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In keeping with the pledge that had been divulged earlier this week, five key dissident unions within the AFL-CIO have decided to form their own group, called the Change to Win Coalition. The move is widely viewed as the first step toward a split in the 50-year-old AFL-CIO. It is unclear yet what impact a potential fragmentation of the AFL-CIO will have on local affiliates, such as the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which stands to lose thousands of militant, recently organized immigrant workers, and could be financially crushed. It is believed, however, that local leaders may wish to maintain the structure of their unions, even if a national-level split does occur.