Richard L. Trumka, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., has a bold plan to reverse organized labor’s long slide: let millions of nonunion workers — and perhaps environmental, immigrant and other advocacy groups — join the labor federation. When the labor federation holds its convention in Los Angeles beginning on Sunday, he will ask its delegates for a green light to pursue these ambitious reforms. Needless to say, some within the labor movement view them as heretical.

Mr. Trumka says he believes that if unions are having a hard time increasing their ranks, they can at least restore their clout by building a broad coalition to advance a worker-friendly political and economic agenda. He has called for inviting millions of nonunion workers into the labor movement even if their own workplaces are not unionized. Not stopping there, he has proposed making progressive groups — like the NAACP; the Sierra Club; the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group; and MomsRising, an advocacy group for women’s and family issues — either formal partners or affiliates of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.

“The crisis for labor has deepened,” Mr. Trumka said in an interview. “It’s at a point where we really must do something differently. We really have to experiment.”

By crisis, he means myriad setbacks, including a steady loss of union membership, frequent defeats in organizing drives and unions being forced to accept multiyear wage freezes. Not only have labor leaders faced the embarrassing enactment of anti-union legislation in onetime labor strongholds like Wisconsin and Michigan, but they could not even win passage of legislation making it easier to unionize when President Obama was elected and the Democrats controlled the House and Senate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Obama administration officials have contacted energy experts in recent days to discuss oil market conditions as the president weighs a military strike against Syria, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. There are no signs the government is preparing to tap emergency oil reserves soon in a bid to tame rising prices, according to the sources who spoke with Reuters this week, though the administration is closely monitoring the situation.

Fears about Syria's civil war spilling over into other countries have helped propel international oil prices to their highest level in six months, rising more than $8 a barrel since the beginning of the month, and approaching a level that has slowed the global economy in the past. That has spurred early market chatter about whether Obama might tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, a 700 million barrel resource last used in 2011 after months of supply disruptions during the Arab Spring.

"I don't think a use of the SPR is either imminent or being strongly considered at this time," said one source who had spoken with administration officials as part of regular discussions with them about oil markets. "It probably wouldn't be unless the blowback from any strikes on Syria is more severe than anticipated," the source said.

Oil analysts have said a quick strike against Syria could push prices up to $125 to $130 a barrel, with Societe Generale saying prices could reach $150 a barrel if the crisis were to spill over into larger oil producing countries.

The Wisconsin State Senate Committee for Workforce Development, Forestry, Mining and Revenue passed SB 278 on a party line vote this morning. The bill allows Gogebic Taconite to close off 3,500 acres of Managed Forest Land for public access immediately upon enactment of the law without paying the withdrawal fees they would otherwise have to pay under current law.

During the executive session Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) called the bill and the process by which it is being fast tracked through the legislature with no input from citizens from Northern Wisconsin or other sporting and recreation groups that use the land “contemptuous.” Addressing his fellow senators, Jauch said, “It matters what the people think. It isn’t our government, it’s theirs. Citizens shouldn’t feel like they’re getting stiffed by their own legislature.”

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But the committee chair and the Capitol Police showed contempt for the public during the proceedings this morning. Access to land wasn’t the only thing blocked: Members of the public were temporarily prevented from entering the meeting room by Capitol Police officers, and a journalist was barred from filming inside the session by Senate staff.

Despite a state statute that says that during open sessions of legislative meetings “the body shall make a reasonable effort to accommodate any person desiring to record, film or photograph the meeting,” videographer Nicole Desautels was ordered to turn off her video camera at the beginning of the session.