AFL-CIO Piles On Against SEIU
The AFL-CIO joined the rest of the labor movement yesterday in opposing the SEIU’s actions against UNITE HERE. Randy Shaw reported that the AFL-CIO sent a letter condemning any act of raiding other unions for members: One day after 15 international union leaders vowed to provide “material and moral” support to UNITE HERE’s defense against SEIU [more...]

Posted Wed, 01 Jul 2009 .

More Bank of America Hypocrisy From SEIU
The SEIU continues its bravado of hypocrisy with more plans to protest against Bank of America and its lending practices. The union is leading complaints by liberal interest groups that Bank of America encouraged its employees to inundate consumers with debt and enroll them in high-fee programs. It’s particularly amusing to see the SEIU display [more...]

Posted Wed, 01 Jul 2009 .

Democracy Deficit

Unions vs. Elections
Legal recognition of a union has traditionally been achieved through secret ballot elections, in which each worker decides whether or not to support a union in the privacy of the voting booth -- just like a person votes for the President or a Senator. But unions frequently lose secret ballot elections. So they often bring intense pressure on companies to agree to a “card check” system instead of a secret election.
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(Card) Check Democracy at the Door
Welcome to the new world of union organizing, where union officials, desperate to stave off declining membership numbers, are increasingly turning to undemocratic “card check campaigns” to organize and collect dues from employees.
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Poor Election Records
Bruce Raynor, president of the union UNITE HERE, explains: “There's no reason to subject the workers to an election.” One SEIU local leader has flatly admitted, “We don't do elections.” And no wonder. Employees have chosen no representation at all in more than 2,000 elections over a two-year period.
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We don't do elections.

— SEIU Local 32BJ leader Mike Fishman