Sources: Mary Kay Henry Delivers Body Blow to Regan and SEIU-UHW in Detroit

For months, SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan reportedly has been sharpening his knives in an effort to challenge Mary Kay Henry during SEIU’s officer elections at its International Convention, which concluded today in Detroit.

So what happened?

In the end, Mary Kay Henry appears to have delivered another damaging blow to Regan and SEIU-UHW... who reportedly left the convention even more marginalized than when they landed in Detroit just a handful of days earlier.

Here’s what Tasty’s sources say.

On the convention floor, Mary Kay Henry campaigned to win delegates' support to elect her “leadership team,” which was called “Henry Team 2016,” to a four-year term of office. Henry nominated a full slate of candidates for all of SEIU’s officer positions, including the president, secretary-treasurer, 7 executive vice presidents, and every seat on the International Executive Board.

In the run-up to the voting process, Henry circulated promo materials demonstrating that she’d already locked up the support of virtually every member of SEIU’s International Executive Board as well as dozens and dozens of SEIU local unions across the country.

Noticeably absent from the list of her supporters, of course, were any representatives of SEIU-UHW.

Immediately below is a pro-Henry piece that reads in part as follows:

Brothers and Sisters,

For more than six years, Mary Kay Henry has provided the vision, courage, and leadership our union needs to overcome the greatest challenges we have ever faced.

Mary Kay has demonstrated the willingness to make smart, tough decisions and the courage to act on them. She inspires us to focus not on what is, but what could be. She has steered our union on a course that has brought higher wages to millions of workers and new hope to millions of current and future members…

We are proud to support the re-election of Mary Kay Henry as our SEIU president, and to fight alongside her and her leadership team on behalf of our 2 million members and all working families in 2016 and the years ahead.

In Solidarity,

In a surprising twist, "Henry Team 2016" was prominently backed by Regan’s erstwhile allies at 1199NY -- including its president George Gresham, SEIU Executive Vice President Gerry Hudson, and multiple other 1199NY officials.

In fact, Henry nominated Hudson to serve as her Secretary-Treasurer.

Henry's leadership team also was backed by another of Regan's erstwhile allies, Meg "I Love the Boss" Niemi.

Sources say Regan was so marginalized and outmaneuvered that when the time came for delegates to nominate and vote for candidates from the convention floor, Regan and SEIU-UHW’s entire delegation stood up and walked out of the convention hall.

Here’s a photo taken by one source soon after the SEIU-UHW delegation walked out of the convention. 

One source called SEIU-UHW “the stepchild of the Union” who “were reduced to nothing.” “What a shame, they weren’t mentioned once,” says the source.

Here are more photos of propaganda that Mary Kay Henry’s supporters circulated at the convention.

What’s next for Regan in his even more marginalized position?

Stay tuned!

The following are members of the SEIU International Executive Board who backed "Henry Team 2016."