Here’s a one-minute
video that captures the moment at last weekend’s national “Fight for $15” convention when organizers
attempted to deliver a letter to SEIU
President Mary Kay Henry to protest her
refusal to allow them to join SEIU’s staff union.
The footage,
recorded by C-SPAN, begins with Henry speaking from the stage at the Greater
Richmond Convention Center… and then shows reportedly 100 “Fight for $15”
organizers and supporters trying to make their way to the stage.
At first, Henry attempts to ignore the organizers and continues with her speech. The
organizers, carrying signs that say “$15 Minimum Wage and Union Rights for All
Means FF15 Organizers Too!,” are blocked on their way to the stage, a sign is ripped
from their hands, and parts of the crowd chant “Fight for $15” in an effort to suppress the protesters.
According to a news article, security guards subsequently removed the "Fight for $15" organizers from the convention.
According to a news article, security guards subsequently removed the "Fight for $15" organizers from the convention.
Since April,
Henry has refused the organizers’ request to allow them to join a staff union, the
“Union of Union Representatives”
(UUR), which already represents SEIU’s organizers across the nation.