Head of Pa. AFL-CIO to step down

Pennsylvania's ranking labor leader, Bill George, is stepping down.

George, 68, who for 20 years has been president of the state AFL-CIO, said today that he hoped to pass the baton to his top deputy, Rick Bloomingdale, when the union federation holds its convention next month in Pittsburgh.

The father of four and grandfather of two said his departure would mark the approximate 50th anniversary of his first gaining a union card. At 18, he started work at the old Jones & Laughlin steel mill in his boyhood hometown of Aliquippa, Pa.

AFL-CIO membership in the state has been in decline for decades, mainly from the loss of manufacturing jobs, especially in steel. But enrollment was up in each of the last two years, George said - largely a result of organizing efforts "in hospitals and clinics and university campuses."

"The largest percent is health care," he said.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 15 percent of Pennsylvania's wage-and-salary workers are members of unions. That compares to 20.9 percent in 1989, the earliest year for which comparable statistics are available.

George said he believed that union growth could come from workers now in their 20's and 30's who see that they may not get the health-care and pension benefits that their parents and grandparents had.

"I think the longer we're in a recession, the more union membership is going to come back," he said.

An influential figure in state politics, mostly on behalf of Democrats, George said he planned to play an active role in this year's races for governor and U.S. senator. The federation has yet to endorse anyone.