Jun 07, 2008

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/