Here is the comment I posted at the Seattle Times in response
to the article "SEIU's New Political Plan"
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/2008/06/seius_new_political_plan.html
Please forward this to appropriate labor and social justice
discussion listservs and bulletin boards and publications:
*******************
Out of more than 10,000 members of SEIU Local 221 (in San
Diego), only 56 voted for our convention delegates. More
members signed my delegate candidate nominating petition! A
committee of our provisional local’s appointed executive
board engineered this tiny low turnout by simply not telling
the membership where and when to vote. Most of the people
voting were members and friends of the unelected e-board
members who wanted to make sure they got themselves “elected”
to go to the convention in Puerto Rico. They clearly enjoy
having power and keeping it. They all say they believe in
union democracy.
But actions speak louder than words. All over SEIU these
undemocratic, indeed, these anti-union actions are speaking so
loudly that we can hardly hear ourselves think.
We pulled out of the AFL-CIO and split the labor movement
in North America, but I was never asked to vote on it. I, and
probably most of SEIU, would have voted “NO” because dividing
the labor movement, instead of building greater unity, is the
most stupid thing we could possibly do. The membership was
never asked.
My old local, Local 535 in California, was broken up and
we were forced to join 4 new locals, all with unelected
e-boards and officers. But Local 535 never voted to do that. A
tiny fraction of the members of all the locals statewide even
voted. Votes were not counted local by local. Restructuring in
California did not result in a rational, single statewide
public workers local. The rhetoric of increasing bargaining
strength through consolidation is just rhetoric. 535 was
already a statewide local, and it would have made sense to
merge all the smaller locals to form one powerful statewide
local, with proper attention to autonomy of community-level
chapters and district councils. But 535 was one of the
largest, most democratic and powerful local unions in SEIU. I
think that is why Andy Stern and his faction wanted us broken
up – to eliminate a power base that was not in his pocket. Our
union dues and staff time was devoted to “selling” a “yes”
vote on the statewide restructuring. No money was spent to
give members pro and con ballot information. This was immoral.
When we were forced to join Local 221 on 3/1/07, Stern’s
“personal representative”, Marc Earls, promised us a
constitutional convention within 6 months, and new elections.
Today, we still have unelected leadership. I have even heard
the excuse that the members are not “ready” for a
constitutional convention. Translation: Stern’s unelected team
does not trust the members. E-board meetings are held in
secret. Members are not even told the names and contact info
of e-board members. Stewards cannot get a roster of our fellow
stewards. Dissident rank and file leaders are kicked off
union-management committees without any vote or hearing, or
passed over when new committee members are appointed. Our
contracts and our labor laws are not enforced. Our unelected
leaders enjoy many trips, on our dues tab, and stay in fancy
hotels. We have an unelected committee holding secret meetings
to write a new constitution. They don’t even call it a
constitution committee. They call it a “bylaws” committee.
Corporations are governed by “bylaws”. Unions are governed by
constitutions. This is a symbol of what is wrong.
All over SEIU hundreds of elected local union leaders
have been replaced by Stern’s hand-picked appointees. It is
like a coup in progress. Stern tells the world it all is to
organize the unorganized and strengthen the labor movement.
But the methods are destructive of the goals. Vast numbers of
members now sneer at the idea that SEIU is even a real union.
They think it is becoming a company union: Suck-ups and
Employers for an Invisible Union (the new “SEIU”). How many
more secret sweetheart deals has Andy Stern made with major
employers, and which remain unexposed to the union membership
and to the world? Has Stern made secret deals with the
government also?
Long before we coined the word “union” workers held
meetings and democratically decided how to act in unison
toward our employers. That is where the word “union” comes
from: unity, built on democracy of, by, and for workers.
Somewhere along the way unions started to hire staff to help
with the work. Somewhere along the way people started to think
of the staff as the union, instead of the members. Power
corrupts.
Some union staff and officers think they know what is
best for workers. What is best for workers, all over the
world, can only be decided democratically by workers.
Democracy is not just a tyranny of majority rule, but requires
respect for the right of the minority to freely advocate for
the majority to change its mind. A democratic union does not
fire staff who disagree with a ‘party line’, and does not
purposely shut out a dissident minority from meetings, from
contract negotiation teams, from conventions. A democratic
union does not rig elections and conventions.
The bosses have long had the tactic of grooming labor
bosses to do their bidding, to tie our hands behind our backs,
to keep us thinking and acting like wage-slaves. We workers
have, time and again, found the will and the ways to push them
out of our way.
A democratic labor movement is still the future, the
destiny of humanity.
In solidarity from San Diego,
Monty Reed Kroopkin,
SEIU shop steward
and organizer for S.M.A.R.T. – SEIU Member Activists for
Reform Today http://www.reformseiu.org/
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