SEIU Members for Democracy

SEIU Members for Democracy connects rank and file union groups across the country who are working for democratic change and grass roots leadership, by and for workers. 

We seek a return to transparency, financial accountability, open debate, and "one member, one vote" self-governance for all rank and file union members.

This site  serves to report back on the democratic labor reform movement for the education of rank and file members. We hope to provide a portal on union democracy for working people.

We include reports and news on all union topics, but do not endorse decertification, destabilizing existing unions, or lobbying rival union members, as tools for democratic unionization.

News Feeds

See our Democracy4SEIU Bloglines news feeds for the latest local and national news on labor and the crisis in SEIU: http://www.bloglines.com/public/Democracy4SEIU 

Recent Videos

Search for new SEIU videos on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=seiu&search_type=&aq=f

Visit the Democracy4SEIU.org Blog

Post your comments, news, and events directly to our blog at: http://democracy4seiu.blogspot.com/

Twitter Democracy4SEIU.org

Tweet with Democracy4SEIU.org at: http://twitter.com/Democracy4SEIU

Friend Democracy4SEIU.org 

Visit Democracy4SEIU.org by logging into Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/login.php

Share Your Vision

If you are working for a return to democratic leadership within your SEIU local, we want to hear from you.

• Send us a link to your reform Web site or blog
• Send us photos of your reform events
• Share your YouTube video links

Not an SEIU local? We also want to hear from our brothers and sisters who are working for democracy in other unions!

Kudos 

SEIU Members for Democracy sends a shout-out to our Louisiana friends and colleagues who have been working to protect and defend that state's precious natural resources during BP's catastrophic oil spill. Please patronize coastal Lousiana businesses and send a message to Washington to ask for a swift resolution to this ongoing disaster, including fair compensation for the many businesses impacted by the collapse of BP's deepwater rig. For breaking news on the spill, please see Google News.

SEIU Members for Democracy congratulates those elected officials who reached across the aisle to confirm health care reform legislation which will benefit all Americans. To read more about this historic legislation, please see: http://www.healthreform.gov/.

To learn more about the history of the current deficit, please see: http://www.cbo.gov/budget/budget.shtml and http://home.adelphi.edu/sbloch/deficits.html#delta-deficit.

D4S applauds CNN, George Clooney, Sean Penn, Wyclef Jean, and many other Hollywood celebrities, along with the many safety, medical, and rescue personnel who have provided aid and food, plus financial and medical support for the people of Haiti. Learn how you can support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti via Google's Disaster Relief in Haiti site.

Members of Local 1199 SEIU-UHW East have donated over $1 million dollars to Unicef for the children of Haiti. We challenge other locals to organize similar donation drives, as rebuilding will be a long, expensive process and thousands are homeless.

D4S also sends a big 'thank you' to our California fire fighters, law enforcement officers, and allied safety professionals, who have been on the job day after day, week after week, during California wildfires and floods. We can help them by reducing our carbon footprint and minimizing the effects of global climate change.

CDF Fire Fighters - http://www.cdf-firefighters.org/who-we-are.htm

California State Fire Fighters Association - http://www.csfa.net/

International Association of Fire Fighters - http://www.iaff.org/

California Peace Officers' Association - http://www.cpoa.org/

California State Sheriffs' Association - http://www.calsheriffs.org/

California Association of Highway Patrolmen - http://www.thecahp.org/

California Law Enforcement Associations - http://www.post.ca.gov/library/other/associations.asp

(If we have we have inadvertantly left a group off of this list, please contact us at democracy4seiu@gmail.com)

Members are the Foundation of a Strong Union 

Has paid union staff (or paid union leadership) at your local ever worked a union job in your field?

Do you have a voice in how your dues money is being spent?

Do paid union staff make more money than you (or other rank and filers) do?

Are you notified about Executive Board, bylaws, and other meetings so you can observe or attend?

Do you have access to board minutes and motions so you know how your union is being run?

Is there a fair voting process at your union with mail ballots so all can participate?

Was your union president (or executive board or chapter chair) recently elected by represented rank and file members?

Do organizers and union managers support members who are advocating for democratic union principles?

Are members informed that 'lost time' is subtracted from their retirement years of service?

Are retirees (and those who have been injured on the job) treated with respect?

Does a majority vote by members take place before major changes occur at your union?

If your answer is 'no' to any of these questions, we invite you to view our reform links page to see how other SEIU members are working for democractic reform across the nation.

Support Non-Violent Change

"When people are involved in something constructive, trying to bring about change, they tend to be less violent than those who are not engaged in rebuilding or in anything creative. Non-violence forces one to be creative; it forces any leader to go to the people and get them involved so that they can come forth with new ideas. I think that once people understand the strength of non-violence— the force it generates, the love it creates, the response that it brings from the total community—they will not be willing to abandon it easily."

-Cesar Chavez