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| SEIU President Mary Kay Henry at SEIU's 2016 Convention |
On Sunday,
SEIU will begin a three-day convention in Detroit, Michigan where union leaders
will select SEIU’s officers and vote on a union-wide “program” for the next four
years.
As usual,
the convention will feature heavy doses of purple swagger and hoaky gimmicks
like exploding confetti cannons.
Take, for
example, the title for SEIU’s union-wide program for the next four years: the
“Unstoppable Program to Win for Working People” (UPWWP).
No joke.
Among other
giant steps forward for the working class, the UPWWP will boldly establish an
“SEIU Innovation Center” and a “21st Century Blueprint Committee.”
In case you’re
wondering, it’s apparently no longer necessary for workers to focus on things
like building rank-and-file organization, solidarity, and industry-wide power
to take on ever-more-powerful corporations.
Instead, “21st
century innovation” is the key to workers’ power.
SEIU’s
“Innovation Center” -- which sounds a lot like “The
Workers Lab,” the Silicon Valley-styled “business incubator” recently set
up by David
Rolf and other SEIU officials -- will “develop, manage and drive
experiments to create the next form of organization for working people,”
according to a conference resolution to be presented next week.
SEIU
officials are actively scouring the business practices of Apple, Google, and
the tech sector...
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| An image from the SEIU Convention floor |
On Sunday,
SEIU officials will distribute conference materials describing their
efforts to harness the power of smartphones and new technologies… and to “reverse
engineer all campaigns across the union to ensure that we get the best strategic
thinking possible.”
Along with 21st century innovation, convention-goers may be treated to some
old-school infighting among SEIU’s top officials.
Tasty hears that an anti-Mary Kay Henry faction headed by Gerry Hudson and Dave Regan has been sharpening its knives in the run-up to the
convention.
Prior to
SEIU’s convention in 2012, sources said Hudson
contemplated an effort to unseat Henry after she reportedly stripped him of
many responsibilities and also considered removing Hudson from her slate of
candidates. Hudson serves as one of six “Executive Vice Presidents,” the
union’s highest officers after its president and secretary-treasurer.
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| SEIU signage with "SEIU Unstoppable" logos |
Hudson is a
former top official at SEIU 1199 New
York, where he retains the support of 1199NY President George
Gresham. In recent months, Gresham also has lent support to Regan in
his battles with Mary Kay Henry.
Could Hudson
and Regan mount a successful challenge to Henry?
Unlikely.
Henry
enjoys support from a majority of SEIU locals. Furthermore, her transfer of
60,000 long-term care workers out of Regan’s local and into SEIU Local 2015, which is run by
Henry’s ally Laphonza Butler, has
strengthened Henry’s hand on the convention floor.
Stay tuned
for more news about confetti cannons and other 21st century innovations
from the SEIU convention.
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| Inside the Detroit Convention Center |
