The results
are in from the internal union election at SEIU
Local 73 in Chicago. But the controversy is far from over… with allegations
of election misconduct filed just days after the ballot count.
Here’s what’s
happening:
On October
23rd, the votes were tallied in the mail-in balloting to elect the union’s top
officers and 30-member Executive Board. The election came after a two-year
trusteeship imposed
by SEIU President Mary Kay Henry
and a
2017 court battle launched by Local 73 members to bring an end to the
trusteeship. SEIU’s trusteeship featured a cast of well-known characters,
including Eliseo Medina.
Who won the
election?
SEIU’s
trustee, Dian Palmer. But by just
375 votes. Until recently, Palmer was the president of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin. She’s also a member of SEIU’s
International Executive Board. She beat out Remzi Jaos, a former staff member at Local 73. He’s part of a slate
called “Members leading Members”
slate, which pledged to return the union to local control.
As far as
the election for Local 73’s Executive Board, the “Members leading Members” slate
won eight of 30 seats.
Participation
in the election was very low. Only 2,300 ballots were cast from the union’s 25,000
members, who work in the public sector in Illinois and Northwestern Indiana.
Just 6 days
after the vote count, the “Members leading Members” slate formally appealed the
election. It also plans to file charges with the US Department of Labor over
alleged misconduct by SEIU officials during the election, including using the union’s
resources to campaign for SEIU’s candidates.
For more
details, check out a one-page leaflet from the “Members leading Members” slate
as well as the election appeal it filed earlier this week.
"Members leading Members" Leaflet on SEIU Local 73's Elections: October 2018 by tastysternburger on Scribd
Election Appeal regarding SEIU Local 73's Officer Elections (10-29-2018) by tastysternburger on Scribd
