BFF: Obama, Blago & SEIU's Stern

What do you do if you're up to your eyeballs in snot and someone throws a turd at your head?  In Andy Sterns' case, he quits the SEIU and becomes a corporate dude.  This may be why:

John Harris relays a meeting on Nov. 3, 2008 with himself, two union leaders -- Andy Stern and Tom Balanoff -- and the governor.

In a previous call played to jurors, Harris testified he and Blagojevich understood the two were approaching him on behalf of Obama's camp.

The meeting happened one day before the presidential election and the talk was about the senate seat vacancy the major campaign donors expected would happen the next day.

Reproach?  Nah. They're above it.
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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

More on former SEIU boss Andy Stern's golden parachute...

We posted on former SEIU boss Andy Stern's joining a corporate board of directors yesterday.

Now, Beyond Chron opines...

Not bad enough to cause painful damage to workers who are still paying for his fat compensation package, and too many others who took risks and made sacrifices only to see their organizing or contract campaigns damaged or smashed entirely.


All the while, he’s building his own golden parachute from the burning wreckage he left, polishing up his WH insider portfolio — and then peddling his ass to fat cats and high hats everywhere who must enjoy having a pet labor leader who does tricks upon command — all for the same bastards who are actively destroying the American dream for the working stiffs and huddled masses this punk once claimed to speak for.

For some reason, Andy's switch from union boss to corporate insider isn't sitting too well.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU's Andy Stern gets a new job as a corporate insider...

Maybe Andy's sudden resignation from the Service Employees International Union wasn't so sudden after all?...

SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA 6.76, -0.04, -0.59%) , a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to combat bio-warfare pathogens, announced today that Andy Stern, labor leader and prominent advocate for reform, joined SIGA's board of directors. Mr. Stern is the former president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in North America.

[snip]

"Andy is a strong leader and a great addition to our Board of Directors. His insight, experience, and leadership, particularly his understanding of how our federal government works, will complement the skill sets of our existing board members," said Dr. Eric Rose, SIGA's Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Stern has been cited in numerous publications as being one of the most influential leaders on healthcare and a frequent White House visitor. In 2010, Stern was named a Presidential appointee to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Though it does appear, having the dude who holds the keys to the White House may benefit SIGA rather nicely:

Shares of SIGA Technologies have approached the eight dollar level of late, rebounding nicely from the low of under five dollars about six months ago. The SIGA stock reached a high of over ten bucks last December in anticipation of a possible awarding of a BARDA contract for the ST-246 smallpox vaccine. The contract did not pan out at the time, although some modifications to the application process in the interest of creating competition were announced around that time.

A $2.8 million contract was awarded to Siga by the Department of Defense in early March, although this one was for ST-669, a broad-spectrum anti-viral. 

That's nothing in comparison to the big BARDA contract that investors of the company are waiting for, but it does have the potential to rake in up to ten million dollars for SIGA when it's all said and done.

Then, too it helps that SIGA's Eric Rose was appears to have been an Obama donor and that SIGA seems to be doing well sucking off of the government teat.

Welcome to your new home, Andy.  We're sure we'll be paying for your avarice somehow.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

The Chicago Way on Trial: Blago, Obama & The SEIU

If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what really throws you into a panic. Jack Handey

Summers are generally known as a time for forest fires and where there's smoke, there's usually a fire burning.  Right now, as waves of oil splash along the coastlines of the southeastern United States, there are large plumes of smoke coming from Pennsylvania, as far away as Colorado, and a huge cloud of smoke is hanging over the State of Illinois threatening to choke the airways of several Washington insiders.  And, while the White House fecklessly tries to deal with all of them, each (individually or collectively) have the potential of bringing down the presidency of Barack Obama.

In Washington, the White House is scrambling to contain SpecterGate (the alleged promising of a job to Congressman Joe Sestak in exchange for dropping his campaign to unseat Sen. Arlen Specter).  Then, just as Sestak and the White House appear to have their stories straight, Andrew Romanoff throws more gasoline onto the fire by confessing admitting disclosing that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina allegedly proffered not one, but three possible positions to Romanoff should he too drop his Senate bid.

Although the White House may still retain some "plausible deniability" on SpecterGate and The Denver Deal, since the parties have all seemingly been able to coordinate their stories (well, Sestak and Romanoff weren't actually offered paying jobs) and there have been no subpoenas issued (yet), the unmistakable odor of burning brush is in the air.

SpecterGate and The Denver Deal may ultimately blow up into raging infernos if the media begins to draw the nexus between the two as a wider pattern of bribery and secret back-room dealings.  However, that would take reporters willing to dig deeper than simply believing a White House explanation broadly issued at 6:25 in the morning via e-mail.  In the end, though, The Denver Deal and SpecterGate may rest on the possible collaboration of the parties, as well as what former President Bill Clinton refers to as "it depends on what 'is' is" and what he did or did not do under White House orders.

