Populist Reform of the Democratic Party

argued that they should join, to try and change the AF of L from the inside.

One can read Matles book "Them and Us" (as well as others) for more info. If you haven't you probably should anyway. That and "Wanted: Men to Fill the Jails of Spokane: Fighting for Free Speech with the Hobo Agitators of the I.W.W". Both are educational, though the second one has nothing to do with the subject.

Some of the more experienced and passionate forces attempted to show that trying to change the business-oriented Federation would result in the destruction of the CIO, that the strength of the working person was in each other, but that they needed to control the decision making. The CIO (and the IWW folks among them) they were about as successful as Jimmy Carter was in getting everyone to recognize their self interest, and in the end the allied forces of business, trade unions, and the government destroyed their movement, and the CIO was subsumed into the AF of L. And here we are.

I suspect a "reform" would be a good way to keep busy while more people get used to living with less, but I don't see any force from inside being potentially as strong as what is happening outside, and I don't mean the other party, such as it is. And it isn't necessarily positive.