A letter from an SEIU brother to UHW brothers and sisters

A frequent contributor to the Working Life blog, Buck Eichler, has penned an open letter to his UHW brothers and sisters, asking them to think long and hard before casting off the warm embrace of Our Glorious Maximum Leader.

Interestingly, in all the 'net hunting that I have done, his is the only voice that I have found (outside of SEIU-controlled sources or from SEIU-paid flacks) that has suggested that NUHW is anything other than a Good Idea.

He raises some thoughtful points, but a certain lack of perspective on the issue is obvious, in that he is not actually living the crisis, and we are. He seems to be unable to grasp that the actions of the trusteeship so far have not been actions of Union Brotherhood, but actions of Conquest. He wraps up as follows:

My bottom line is this. I just want to ask our UHW brothers and sisters to please be sure you are not succumbing to the intense pressure of this debate or the continuous assault of one version of this story that gradually causes many to accept this version as the unvarnished truth. I would ask you to shake off any prejudice you may have developed due to the constant hammering on these matters, and employ the methods you use whenever you make important life decisions. This decision certainly qualifies as one of those occasions.

None of us want to make such a huge, impactful change, only to find that when the dust has settled we have lost significant ground that we might never regain. I sincerely hope you will take the time to step away from all the hype and carefully weigh these matters before coming to this major decision to divorce your union and “remarry” another. I also strongly encourage you to allow the big picture issues to be a part of your decision, for as we all know, our slogan “stronger together” is far more than just words. As it has often been said, "united we stand, divided we fall."

Is it really necessary to break off from the largest, most successful and politically powerful union in the US today? In my observation, fragmentation is not the right direction at this critical juncture in labor’s struggle, but certainly weakens us all and jeopardizes this golden opportunity to advance unionsim with EFCA.

Of course it’s your decision, but please make it clearly, for yourself and your brothers and sisters, without undue pressure from any side of the debate.

I would be willing to take his open letter at face value, as advice freely given to a group of people in conflict, and leave it as such.

But what he asks us to do - to accept the Trusteeship in order to subsume ourselves toward the Greater Good that is SEIU...

Well, there are some bridges that you just can't cross.