AFSCME Approves Resolution for Possible Merger with SEIU

SEIU's Mary Kay Henry and AFSCME's Lee Saunders

Delegates to AFSCME’s international convention in Las Vegas (July 18-22) approved a resolution to form “unity partnerships” with SEIU and to explore a full-blown merger with the purple union, according to a newsletter distributed to convention delegates. 

In May, delegates to SEIU’s international convention approved an identical resolution.

On July 20, delegates to AFSCME's convention followed suit by approving Resolution 53: “AFSCME and SEIU: Unstoppable Unions that Never Quit.” 

A full copy of the AFSCME resolution is available below.

The AFSCME resolution generated some controversy among convention delegates.

For example, AFSCME Local 2507 (New York) reports it was “not happy” with the language in line 63 of the resolution (on third page), which directs AFSCME to explore “an institutional merger” with SEIU. Local 2507 tried to remove this language at the committee level, “but did not have enough support to remove said language.”

The now-approved resolution paves the way for a full-blown merger while immediately calling for the establishment of “unity partnerships” between the two unions at local, state, and national levels to carry out joint planning, organizing, bargaining, and political work.

According to the resolution, the “unity partnerships” are supposed to carry out the following kinds of activities:

joint goal setting and planning; joint bargaining and representational activities where we have a common employer and coordinated bargaining where we represent workers in the same industry and labor market; joint setting of priorities and strategies where we deal with the same legislative and/or administrative bodies; joint political activity where we share an interest in electoral outcomes; and joint communication, legal, mobilization and research strategies and activities to support our work

A full-blown merger “must be recommended by both International Executive Boards and shall be submitted to a vote in accordance with each union’s constitution and bylaws” …although it’s unclear who would participate in such a vote.

Stay tuned.

  AFSCME's Resolution to Integrate with SEIU: 7-20-2016

Merger between SEIU and AFSCME?

SEIU's Mary Kay Henry and AFSCME's Lee Saunders

Here’s another item from the recently concluded SEIU Convention in Detroit:  the resolution calling for SEIU and AFSCME to work collaboratively and to explore a full-blown merger. A full copy of the resolution is below.

The proposal reportedly has been under discussion for a year by a committee formed by the two unions.

According to Tasty’s sources, the two unions’ merger discussions are driven by concerns about Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, the U.S. Supreme Court case that could weaken public-sector unions by challenging their right to collect fair share fees from nonmembers to cover the costs of representation, such as negotiating contracts.

Together, SEIU and AFSCME represent approximately 3 million public-sector workers.

In December of 2015, the two unions held a first-ever meeting between their lawyers “to share ideas and best practices to deal with issues confronting all public employees, such as Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association…” 

The three-day event began with a panel discussion by SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, Steve Fantauzzo (Chief of Staff to AFSCME President Lee Saunders), and each union’s general counsel.

In February, the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia left the court deadlocked on the Friedrichs case, with Senate Republicans subsequently refusing to consider Obama’s nominee to fill the vacant seat.

Scalia’s death appears to have slowed the two unions’ plan for a full merger. The resolution approved at SEIU’s convention holds open the possibility of a full-blown merger while immediately calling for the establishment of “unity partnerships” between the two unions at the local, state, and national levels in order to carry out joint planning, organizing, bargaining, and political work.

These “unity partnerships” sound a lot like the “unity councils” established by former SEIU President Andy Stern, which were intended to coordinate activities between SEIU locals. 

However, Stern’s manipulation of the “unity councils” -- including the Purple Palace’s blunt rigging of their votes -- was one of the actions that pushed California healthcare workers to rebel against SEIU’s top officials in 2008.

The following are excerpts from the resolution recently passed at SEIU’s convention, entitled “AFSCME and SEIU: Unstoppable Unions that Never Quit.” 

In a stunning display of their newfound coordination, the resolution’s title manages to include both SEIU’s and AFSCME’s 2016 convention themes: “Unstoppable” and “Never Quit.” Tasty can only imagine the multiple planning meetings needed to devise convention themes that could be wrapped together into a single resolution title!

AFSCME will presumably consider a similar resolution at its upcoming International Convention in Las Vegas on July 18-22. Here are the excerpts:

Our vision requires the creation of “unity partnerships” at the national, state and local levels. Unity partnerships may include some or all of the following activities: joint goal setting and planning; joint bargaining and representational activities where we have a common employer and coordinated bargaining where we represent workers in the same industry and labor market; joint setting of priorities and strategies where we deal with the same legislative and/or administrative bodies; joint political activity where we share an interest in electoral outcomes; and joint communication, legal, mobilization and research strategies and activities to support our work…

Based on the durability and effectiveness of the partnerships that are developed at the national, state and local levels, we will explore ways to deepen and expand our collaborative efforts, including consideration of an institutional merger that would formally unite the strengths of both our unions to create a new entity…

Our unions will convene a joint committee to foster the collaboration that we envision and to review and modify our process as needed. The International Executive Boards of SEIU and AFSCME shall be empowered to modify or end the collaboration between our unions described in this resolution. Any proposed structural changes must be recommended by both international Executive Boards and shall be submitted to a vote in accordance with each union’s constitution and bylaws.

