On September 6th, more than 4,000 members of SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW) and other SEIU locals marched in downtown San Jose on Saturday to oppose a planned takeover by national union officials.

On August 25th, national SEIU President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger announced their intent to put UHW into trusteeship, which would replace elected rank-and-file UHW leaders with handpicked appointees accountable only to Stern and Burger. UHW members, who work in hospitals, nursing homes, and private homes across California, have been leading an effort for democratic reform within SEIU and opposing Stern's efforts to centralize power in Washington, D.C.

A letter to Andy Stern from leading labor scholars and historians was presented by Cal Winslow, a labor history fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. The letter declares that a takeover of UHW would be "a disaster for the California labor movement and for SEIU nationally."

"This is a desperate attempt by Stern to distract attention from the growing scandal involving local union presidents he appointed and promoted," said Maria Martinez, an elected shop steward for 15 years at Fifth Avenue Healthcare Center in San Rafael. "In UHW, members elect our leaders and they are accountable to us."

Pat McGinnis, director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said that the trusteeship could lower standards for nursing home care across the state by limiting caregivers' voice to advocate for residents.

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