Blagojevich, Obama & The SEIU

The one scandal that has the White House positively p*ssing in its pants is the trial of ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich which began last Thursday.

Last December, we mentioned a possible smoking gun as Blagojevich's defense team requested FBI notes from interviews with the Obamas, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and SEIU bosses Tom Balanoff and Andy Stern.  Now, as the trial gets underway, the White House is bracing for the smoldering embers to drift back its way:

The corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is already shaping up to be a political circus, promising to lay bare the underbelly of Chicago politics.


But while the stakes are clear for Blagojevich — he could be the fourth Illinois governor in 40 years to retire to a federal prison — some of the most powerful Washington insiders are braced for potential political damage from the trial, which begins Thursday.


President Barack Obama, White House aides Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) all have at least some interest in the outcome, according to documents produced by prosecutors, defense lawyers and the White House counsel. [Emphasis added.]

Swirling around in the center of this circus ring-of-fire is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), specifically Chicago SEIU boss Tom Balanoff and former SEIU international president Andy Stern.  In April, SEIU president and king-maker Andy Stern abruptly resigned from the SEIU, which immediately fueled speculation that there was a connection between the Blagojevich scandal and Stern's resignation.

This speculation was further fueled when redacted portions of the defense's subpoena request were revealed just days after Stern's resignation:

Yet, despite President Obama stating that no representatives of his had any part of any deals, labor union president told the FBI and the United States Attorneys that he spoke to labor union official on November 3, 2008 who received a phone message from Obama that evening. After labor union official listened to the message labor union official told labor union president “I’m the one”. Labor union president took that to mean that labor union official was to be the one to deliver the message on behalf of Obama that Senate Candidate B was his pick. (Labor union president 302, February 2, 2009, p. 7).


Labor union official told the FBI and the United States Attorneys “Obama expressed his belief that [Senate Candidate B] would be a good Senator for the people of Illinois and would be a candidate who could win re-election. [Labor union official] advised Obama that [labor union official] would reach out to Governor Blagojevich and advocate for [Senate Candidate B] ... [Labor union official] called [labor union president] and told [labor union president] that Obama was aware that [labor union official] would be reaching out to Blagojevich.” (Labor union official 302, February 3, 2009 p. 3). [Emphasis added.]

Since Stern is now gone and his hand-picked successor Anna Burger was roundly rejected in a purple palace coup, it is unclear whether Burger loyalist Tom Balanoff will be thrown under the purple bus by SEIU's new president, Mary Kay Henry.  If she truly wants to rid the union of some its most recent controversies, Balanoff may be a noteworthy victim of such a purge.  If this happens, Balanoff may hold the key to what really went down in November 2008 and may be willing to spill his guts.

However, as Blago's trial is still in the jury selection stage, there is still plenty of time for all of the parties to get their stories straight (even though some are seemingly contradictory), which would leave Blago with a his word against theirs case.

Unless one of the parties (like Balanoff) flips, turns state's witness, or is caught perjuring him or herself on the stand, it is still possible for the White House to get past the summer with only a little smoke inhalation.

Then again, all it takes is one man to start a forest fire and, right now, there is a lot of smoke billowing out of the White House and different parts of the country and the White House might not be able to contain any one of these.

__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Andy Stern's War on Terror: NUHW insurgents inflict more damage on SEIU

Andy Stern may be gone, but his California Civil War still rages on and, in Saturday's Washington Post, Andy used an interesting analogy metaphor comparing his union battles to the War on Terror:

"It's a tragedy in terms of how the money was spent, but a necessity in terms of preserving the organization's integrity," he said. "I don't want to analogize this, but there is not enough money you can spend in America to protect us from terrorists. And you know, sometimes you have to spend money to protect the integrity of the institution from its own version of self-righteousness and terrorism."

To compare fellow unionists to terrorists is an interesting choice of terminology.  Especially since the latest battle between the SEIU and its former local (now known as the National Union of Healthcare Workers), the purple behemoth lost another election to the union "insurgency":

Caregivers at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital have voted to leave Service Employees International Union and join the rival National Union of Healthcare Workers.

Results, announced Monday after three weeks of voting by mail, shows 408 votes for the health care union, 242 votes for SEIU, and 13 votes for no union. The local union represents more than 830 workers, including respiratory care practitioners, licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, clerical workers and others.

[snip]

The election for NUHW "is our second-biggest hospital election," said Sadie Crabtree, a spokeswoman for the union. About 2,600 Kaiser Permanente health workers in Southern California have voted to go with the new union. NUHW is working toward an election that would ask 47,000 Kaiser workers throughout the state if they want to change unions. Workers at more than 360 facilities have petitioned to join NUHW in the last 15 months, and most are still waiting for their elections, Crabtree said.

