New Political and Economic Heavyweight to Fight Cuts in Patient Care and Worker Pay

WASHINGTON, DC--The International Executive Board of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) today voted overwhelmingly to adopt the recommendations of an outside hearing officer, based on a policy first established at the 2000 SEIU Convention eight years ago, to have home care and nursing home workers in three SEIU local unions in California unite into a single local union to create the nation's largest and most powerful organization of long term care workers - 240,000 strong.

"The evolution of SEIU jurisdictional policy and practice since the 2000 SEIU Convention demonstrates a clear trend toward consolidating SEIU local unions on industrial and geographical lines," wrote Leonard Page, former General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, in his report to the IEB. "By implementing its jurisdictional policy, SEIU has been able to create local unions of the size and resources to successfully mount the organizing, political and collective bargaining campaigns that have delivered for members.... My recommendation is that, for the present, California long term care members should have their own SEIU local union devoted exclusively to the needs of these workers."

The Board vote affirms a broad SEIU policy set by the elected representatives of SEIU members at its Convention in 2000 and re-affirmed in 2004. In June 2008, elected member delegates to SEIU Convention debated the specific issue of jurisdiction for our California long term care members and also voted overwhelmingly to apply the policy favoring consolidating long term care workers in each state into the same local union.

Hearing Officer Page's recommendations follow a participatory three-year process in California after other efforts failed to provide the coordination, cooperation and unity of effort California's long term care workers need.

"The success of SEIU was built through a series of tough choices we have made as a union since 1996," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "Those choices have created a powerful voice for members and good jobs in our country. Uniting of workers who do the same type of work has successfully transformed local unions that once competed into stronger and powerful forces for change in members' lives throughout the United States and Canada, and won big victories for our members who do some of the toughest and most important jobs for our society."

The Jurisdictional Process

SEIU's union-wide reforms of jurisdiction have been taking place since 1996. In 2000, delegates to the SEIU International Convention adopted the New Strength Unity Plan and the Union launched an aggressive restructuring program, breaking up old political fiefdoms in favor of uniting workers by industry and geography. Among the new locals created by the reorganizations was United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW), whose leaders actively supported the dissolution of Locals 399 and 250 in 2005 to create UHW, and which led to the appointment of Sal Rosselli as the President. Organizational reforms increased political strength and bargaining power for SEIU members in Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Illinois, Washington, and California.

The current process of determining long term care jurisdiction in California began in 2006 when long term care workers were reorganized in a manner that left them divided among three locals: United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW), Local 521, and United Long Term Care Workers Local 6434. At the time, the IEB recommended that SEIU reexamine the question of whether representation of long term care workers by 3 local unions was working to the detriment of home care workers. After several years of failed voluntary efforts at working together, hearings were held in May and July 2008 on what could strengthen the power of long term care workers. Testimony was given by members, each of the locals and from the Long Term Care Division of SEIU Healthcare.

"This reorganization will make us one of the most powerful forces in California, with the strength to win at the bargaining table and demand meaningful budget reform in Sacramento," said Christy Brooks, a UHW home care worker in Santa Rosa.

The Challenge in California

The decision to unite all long term care workers into one unified local couldn't come at a more critical moment. With California's budget crisis and the sweeping cuts Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed to the IHSS home care program and other critical long term care funding, long term care workers in the state are facing cuts in hours for home care consumers and rollbacks of gains they have earned in pay back to minimum wage. Under the reorganization, California long term care workers will be among the most powerful political and economic forces in the state - positioned to fight draconian budget and wage cuts and to press for meaningful long term budget solutions in Sacramento.

"California can't afford to keep cutting schools, healthcare, and other vital services," said Michele Reed, an LA County home care worker and member of 6434. "We can no longer organize ourselves based on protecting old political turf. We need the strength that comes with unity."

The Next Steps

The Union has charged Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina and Michael Holland, an attorney with experience implementing union reorganizations, to work with locals to draw up an implementation plan and timeline that makes sense for the workers. They will present recommendations to SEIU President Andy Stern within 30 days. No jurisdictional change will be implemented before that time.

"The IEB's decision is based on honoring the decisions our members made in Puerto Rico last June and in conventions past. The principles of democracy are about respecting the will of the majority while protecting the voice of the minority. At SEIU, our leaders have the responsibility to follow the will of our members," said Stern. "We know change is sometimes hard in the short run, but our record of success confirms members in long term care do better together.

"We now look forward to the enormous opportunities we have to make change that works for California and for this country. We need to solve the budget shortfalls facing our state and local governments. We need to make sure every man, woman and child has health care. We need workers to have a free choice in the job, we need meaningful economic recovery for families, and we need to bring hardworking taxpaying immigrants out of shadows to become citizens. Now is the time to get to work and change this country."

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