert influence is for the union officers to become accepted members ofthe 'old boys network.' The AFL-CIO's officers excel in this trade. "Co- chairs of the event included AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Thomas R. Donahue, General Motors Corp. Chairman Robert Stempel and Richard J. Schmeelk, Chairman of C.A.I. Advisors" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:7). Nevertheless, even if l^al action and lobbying remain important activities, the negotiation of collective agreements remains the AFL-CIO raison d'etre. "Through contract negotiation where possible and through legislative action when necessary, labour will ..." (AFL-CIO, 1 990a: 12). The examination of contract bargaining stories reveals the basic ideological assumptions of American labour and a fundamental community of interest existing between the employers and the unions. "In every sector of our society, there is a growing commitment to consider a new national ap- proach..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c: 1). This is not only expliatly stated in the articles but also suggested by the kind of treatment reserved for the good capitalist, the employer who chooses to play within the good faith bargaimng scenano proposed by the unions. These rational employers are praised for their actions: "Exel, a subsidiary ofCargill Inc., undertook the agreement out of enlightened management philosophy that a company that is not part ofthe solution is part ofthe problem" (AFL-CIO, 1990a:3). The ideal narrative for the bargaimng stories is built around the idea that a senous and intensive bargaining taking place between a union and an enlightened employer will yield an agreement both parties will find beneficial. A small dose of common sense then proves that the economic system works for everyone. "[R]apid conclusion ofour negotiations was possible only because both parties entered Huot/Myths on the Left the process with a firm commitment to move forward and to avoid the kind ofadversarial labour relations wehad seen at Eastern" (AFL-CIO, 1 990a: 2). Ultimately, this construction goes beyond the bargaining process itself and becomes the metaphor upon which society should be organized: a negotiation of interests and advantages in which each party enters in good faith is seen as the only civilized way to work in a capitalist society. If everyone agrees to abide by this general rule, no one should lose and the emergence of conflict becomes rare, if not impossible. However, a small number of employers, because of bad faith or mere ineptitude, reject the model proposed bythe labour movement. Ifthe employer displays an improper behaviour, theAFL-CIONews will compare its actions to those ofmore responsible managers. "Theatrical Stage Employees Local 1 voted strike authorization against CBS Inc., after successfully bargaining new agreements with rival networks NBC and ABC" (AFL-CIO, 1 990b: 1 5). The workers had to give the union a strike authorization, but this kind of action is always the consequence ofthe employers' position in the bargaining process. "The News management made a cold, deliberate decision to work against unions and their employees..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:l). If, later in the process, the employees have to walk out, it will be in response to the employer's bad faith: either management delayed too long to initiate the bargainingprocess or demanded unreasonable concessions fromthe workers. "The 1700 miners walked offthejob after 17 months of stalled negotiations. Pittston was seekingto eliminate or sharply cut health benefits. . . " (AFL-CIO, 1 990a:2). At this point, it is important to stress that the AFL-CIO will never describe an ongoing strike as a success, the decision to initiate this pressure tactic is always a result of the employer's action and a major failure of the bargainingprocess. Only when the strike is over will its memories and images be transformed and become part of the union's mythology. The union continually works for a quick termination of the strike and tries to convince the employer of the losses caused by this ordeal. "But the company's own financial reports... show that an end to the strike would be in the interests of all parties: workers, creditors and management" (AFL-CIO, 1990b:2). The Alternate Routes, Volume 1 1, 1994 aid ofa labour dispute is always presented as the end ofa nightmare, and both labour and management wish for a different scenano when thetimeto bargain a new contract arrives. "Pittston Chairman Paul W. Douglas saluted the miners and their families. . . He expressed hope that labour and management could develop a long term solution..." (AFL-CIO, 1990a:2). The Mythical Discourses The utilization ofmyth can be related to a series of discursive practices that support the narratives and strengthen the worldview presented in the AFL- CIO News. However, the existence and the effects ofmyth remain subtle and difficult to detect and this is why its investigation bears such a weight in the discovery of ideological practices. According to Barthes (1988a), myth naturalizes the association of determinate meanings with specific signifiers and performs this association in an ambiguous manner: it can be donethrough a simplejuxtaposition oftwo different sets of signifiers or through displace- ment (or substitution) of usual meaningful associations. The impact of the myth is instantaneous in nature: "...myth essentially aims at causing an immediate impression—it does not matter if one is later allowed to see through the myth, its action is assumed to be stronger than the rational explanations which may later belie it... That is all and that is enough" (Barthes, 1988a: 130). Because of its naturalness, the