In a letter to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney The United Food and Commercial Workers Union says the labor status quo will not stand and that major reform is essential.

[Greg Denier 1] : "We are committed to change and we will not accept more of the same for the future."

The UFCW's Greg Denier says the reform unions - which also include the Teamsters, SEIU, UNITE-HERE and the Laborer's - are serious about reform but want a united labor movement to build worker power. So is the UFCW and the other reform unions about to disaffiliate from the labor federation?

[Denier 2]: "I don't want to say whether people will disaffiliate or not at this point because I think we should focus on how we build a reformed and united movement."

With the AFL-CIO convention set for July, Denier was asked if a split from the labor federation is likely before then.

[Denier 3] : "I believe that the UFCW and the other reform unions - as opposed to dissident unions - are committed to going to the convention and presenting a reform platform."

The UFCW wants Sweeney to create a new mechanism to refocus resources on organizing and building worker power in core industries and to implement a new governance structure for the AFL-CIO, limiting it's functions. Denier says the UFCW is not condemning the past work of John Sweeney.

[Denier 4] : "It's not that what people did in the past was wrong, it's that the world has changed and we have to change with it."