While the last sentence references “a vote,” it doesn’t indicate who would be allowed to participate in the votes.

  SEIU Resolution on Cooperation and Possible Merger with AFSCME: May 2016

SEIU Convention Resolution on Democratizing U.S. Presidential Endorsement Process Is Sent to SEIU's Circular File

At SEIU’s 2016 convention in Detroit, SEIU members raised concerns about union democracy inside SEIU… which were quickly quashed by a committee headed by members of SEIU’s International Executive Board.

Here’s what happened.

SEIU Local 1021 -- which represents 45,000 public-sector workers in Northern California -- presented a convention resolution that would have given rank-and-file union members a say in determining SEIU’s endorsement of US presidential candidates instead of simply allowing SEIU’s International Executive Board (IEB) to make the decision.

Local 1021’s resolution follows months of criticism directed at SEIU’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

On November 17, 2015, SEIU’s IEB endorsed Clinton even though large numbers of SEIU members had submitted petitions requesting a postponement of any endorsement due to support for Bernie Sanders.

A Politico article published in late 2015, “SEIU Battles over Bernie,” summarized the developments this way:

Fearful that the powerful labor union could soon endorse Hillary Clinton, supporters of Vermont Senator have petitioned top leaders to hold off on endorsing a candidate.

In another sign of discontent, SEIU Local 1984 -- which represents public-sector workers in the state of New Hampshire -- announced its endorsement of Sanders just two days after SEIU International endorsed Clinton ("New Hampshire SEIU Branch Backs Sanders”).

This recent history appears to be what caused SEIU Local 1021 to propose “Resolution 223” to the SEIU convention in Detroit, which ended earlier this week. The resolution reads in part as follows (full copy is below):

Clinton at SEIU's 2016 Convention in Detroit

Whereas: the democratic tradition in our nation and in our labor movement is founded on the idea that every person, every voice, every voter has a right to be heard; and…

Whereas: there is a crisis in government and voting with many feeling that the system is rigged, that their vote does not count and their voices not heard in the electoral process; and…

Whereas: the institution of the union must trust and engage the rank and file to discuss, debate and vote on their endorsement recommendation for President of the United State; and

Whereas: the union must demonstrate to the candidates for President of the United States the importance of being accountable to working people and our families by creating a process for endorsement for President of the United States that is democratic, inclusive, and accountable to the rank-and-file;

Therefore be it resolved that: SEIU International will develop a direct system of voting where all members may cast a vote for their preferred candidate for President of the United States using technology or another tool for vote casting and counting; and

Therefore be it further resolved that: the SEIU International will develop a committee of members from throughout the country to create an endorsement process and timeline, and the necessary infrastructure for direct member feedback on issues and endorsements for the President of United States and a process for the 2020 election cycle.

So what happened to the resolution?

It never saw the light of day.

Under SEIU’s rules, only resolutions approved by a small committee of SEIU officials are permitted onto the convention floor for debate and voting by delegates.

In this case, SEIU’s 19-person “Resolutions Committee” -- headed by SEIU IEB member Hector “AirBnB” Figueroa and including IEB members Meg Niemi and Marge Faville Robinson -- refused to send the resolution to the convention floor and instead “referred” it to the IEB for future discussion.

Translation?

It was sent to the circular file.

  SEIU Convention Resolution 223 on Democracy and Member Voices: May2016

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."

SEIU Officials Raid Millions from Workers' Strike Fund

Some of Tasty's readers asked for more information about the following statement by one of the Purple Palace's picketing office workers:

"If SEIU was hurting financially, things would be different,” said Virginia Rodino, Chief Steward for the 148-member OPEIU Local 2 unit at SEIU. “But they just got done at our national convention saying how well they’re doing, so to demand a 3-year wage freeze just feels like a slap in the face…"

So…. why is SEIU rolling in the dough in the middle of the biggest recession since the 1930s?

Well, it may be related to a little-known raid by SEIU officials on millions of dollars of membership dues that are supposed to be going into SEIU’s strike fund.

Here's what's happening.

Over the past two decades, SEIU's Andy Stern and Mary Kay Henry have sharply boosted each member’s dues and then steered more and more of this money to SEIU’s DC headquarters.  

In fact, since 2000, SEIU has more than doubled the amount of dues that each member sends to the Purple Palace. And the total dues funneled into SEIU's DC headquarters has nearly tripled from $100 million in 2000 to $293 million in 2011, according to annual reports filed with the US Department of Labor.

Despite this giant sucking sound from SEIU’s headquarters in Washington DC, it turns out that Mary Kay Henry and Andy Stern want even more money from SEIU members! That's why they've implemented two little-known schemes to raid tens of millions of dollars from SEIU members' strike fund.