ideological effects of the myth will survive its unravelling. "A more attentive reading of the myth will in no way increase its power or its ineffectiveness: a myth is at the same time imperfectible and unquestionable; time or knowledge will not make it better or worse" (Barthes, 1988a: 130). A demonstration of a mythical creation of meaning by a juxtaposition of signifiers can be found in the article entitled "Unions Seek Right to Act to Save Workers' Lives" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2). The first step used here descnbes the safety conditions existing in the American factones as similar to those of wartime conditions: "...the war in the American workplace daily claims victims. Workers pay the toll, employers pocket the profits and 20 years of attempts by the OSHA to diminish the sacrifice have failed" ( AFL- Huot/Myths on the Left CIO, 1990c:2). The juxtaposition is completed, a paragraph later, recalling the Vietnam war: "For 1 6 years the bloodshed in Vietnam appeared in nightly newscasts and the tally is inscribed on a memorial black granite walls—58 175 names..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2). This association yields a predominant meaning: the killing that takes place in the workplace produces real deaths, as serious as the ones occurring in combat. Still, it goes beyond the obvious; comparison between the workers and the soldiers, between the trade-unions and the Nation, between the employers and the enemy, and finally, an association between the workers' struggle and the plight of the American soldiers forced to fight with 'a hand tied behind their back' are created. In some cases, the discursive strat^es become more subtle and involve a succession of associations and substitutions that foster the desired effect. Several days before Thanksgiving, this complex technique is displayed in a feature headlined "Children Are the Victims of Foreign Toymakers" (AFL- CIO, 1990c:3). The title of the article builds on an ambiguity; at the first glance it can be deciphered as 'American kids arethe victims oiunsafe foreign made toys' During the Christmas season, every parent or adult wishes to protect the safety of his/her children, nephews and nieces. This headline creates an enigma and the reader seeks to know which toys to avoid in order to fiilfill his/her mission and bring joy and pleasure to American childr^i. Readingthe article resolves this aiigma bycreating an additional mystery, the story describes the conditions of exploitation of child labour in overseas factories located in Asia. "The young workers slept in dormitories, two or three to a bed, and earned $10 to $3 1 a month. Twice a month, children as young as 10wereforcedtowork24-hours shifts" (AFL-CIO, 1990c:3). Five countries are named in the first two paragraphs of the story: Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and China, but in the rest ofthe article, only China is mentioned. This feature is constructed on three main arguments: first, capitalists who exploit childroi are 'evil ' capitalists and must not be encouraged, second these exploiters are foreign nationals or evai communists (the multiple references to China), and finally, to stay on the safe side, all foreign-madetoys Alternate Routes, Volume 1 1, 1994 should be avoided. The myth is created when the American trade-unions cast themselves in the role ofthe defender ofchildren and implore the reader tojoin them in the boycott offoreign made toys. This illusion is completed by a side story entitled "Buy these toys," in which the American corporations are named and a list ofthe appropriate and safe products is displayed. Now, the consumer knows how to act and can alleviate his/her guilt by enacting a dominant bourgeois myth, the ideal of a good consumer. Not only does this story negate the fact that exploitation and domination thrive in Amencan factories and conceal the connection between overseas sub-contractors and U.S. companies, but it also contributes to the support ofone ofthe /IFL-C/O News ' main narratives: that the trade-unions are the best defense against exploitation in general. The Techniques of Myth In the last pages of Mythologies, Barthes describes a group of rhetorical practices (that he situates 'on the Right') used in everyday discourse in the creation of myths: inoculation, the privation of history, identification, Neither-Norism, the quantification of quality, tautology and the statement of fact are some of these discursive figures. Examples of several of these rhetorical techniques can be found in the AFL-CIO News. For the purposes ofthis article only inoculation, identification, and the quantification ofquality shall be discussed. Inoculation works by admitting into the narratives a small quantity of opposing stories, tying in with notions of freedom of speech, plurality and democracy. This nominal dose of evil awakens the ideological immune system and in so doing supports a gaieral claim that the system as a whole functions well. More oftai than not, the AFL-CIO News uses this method by opposing a small number of 'bad' capitalists to a group of employers who accqDt the rules of the game and bargain with the trade unions. The construction of Eastern airiines as such an antagonistic employer starts in January (AFL-CIO, 1990a:2), continues in Apnl (AFL-CIO, 1990b: 1) and is still going on at the end of November (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2); a surpnsing Huot/Myths on the Left continuity if the randomness ofthe selection ofthe material for the analysis is taken into account. Naming the individuals involved contributes to the attribution of the responsibility for the system's mishaps to individual behaviour. The trustee (Martin Shugrue) is presented as a misbehaving administrator who is overoptimistic, who lies and refuses totalktothe unions. "[A] trustee be appointed to replace former Eastern boss Frank Lorenzo.... Instead ofbargaining with the IAM, Shugrue conducted a 'smoke and mirror' campaign to rebuild ndership..