Colorado AFL-CIO president Steve Adams is officially resigning from his position after reaching a settlement with the labor group’s national office.
The Colorado labor federation has been in turmoil since January, when the national office put it under trusteeship, citing internal divisions within the organization.
Then earlier this month, the advisory committee overseeing the federation recommended that the two local leaders – Adams and secretary-treasurer Paul Mendrick – be removed from the payroll and replaced by an executive director.
Details of Adams’ settlement were not disclosed.
“I think it was a fair settlement,” said Adams. “The labor movement needed a change. They’re going to be moving in a new direction.”
AFL-CIO president John Sweeney thanked Adams for his leadership.
“Despite the difficulties of the recent past, which have led to the need for this reorganization, he is a dedicated trade unionist who has contributed greatly to our movement,” he said in an e-mail statement. “I am confident that the Colorado union movement will join together in a commitment to a strengthened and reunified labor movement in the state for the important work we have ahead.”
This week, Mendrick launched an official appeal of the national office’s intervention, arguing that Sweeney did not meet the criteria necessary to put the office in trusteeship.
“Their reasons for putting us into a trusteeship were bogus,” said Mendrick. “There certainly was not a division of our labor movement.”
“We’ve had tremendous success in Colorado, especially in the political nature of our job,” he added. “We’ve got a Democratic governor, a Democratic senator; we helped out with Referendum C.
“That’s the work of our affiliates who were unified behind our efforts to win elections for candidates that are sympathetic to working families.”
The Colorado AFL-CIO represents about 80,000 members.
Adams, whose resignation will be effective next month, said he plans to continue consulting with the local labor office.
“At this point, we need to do what’s in the best interest of the labor movement,” he said. “That’s to get through the trusteeship as soon as possible and get down to what we do best, which is winning elections.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
