by Randy Shaw, 2009-06-22
SEIU defeated NUHW by 233 votes in their bitter election over Fresno’s 10,000 home care workers, but now faces a situation analogous to the United States in Vietnam. It took nearly one thousand staffers and an estimated $10 million for SEIU to eke out a victory in Fresno, the labor equivalent of carpet-bombing. But just as the massive bombing of North Vietnam failed to bring the United States an ultimate victory, SEIU’s Fresno campaign left its opposition unvanquished, and likely better positioned than SEIU to win future elections.
SEIU won 2938 to 2705, with 90 challenged ballots. While NUHW is challenging the outcome, it accomplished its larger goal of leaving Fresno with wind at its back. And with NUHW well positioned to win decertification elections for over 35,000 SEIU home care workers in San Francisco and Sacramento later this year, NUHW could soon have sufficient resources to challenge SEIU throughout California.
This is the message that NUHW is taking from Fresno. As spokesperson Paul Kumar told me, “the election demonstrates that SEIU is a hollowed shell of a union. It spent $10 million, and still could barely win a majority of worker support.” Kumar asks how SEIU will find the resources to contest with NUHW in future elections, arguing that its model in Fresno is financially “unsustainable.”
In March, while still struggling to get Republican support, Mr. Specter announced he was no longer in support of EFCA, called “card check” by opponents, despite voting in favor of a past version of the labor legislation. He said today that he met with labor leaders Thursday to work on a compromise measure and will do so again Tuesday.
The politically-savvy union was well aware of Mr. Specter’s history--catcalls mixed in with the cheers for the senator.
“You want our vote? We want yours,” shouted retired iron worker John Heinlein. That started a bit of give-and-take with the senator.
“I understand your job is on the line and I understand my job is on the line...I think you will be satisfied with my vote on this issue,” Mr. Specter responded.
