SEIU in the News

Below are excerpts of print and broadcast coverage about the Service Employees International Union. To read the full article, click on the link below.

THE SEIU AND DEMOCRACY

Union organizers play dirty
In announcing their union's departure from the AFL-CIO, (SEIU) chief Andrew Stern and Teamsters boss James Hoffa declared that union officials must ramp up militant organizing tactics - and top down organizing in particular. Top-down organizing involves all-out blitzes against nonunion companies, including barrages of negative publicity, costly lawsuits and political pressure until management agrees to cooperate with union organizers in coercing workers to join the union and beginning to bargain without even so much as a vote.
Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Opinion, Monterey County Herald -- Sept. 5, 2005
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SEIU Using Intimidation To Expand Membership Rolls
SEIU seems bent on unionizing workers whether they want it or need it, and apparently, will say and do almost anything to make that happen, regardless of who gets hurt.
Steve Milloy, The New York Sun -- June 13, 2005
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Teamsters, SEIU to Bolt AFL-CIO
"It's a shame for working people that before the first vote has been cast, four unions have decided that if they can't win, they won't show up for the game," [AFL-CIO President John] Sweeney said. The rhetoric was unusually personal, in part because dissident leader Andy Stern of the SEIU is a former Sweeney protege.
Ron Fournier, Associated Press -- July 25, 2005
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Not-So-Big Labor Enlists New Methods For Greater Leverage
."We don't do elections," says Mike Fishman, president of Local 32BJ of the SEIU, which represents more than 75,000 window cleaners, doormen and janitors... Mr. Fishman's group in recent years has pressed employers in whole regions.for card-check agreements that allowed them to rapidly add new members.
Timothy Aeppel, The Wall Street Journal -- August 29, 2005
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Lou Dobbs Tonight
"You know, it's pretty obvious to us that this group didn't get what they wanted through the democratic process, and that was control of the AFL-CIO. So they walked off the playing field rather than play the game."
Richard Trumka, Secretary Treasurer, AFL-CIO
Interview on CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight July 25, 2005
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ABM Industries Press Release
"As we've said all along, we would welcome a resolution of the Houston situation," said ABM CEO Henrik Slipsager. "If the workers in Houston wish to have an election on whether to organize, we'll gladly support such an outcome.

"We're mystified as to what is truly driving the SEIU's actions here, but we cannot -- and will not -- compromise our workers' rights. We have a long track record of treating our workers well. We're one of the most unionized companies in the industry. And we're willing to conduct a secret ballot election, consistent with America's time-honored tradition of permitting its citizens to vote in private in every election from local school boards to U.S. President.

"Our position remains very simple: The workers must be treated fairly and the laws must be followed. We are very disappointed that SEIU has chosen to violate the terms of its labor agreements in several cities over the past week," he added.
Press Release by ABM Industries Inc. -- July 27, 2005
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THE SEIU AND RESPECT FOR LABOR LAW

Labor dispute heating up in Edison
"The tactic this union is using is like blackmail, they oppose our projects unless we use them as the union," said Dominick Alfieri, whose family has owned the company for 51 years.An Alfieri cleaning contractor filed unfair labor charges last month against SEIU Local 32BJ, accusing it of violating national labor laws by threatening members of another union [UFCW Local 348S].

"With regards to employees who have chosen other unions, Local 32BJ's actions are scandalous," [Glen] Smith [a lawyer working with Alfieri and Raritan,] said.. "They go out and tell these employees that if they don't change their mind, if they do not switch over to Local 32BJ, the local is going to make sure it forces the contractor out of the location and the people will lose their jobs."
Patrick Jenkins, The Star-Ledger - Sept. 18, 2005
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Rival raiding membership, union says
The United Domestic Workers of America, based in San Diego, filed the unfair labor practice charge with the California Public Employee Relations Board. It says the Service Employees Internal Union mounted a deceptive membership drive with the aim of forcing a so-called decertification election.

The formal charge escalates an already bitter power struggle between the two unions, which are competing to represent home-care workers in California.

A spokesperson for AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which oversees the UDW, said that SEIU Local 434B in Los Angeles is coordinating a "campaign of lies and deception."

"UDW-AFCME home-care workers across the state were tricked and coerced into signing membership cards with Local 434B," said Michael Zucker, director for strategic research for the AFCSME. "What the overwhelming majority of the UDW workers did not know is the SEIU was using these cards to attempt to force a decertification election of their own union."

