SEIU Claims Fresno Victory: Now What?

by Randy Shaw via Beyond Chron

Mon, Jun 15, 2009 7:51AM

Monday, June 15, 2009 : When SEIU announced on June 5 that the Fresno home care worker election was “virtually over” and that it had prevailed, skepticism abounded. After all, balloting continued through for another ten days, hard data from the field was lacking, and the rival National Union of Health Workers (NUHW) was getting good reports back from its efforts. But there is growing evidence that SEIU has become the likely winner. And if SEIU does prevail, the question is whether SEIU will use this victory to help unify – rather than further divide – the labor movement.

SEIU’s battle to keep 10,000 Fresno, California health care workers from joining rival NUHW has resembled a heavyweight championship fight. Activists and journalists from across the nation have flocked to the Central Valley city, with many seeing the election as a contest between competing visions for the labor movement. In one corner we have the scrappy challenger NUHW, which touts its commitment to worker power and union democracy. In the other we have SEIU, the nation’s largest union, whose reputation for feisty grassroots activism and history of organizing low-wage workers has given way to a perception that it is willing to gain members through weak deals with employers, rather than winning strong contracts through pressure campaigns.

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