How do the unions expect us to join up when they are too busy infighting amongst themselves?

One of the most influential progressive political groups in Fresno, which is also the largest union of organized workers in this community, is in the midst of a radical transformation. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) took over the United Healthcare Workers (UHW) local on January 27, 2009. In the Fresno area, there are about 10,000 workers at Kaiser, homecare providers, and employees in long term care facilities who are affected by this hostile takeover. There are 150,000 UHW members statewide.

At the center of the dispute is the issue of how democratically unions are run, how well they represent the interests of the members, and the pace at which the union grows. The International wanted to take all of the homecare workers (including about 8,000 in Fresno) out of UHW and put them into a mega-local that represented homecare workers throughout the state. UHW leadership fought the International, because they believed the contracts they won for homecare workers were better than the wages and benefits they would receive through the new mega-local. When UHW put the issue to a vote late last year, 98% of those who cast a ballot wanted to stay with the UHW.

In late January, the International sent UHW an ultimatum demanding that homecare workers be transferred into the new mega-union. When UHW leadership responded that they would be willing to cooperate with the transfer if their members were allowed to hold a democratic vote on the matter, the International put them into a trusteeship and removed the elected leadership of UH.

It’s all politics. Sadly.

A New Union is Formed

The decision to form a new national healthcare union comes after Andy Stern and other SEIU leaders rejected the compromise proposal from UHW to end the conflict with California healthcare workers. UHW’s compromise proposal would have enabled California healthcare workers to work within SEIU by guaranteeing that caregivers had the right to a fair vote before being transferred from one SEIU local union to another and that healthcare workers, rather than bureaucratic outsiders from Washington, would control the collective bargaining relationship with their Employer.

“For decades, healthcare workers in California have wanted to be part of a democratic, progressive movement that would raise standards for care givers and the patients and residents we serve. Events over the last several days have proven that’s not possible in SEIU,” said Angela Glasper, a 20-year optical services clerk from Kaiser Permanente. “Healthcare workers deserve to be part of a union that healthcare workers control democratically, not one that is led by a handful of outsiders from Washington D.C.”

The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) is the successor to United Healthcare Workers West (UHW) the oldest healthcare workers union in the country.

Exactly. Too many of the unions that represent health care workers, represent the interest of competing players. This isn’t good. The very idea of having a union to speak for it’s members includes, among other things, LISTENING to the members.