"This activity is unethical and illegal, and we are asking the state to intervene."
Penni Crabtree, The San Diego Union-Tribune -- Sept. 1, 2005
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THE SEIU AND OTHER UNIONS
City workers have the right to collective bargaining, and one organization sees a chance to get a leg up on another

The two unions have been locked in a fierce battle to capture the hearts, minds - and checkbooks - of 14,000 city workers. The union that can eventually sign up the majority wins the right to represent them.

In any other year, the competition between the unions might not be so raw. But SEIU's departure from the AFL-CIO this summer means the gloves are off.

And much to the consternation of other labor unions, the service employees union, which just talked five of Houston's biggest janitorial companies to step aside while it organizes their workers, is no longer bound by the anti-poaching rules.

SEIU should be building the union movement with new members, not raiding other unions, said Richard Shaw, secretary treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO.

To AFSCME [, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees], which has had an informal bargaining agreement with the city for decades, the fact that there is even a fight is outrageous.

"I know these guys," said Greg Powell, [administrator for AFSCME Local 1550 in Houston,] who was an SEIU organizer 20 years ago in Chicago. "I know these tactics. They give everyone in organized labor a bad name. They make all kinds of promises but don't deliver, and then employees quit in frustration.

L.M Sixel, Houston Chronicle -- Sept. 5, 2005
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Union has sights set on Houston: SEIU pumps resources, efforts into organizing
With two breakaway union turning up the heat in Houston, there is bound to be friction between more than just workers and management.

SEIU, which is making a play for 14,000 Houston city hall workers, has also antagonized many longtime local labor leaders with the AFL-CIO.

"At this point, I feel betrayed," said Richard Shaw, secretary-treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO. "They basically stabbed another union in the back. I expected better from SEIU International."

L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle -- Oct. 23, 2005
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THE SEIU AND PROMISES TO WORKERS

Workers at Oregon Department of Transportation may break away from SEIU
"SEIU Local 503 is so involved with political and social issues that it has not dealt with wages, benefits and working conditions. We feel that is dividing us as to what we need to do for ourselves as an organization. It's none of our business whether we are Democrats or Republicans."
Craig Chadwick, spokesperson for disgruntled SEIU-led workers at the Oregon Department of Transportation
Associated Press Newswires -- May 23, 2005
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City workers have the right to collective bargaining, and one organization sees a chance to get a leg up on another
[Greg] Powell [, administrator for AFSCME Local 1550 in Houston,] said SEIU is promising a lot more than it can deliver. For example, Powell said, one of the SEIU's claims on its Web site and in visits with city employees is that it is going to get workers better pensions. But they can't, he said.

By law, pensions are specifically excluded from negotiations.

[Norm] Yen, [state director of SEIU in Texas,] agreed that pensions are carved out, but he believes his union can still do something to improve the retirement program.

"We can still bring pubic pressure to bear," Yen said, citing full-page newspaper ads the union ran in the midst of its Justice for Janitors campaign this summer.
L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle -- Sept. 5, 2005
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THE SEIU PRESSURE CAMPAIGNS

No: Unions shouldn't be required

In previous decades, U.S. labor policy recognized that Big Labor's power to bargain on behalf of workers who choose not to join a union, as well as those who do, is extraordinary. That's why union officials normally had to clear the hurdle of a secret ballot election before receiving monopoly bargaining privileges.

But in recent years employees who have grown increasingly concerned about forced unionism abuses - including featherbedding, wasteful work rules, job losses, union corruption, and political crusades - have naturally also become less apt to vote for unionization. In response, Big Labor is resorting more and more frequently to coercive tactics known as "neutrality" and "card check" agreements...Rather than dream up new ways to impose unionization on employees from the top down, union organizers
Bradenton Herald -- Dec. 19, 2005
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Labor pit bull: The Service Employees International Union surges ahead

