Change & Conflict in the AFL-CIO

As George Meany grows heavy and sprightlier with years, it is strange to observe that in the summer of 1974 open talk about a successor seems to have abated. This may be because of the irrefutable fact that “he is the only president we have.” Inside the AFL-CIO it seems almost sacrilegious to talk of succession— I write this on the eve of the AFL-CIO Executive Council’s August meeting and of Meany’s 80th birthday—but the thought persists. This avoidance of politica...