Frontlash was a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to help minority and young people register to vote and to engage in voter education. Initially sponsored by the AFL-CIO, the United States Youth Council, and the NAACP Youth Council, the AFL-CIO became the group's most important financial sponsor and essentially took over Frontlash in 1971, becoming the labor federation's outreach program to younger Americans. Frontlash folded in 1997.
The organization was conceived by Penn Kemble, a Social Democrat and member of the Young People's Socialist League. The "Frontlash" name was a play on words, originally used in this context by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 (it had previously been used in analogue computer construction and similar). The organization would work to counteract the "backlash" against liberalism by blue-collar workers. Kemble was the organization's first executive director.
Structure
Frontlash was funded almost entirely by the AFL-CIO after 1971. It was led by an executive director, who was appointed by the president of the AFL-CIO. Membership in Frontlash was extended to anyone, although the organization focused on building membership among people 30 years of age and younger. Local chapters formed primarily on college campuses, but some chapters formed in large cities (as the creations of AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils; their membership often remained minuscule). Frontlash chapters were usually democratic in nature, although they relied heavily on funds and staff from AFL-CIO appointed leaders in the central labor bodies. This dependency significantly checked the ability of Frontlash chapters to engage in independent action.
Executive Directors
Penn Kemble (1968-1972) Charlotte Roe (1972-1977) Gene Lynch (1977-1978) Jessica Smith (1978-1985) Joel Klaverkamp (1985-1992) Cheryl Graeve (1992-1996)
1970s
Frontlash conducted its first voter registration campaign in 1968. Passage of the 26th Amendment in July 1970 lowered the voting age to 18. The AFL-CIO became, with only minor exceptions, Frontlash's financial backer and essentially took over the organization. Kemble, whose interest in the organization had waned, stepped down and Charlotte Roe became the group's executive director. Frontlash's 1972 voter registration effort was extensive, focusing on the top 12 most heavily industrialized states. Frontlash's strategy was to go door-to-door and register voters. The organization also co-sponsored a Youth In Politics Institute to teach high school students their rights as voters and motivate them to get involved in politics. Frontlash also worked with the United Federation of Teachers to produce a film about voting rights which was subsequently distributed to high schools across the country. Frontlash tended to register about 3 Democrats for every 1 Republican.
1980s
In the 1980s, Frontlash focused more on economic and social issues of concern to the AFL-CIO than voter registration. In 1981, it sold more than bumper stickers, buttons and T-shirts emblazoned with the Polish flag and the word Solidarność to raise money for the Polish Workers Aid Fund—a charity established by the AFL-CIO in 1980 to help the Polish trade union, Solidarity. Under its new executive director, Jessica Smith, Frontlash also opposed the subminimum wage proposed by the Reagan administration. Its two-year culminated in protests outside Burger King restaurants nationwide. The protests included the United States Students Association, College Democrats of America, the Gray Panthers, and the National Council of Senior Citizens. The protests drew nationwide media attention, and led the Reagan administration to abandon the proposed subminimum wage. Frontlash also supported the AFL-CIO's boycott of the Coors Brewing Company, stressing Coors's donations to organizations that supported cuts in federal student aid programs. Frontlash partnered with Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers promoting the 'Wrath of Grapes' campaign, focusing on labor and environmental injustices in the migrant worker population, especially in the grape vineyards of California and Arizona. Frontlash also partnered with the nascent youth service organization, City Year, in 1989 and provided workers and financial backing for the group in its first year.
Frontlash's third executive director, Joel Klaverkamp, expanded the organization's permanent presence into two additional states in 1987, bringing the total to 10.