Here’s what happening: 

Under SEIU’s constitution, a portion of each member’s monthly dues payments is supposed to be deposited into a strike fund to benefit workers. In 2008, Andy Stern raided millions of dollars from the strike fund and funneled the money into SEIU's general operating budget. Then, in June of 2012, Mary Kay Henry conducted an even bigger raid by implementing “Constitutional Amendment #405,” which Tasty has posted below.

The amendment empowers the Purple Palace to seize each member’s full contribution to SEIU’s strike fund (40 cents per month) and to then funnel the money into an SEIU political fund. Now... 40 cents per member per month may not sound like a lot of money. But when you multiply it by nearly 2 million members, it adds up to lots of cold, hard cash.

Let’s do the math:  $0.40 per member per month x 12 months x 1,921,768 members = $9.2 million per year.

Here’s part of what Constitutional Amendment #405 says (full text below):

Beginning January 2013, the International Union shall use from the per capita tax the sum of 40 cents per member per month on all monthly dues received by the Local Union in the Strike and Defense Fund for the purpose of maintaining a fund to support the International Union’s program to elect and hold accountable national public officials for a pro-working family agenda.

So, do SEIU's members even know that the Purple Palace is raiding their strike fund? Unlikely. As far as Tasty can tell, SEIU's officials have never made this information available to the membership.

So, for all of you SEIU members out there, here's the full text of the amendment. And if you want more background on these issues, check out this report written by NUHW’s leaders in 2008 in which they criticized SEIU officials for precisely this kind of power grab.
SEIU's Raid on Workers' Strike Fund during 2012 Convention -- Constitutional Amendment #405
 

More Purple Palace Intrigue

Tasty hears that staffers inside the Purple Palace are nervously whispering about reports that SEIU President Mary Kay Henry has axed another person from her slate of candidates for SEIU's upcoming convention.

Who's the latest reported victim? Mitch Ackerman. (Tasty already reported about MKH's actions against Gerry Hudson.)

And who's Ackerman? In 2009, Andy Stern appointed him as one of SEIU's six "Executive Vice Presidents" -- the highest positions inside the Purple Palace after SEIU's President and Secretary-Treasurer. Following his appointment, Ackerman quickly settled into a cushy office where he busily counted his $300,000-a-year salary, which is virtually identical to Dave Regan's.

Everything was going swimmingly for Ackerman until 2010, when Stern resigned as SEIU's president and Ackerman made the fatal mistake of throwing his support behind Anna Burger during the ensuing succession struggle. And that's apparently why Mary Kay is axing him.

In fact, soon after Henry moved into Stern's presidential suite, she made her first move against Ackerman by removing him from his assignment as head of SEIU's Property Services Division. Henry then assigned Ackerman to run SEIU's South-Southwest Region, which she's now reportedly planning to eliminate -- which will effectively leave Ackerman "S.O.L."

Mary Kay's power play against Ackerman carries a special sting for the Mitch, who spent many years working at SEIU Local 105 in Denver, Colorado. In several months, Denver is precisely where Mary Kay will preside over SEIU's upcoming convention that'll leave Ackerman facing an unknown future.

SEIU Hit by Multi-Million-Dollar Spending Scandal

SEIU officials are pulling the plug on a failed scheme that wasted an estimated $20-$25 million of members’ dues dollars over the past three years, according to this internal SEIU memo that's discussed in this recent article. Here's what happened.

Remember the 2008 SEIU Convention in Puerto Rico? That’s where SEIU officials pushed through their “bold” idea of building nationwide 1-800 call centers to handle members’ grievances. They also decided to centralize local unions’ accounting, dues-collection and other "back-office services" into a national business office controlled by SEIU International.

Stern and Mary Kay Henry predicted that, by 2012, one million SEIU members would be participating in this new scheme. They even re-wrote SEIU’s constitution to permanently cement the new centralized system into SEIU.

After the 2008 convention, they set up a for-profit corporation called “Member Action Service Center (MASC).” They then got $2 million in tax breaks from the State of Michigan and pumped millions of dollars of SEIU members’ dues money into their for-profit venture.

One small problem: it was a massive failure. The price? An estimated $15-$20 million of wasted dues. Check out SEIU’s internal memo, which has statements like this:

“SEIU’s finance staff estimates that we will have spent $14 million in setting up and operating the MASC in its first year.” (p. 6)

“In no scenario we reviewed was the MASC self sufficient and no scenario included any possibility that SEIU’s investment would be recovered in the foreseeable future.” (p. 6)

"The President should appoint someone to develop a contingency plan that will prepare us for shutting down the operation... a course of action to mitigate the financial impact of a shutdown and the impact on locals already enrolled." (p. 11)

Tasty's got a few simple questions:

Will SEIU officials be held accountable for flushing $20-$25 million of members' dues money down the toilet?

If Bruce Raynor got axed for $2,300 in dinner receipts, shouldn't Mary Kay Henry, Eliseo Medina and Tom DeBruin pay a price for flushing millions of dues dollars down the drain?

Why have SEIU officials hidden the news of this financial fiasco from the membership?

Mary Kay? Eliseo? Tom? Your turn now…