Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Story of SEIU Local 721

It seems that SEIU Local 721 is attempting a decertification fight aimed at the Engineers and Architects Association (EAA) and its 8000 or so members who are public employees in and around the city of Los Angeles. This is not the first time that 721 has gone after EAA - they tried and failed back in 2002, but are back this time with More Website, in the form of "unitedforla.org". When you go into their site, you can read some very interesting responses to questions that UHW members who are considering joining NUHW would tend to ask...
I'm ready to leave EAA and join SEIU. What's the next step? The next step is to add your name to the growing list of your colleagues who are calling for an election to decertify EAA and recognize SEIU as your official bargaining representative. You do this by signing a card.

What happens to our current MOU and negotiated raises if we leave EAA and join SEIU? Would we still be under same MOU terms or would SEIU negotiate a new contract? Until L.A. city professionals determine – in a transparent and empowering process – what a new collective bargaining agreement should include, the current contract remains in place.

How do L.A. professionals know that SEIU won't make concessions in bargaining? Members’ hands-on involvement in bargaining teams ensures that the final negotiated contract is the best possible, and that no concessions are made. Members ratify the contract – in a real election, not an EAA-style election.

What can SEIU do to prevent and stop EAA harassment during a campaign? All employees have a right to their opinion and free speech concerning the question of union representation. If individuals or groups cross the line by engaging in threatening or abusive conduct at the work place, the City has a duty to ensure a safe work place. If the City fails to perform its duty, SEIU will assess the situation with the affected employees and take any necessary actions such as proceeding up the chain or filing appropriate legal action.

What will SEIU do if an employee believes their Department is violating their rights based on decertification activity? The first step would be to assess the factual situation. This is usually done between the affected employees and the Union staff but legal counsel is available when necessary. SEIU will provide representation during any investigatory interviews or other proceedings if there is a connection between any protected activity and the employer action. SEIU will take actions such as filing an unfair practice claim if the facts support such an action.


Now. Take the above quote, and substitute "NUHW" for "SEIU", and "SEIU-UHW" for "EAA". Does anyone think that the Purple Plague would be anywhere near as supportive of the rights of a majority of UHW members to tell SEIU to go pound sand?

3 comments:

  1. For the record, EAA is an absolutely horrible "union" and SEIU's efforts are not "raiding" but "rescue." EAA bargains with zero input from the rank and file, conducted a strike without any input from members, let alone a vote, and is completely un-transparent in every respect, including kicking out members who asked to see a financial statement. Their contract is by far the worst in the City of LA, and they have not participated in constructive labor-management talks designed to limit layoffs by developing early retirement incentives, nor have they joined the coalition of unions that have produced significant gains for the workers, though they were invited to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My response to the above "anonymous" poster would be to take a good, long look in the mirror, because that is evidently where your universe is spinning.

    My point in bringing up the EAA-versus-721 story was to point out that, at a time when SEIU is whinging and moaning about another union "raiding" its membership, SEIU is doing much the same to EAA and trying to make itself the hero.

    Either be Liberty Valence, or be The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, but don't come on here and try to play both parts and expect not to get laughed at when you do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The EAA raid was stagred in D.C. late 2007, then hit the ground Feb. 2008. It was NOT grassroots. Anon is drinking some purple kool-aide.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.