The AFL-CIO Blue Cross-Blue Shield Campaign: A Study of Organizational Failure

In 1985, AFL-CIO leaders and the officers of eight AFL-CIO unions announced their intention of organizing the employees of Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BC/BS). The author argues that there was no demonstrated demand for unionization on the part of the employees targeted by the campaign, but union officers apparently believed that because of labor's business relationships with BC/BS plans, there would be little resistance to unionization. Five years later, the unions had lost five NLRB elections and won none, and they had suffered one decertification. Drawing mainly on interviews with BC/BS managers and union organizers, campaign literature, and newspaper and magazine articles, the author concludes that the unions were unprepared for the problems they encountered, particularly the absence of significant employee grievances.