Washington, D.C.--The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has reaffirmed its dismissal of a complaint against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) seeking to overturn elections of top officers held at the union's 2008 convention. The DOL's Office of Labor-Management Standards informed SEIU on March 9 that it had officially closed the file on the matter.

As a result of the investigation, the (Labor) Department concluded that:

• there was no violation of the LMRDA that would provide a basis for litigation by the Department, and
• the circumstances did not warrant the rerun of any of the officer elections.

SEIU is pleased that the Labor Department has upheld the validity of our union's 2008 election," said Michelle Ringuette, an SEIU spokesperson.

SEIU President Andy Stern ran unopposed in the 2008 election and won by acclamation, as did SEIU Secretary Treasurer Anna Burger and the six Executive Vice Presidents of the union.

The DOL noted that all other SEIU officers on the union's International Executive Board won every contested office by vast margins.

Every four years, the rank-and-file leadership of the union that is vested with the authority to elect SEIU leaders and set policy comes together at SEIU's convention to determine the agenda of the union. The Convention is the highest decision-making body in SEIU. SEIU's next Convention will take place in Denver, Colorado, in 2012.

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