"We know the labor movement is dying unless we go out and create new places. What are we going to do? Die with our last member?"
Rob Schuler, President of SEIU Local 11
John Dorschner, The Miami Herald -- Sept. 5, 2005
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Stern won't say exactly how much the national union is sinking into its Local 11 effort, but it's part of an overall [US]$20 million strategy for the southern rim, from Arizona to Florida.
John Dorschner, The Miami Herald -- Sept. 5, 2005
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SEIU hires activist from a new school
SEIU isn't the only union to use unconventional labor tactics, but the service workers are more likely than others to take radical action, said Steve Adams, president of the Colorado AFL-CIO. "They don't start breaking heads, but they interrupt the flow of the norm. I think this is the new radicalism in union organizing."
Tom McGhee, Denver Post -- August 2, 2005
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Allutiiq Officials React to SEIU Orchestrated Campaign Against Native Owned Company
'The SEIU's allegations are just another tactic in a barrage of unwarranted attacks by a union against an Alaska-Native owned company trying to do its part in helping keep our military infrastructure safe and secure."
Sarah Lukin, spokesperson for Allutiq
U.S. Newswire -- Sept. 7, 2005
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Loyal to the purple; Sacramento council blinded by union's colors
The council decided to bring back for consideration a hospital regulation resolution ("community benefit principles" that pertain to facility expansions). Under these "principles," the council would become arbiters of whether a hospital has fair billing and debt collection practices and appropriate nurse staffing. Most crucial for The Purple [SEIU], the "principles" would in effect require that hospitals silence themselves when the SEIU or any other union seeks to represent facility employees.
Editorial, The Sacramento Bee -- October 10, 2005
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First says campaign won't derail firm's plans
Last night a FirstGroup spokesman lambasted the unions and said their campaign would only damage the company and, ultimately workers and their members.

He said the campaign was organized by the SEIU, using a budget of more than £8million, to boost its membership at First's US subsidiary First Student, which runs yellow school buses. This summer, a delegation from the U.S. staged a protest at FirstGroup's annual meeting in Aberdeen.

The spokesman said: "The reality is that the whole campaign is nothing to do with standards. It is a very aggressive campaign which they have pledged to continue until we sign away the rights of our staff in the United States to a secret ballot on trade union membership.
Andrew, Hebden, Aberdeen Press & Journal -- Sept. 27, 2005
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US Unions step up battle against First's yellow bus expansion
A spokesperson for FirstGroup said the American [SEIU] union's campaign."was an attempt to win negotiating rights above the heads of employees. They want us to sign away the rights of our staff who have so far chosen not to be members of the SEIU. Our employees represent a lot of potential revenue for the union. That's what it's all about and that's why they are trying to bully us."
Barrie Clement, The Independent -- Oct. 19, 2005
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SEIU Knocks Black Caucus for Wal-Mart Outreach
In a rare rebuke of a generally labor friendly group of Members, the Service Employees International Union last week sent a letter to members of the Congressional Black Caucus. It chided them for giving retail giant Wal-Mart "an opportunity to fashion a false image as a friend of African Americans and working people generally."

While some members of the caucus said they didn't give the letter much thought, some CBC members and aides said the letter hit a sour tone. And advocates for Wal-Mart in Washington, D.C. immediately took issue with the letter.

"My whole concern is the paternalistic tone of the letter, using words like 'disappointment,'" said a source familiar with the letter.

This source added that some CBC members had received a call from labor officials before a recent CBC political action committee reception, encouraging the CBC not to accept donations from Wal-Mart. "Who's to say that tomorrow its not UPS or McDonalds" that the union wants to distance members from, the source added.
Kate Ackey, Roll Call -- May 10, 2005
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Architect of rebellion: Stern led defectors from AFL-CIO, which has led to more Stern detractors
Several years ago the Service Employees International Union, a giant union that does not like to lose, approached Advocate Health Care, the Chicago area's largest health-care chain, with a deal. They would become Advocate's partner in helping hospitals fight for better health care.

But they also wanted to sign up Advocate's 24,000 workers without a battle.

Advocate wasn't interested, however, and war ensued.

The union issued damning reports, picketed executives' homes, got sympathetic legislators to launch investigations and turned out at hearings to oppose initiatives ranging from bond offerings to new buildings. Advocate's officials were upset by the union's tactics.

In Illinois, the union had been trying for years to organize home care workers who contract with the state, but the Republican-controlled state house balked.

"There's this congressman, Rod Blagojevich," Balanoff recalled telling Stern. "I don't know if he can be elected but maybe if we could help him in a big way," he would help the union.

"Andy just pushed me," Balanoff said. "`You gotta take the risk. We gotta figure out how to use politics to allow workers to raise themselves.'"

The international kicked in about half of the nearly $1 million SEIU contributed to Blagojevich's successful election campaign. And the payoff was big--recognition of 49,000 child-care workers and 20,000 home health-care workers.

At Advocate, hospital officials question the sincerity of SEIU's accusations.

"Since we weren't willing to deliver our workers, suddenly we've become racists, deliverers of bad care, and misers," said spokesman Tony Mitchell. "It's become a relentless attack."

But Balanoff makes no apologies for the heat.

"Advocate is the biggest chain in this city, certain responsibilities come with being the biggest,"
Stephen Franklin and Barbara Rose, Chicago Tribune - July 31, 2005
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