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:2). The reader is asked to remember the irrational actions of Frank Lorenzo, those that led to the demise ofEastern Airlines: "...the latest chapter in the downward spiral ofan airlinethat oncewas a major force in the industry" (AFL-CIO, 1 990c:2). This presentation of 'evil' capitalists ultimately reinforces the belief that the system can work well if everyone contributes; the whole society benefited from the existence of Eastern Airlines and now, it no longer exists. Identification relates to the representation ofthe other; its conventions enablethe readerto deal with the question ofdifference and similarity between individuals or groups and, in so doing, to construct a sense of identity. Depending on what the preferred effect is, the manipulation of identity that takes place in the AFL-CIO News revolves around the opposition between being an American and being a worker. To a union member, being a worker is important when he/she is confronted with other workers having different identities or a different set ofsocial problems, and the common bond oflabour will be stressed by a number of articles. Union leaders from different countries are presented in the pages of the paper: a Bulgarian leader meets with the Amencan labour president (AFL-CIO, 1990b: 13), a Polish Sohdar- ity member expresses support for U.S. miners (AFL-CIO, 1990b: 15), Salvadorian unionists are portrayed as participants in a peace conferoice (AFL-CIO, 1990b:6) and the plight of Cuban workers will be the angle used to discuss the social and economic situation in that country (AFL-CIO, 1990c:4). However, stressing the similarities between workers of diflferait nations is always balanced by an appeal to American values or interests. An interesting angle on this can be found in an article oititled "Union, Right Alternate Routes, Volume 11, 1994 Group Sue Bush over Trade Preference." (AFL-CIO, 1990b:4). In this, the AFL-CIO appears to be preoccupied with the human rights violations that happen in foreign countries and where employers " . . take advantage ofcheap, exploited labour" (AFL-CIO, 1990b:4). In fact, this article develops side by side narratives: the first one tells the members that American jobs can be protected by revertingto protectionist measures and the second storypretaids that something is done to promote the cause of human rights in foreign countries. In this case, the labour movemait is not asking the administration to put pressure on the Nations v^th bad records but rather to cut trade, thus removing unfair competition for AFL-CIO's members. Suddoily, the for- eigners are not workers any more and the good foreigners are the ones who imitate American values. "Geraldo Aroyo, president ofthe AFSCME Local 3345, delivered a remarkable soliloquy that ranged from his six-mile swim to freedom 25 years ago to his Vietnam war service, to his fight for justice for thegroundskeepers at Florida International University" (AFL-CIO, 1 990c:4). For the American trade-unions, international solidarity still translates in the export ofthe U. S . model ofunions : free unions, capitalism and democracy are included in the same package. The quantification ofquality is an operation that reduces an aesthetic or a political quality to mere numbers. "By reducing any quality to quantity, myth economizes intelligence" (Barthes, 1988a: 153). The AFL-CIO News returns to this practice whai dealing with the concepts of rq)resCTitativaiess and democracy. A trade-union is representative and efficient whoi it rqjre- sents an important number of persons and many stories will leave no doubt of the importance of AFL-CIO's unions in the mind of the reader: "The APWU andNALC representing 568 000 employees formed thejoint bargain- ing committee..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:l) or "...is a 22 minutes documentary video tape describing RWDSU Local 1 199's recent contract victory for 50 000 health care workers..." (AFL-CIO, 1990c:7). The sheer force of numbers can also be expressed in actions of solidarity: "A coordinated campaign by 8000 steelworkers at 23 plants in the U S . and Canada. . . " (AFL- CIO, 1 990b:4). This method also serves to establish the democratic character of the unions: the number of actual voters or percentages are disclosed in Huot/Myths on the Left numerous stories and are used to qualify the approval vote on a contract agreement. "Steelworkers at 13 LTV steel plants overwhelmingly ratified a new agreement. . .USWA members approved the settlement by a 1 026- 1131 margin" (AFL-CIO, 1990b:2). On these grounds, it becomes impossible to use a different criteria to judge the quality of the agreement; one just has to look at the numbers. The fact that the union was unable to organize a strike, that the pattern of negotiation was set in a similar factory or that the bargaining committee sold out, are transformed into useless arguments. In a way, this line taps in the argument developed by the Rock the Vote media blitz:^ ifyou do not vote, you cannot criticize the results ofthe election or the actions of the elected officials. The World According to the AFL-CIO This description ofthe social actors, narrative structures and myths created in the AFL-CIO News can be summarized along two axes of opposition presented in figure 6. ULion Leaders £xpo5c Brok«ik Bad EaitK Scpu'blicanf Prot«c< I«moent5 A^r««mcnt5 IxploftalioiL "^^ lossts Court* Arlitration I>