With Stern now gone, it will be interesting to see if the SEIU's new president, Mary Kay Henry, will be able to contain the Iraq NUHW insurgents.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Reading the Tea Leaves: Anna Burger will be stepping down at the SEIU

Okay.  We're going out on a limb here, but it's not without some solid foundation:  If we're reading the tea leaves correctly, Anna Burger will likely be leaving her post as Secretary-Treasurer of the SEIU.

In less than a month, the (former) Queen of Labor has gone from being the assumed-next-in-line to lead, to being unceremoniously dethroned by a coup led by the union's top generals.

Yesterday, CQ Politics laid out the strongest evidence yet that Andy Stern's "partner" may have reached the end of the rope.

Major changes to the Service Employees International Union’s downtown operations could be under way soon.

In an interview Tuesday, new SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said she is conducting a monthlong review of her top deputies, including Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, Henry’s main opposition in the union’s recent election to replace longtime head Andy Stern. Burger mysteriously dropped out of the race two weeks before the May 8 election.

“She and I have begun discussions and are committed to reaching an agreement by the end of May. ... Every officer is now in a review process about what role they will assume,” Henry said in the interview. “It is the prerogative of the president to reassign responsibilities.”

Reading between the lines, it appears that the new SEIU leader doesn't want or need Anna Burger undermining the union's "new" direction, or stabbing her in the back in trying to re-take the union.

It should be noted, we're not suggesting that Anna will be leaving the SEIU or the labor movement.  For the moment, she is still the head of the failed Change to Win federation and has a seat at the White House dinner task force table.  However, it appears that her power within the SEIU will almost certainly be diminished if when Mary Kay Henry gets her way.

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Revelations About the SEIU's Union Mole Inside the White House

Do you know what a union mole is?  A union mole is someone who is paid by a union to get a job at a company and then secretly work with his outside union handlers on spreading the union word throughout the company from within.

While so much time and focus has been spent on the SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Burger, their frequent visits to the White House, and their appointments on presidential task forces, very little attention has been paid to the SEIU's full-time guy inside the White House, White House Political Director and former SEIU New York boss Patrick Gaspard.

Gaspard served as national political director for much of Obama's general election campaign and was named deputy director of personnel for the transition effort. Prior to his work with Obama, Gaspard was the lead political operative for the 1199 branch of the Service Employees International Union, a huge and hugely influential union representing health care workers in New York. He spent the 2004 general election as the national field director for America Coming Together.

Recently, there's been some light shed on the SEIU's mole inside the White House that, not surprisingly, the mainstream media (MSM) has not picked up on.

Several weeks ago, Big Government blogger Kyle Olsen exposed the fact that, in 2009, the SEIU 1199 paid Gaspard $37,191.  That's on top of the $74,552 that SEIU 1199 paid Gaspard in 2008.

Now, the unanswered question is: Why did the SEIU pay nearly $40,000 to the White House Political Director?

Keeping in mind that Gaspard spend much of 2008 on the Obama campaign, as well as from November 2008 through January 2009 working on Obama's transition, the SEIU can't really claim Gaspard was doing any SEIU work in 2009...or was he?

Is there any correlation?

This past Saturday, Politico's Ben Smith broke an intriguing story about SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Burger having "advanced" talk" with Gaspard about taking over the SEIU as the number two person, to replace Anna Burger when she assumed Andy Stern's role upon his retirement.

The talks grew quite advanced: Stern and Burger spoke with George Gresham, the pivotal president of the union's largest local, New York's 1199, and offered him assurances not just that Gaspard would be given the number-two job, but that he would eventually succeed Burger as president, the sources said. Gresham indicated that he would throw his weight behind the slate.


Gaspard, who left the post of 1199 political director to take the same job on the Obama campaign, could well have pulled a united union behind Burger. Between the support of 1199 and the catch of a former senior White House official, it's unclear that a rival campaign would have developed.


"They started working on him in late January/early February to join her as Secretary Treasurer while Anna filled out the remainder of Andy's term," one of the sources said. "Their calculus was that he would never turn down the dream job -- President of SEIU -- and that this would lock in the votes for her because Gresham and [executive board member Gerald] Hudson would give her their votes since they are tight with Gaspard."


Another source said that while there was never an explicit promise of when Burger would hand over the reins to Gaspard, the promise of the presidency at some point was explicit.

Although the early leak of Stern's resignation from the SEIU supposedly squelched the triumvirate talks over who would run the SEIU, it was the internal mutiny against Burger taking over the SEIU helm that completely fried any chances that the plot plan to put Gaspard into the number two seat would come to fruition.

According to Smith's sources, Gaspard turned the offer down out of "loyalty" to the President.  However, that too is questionable, since it appears there was already an underground campaign to keep Burger from taking Stern's position once he left.

Of course, it remains arguable whether the Obama administration's rules prohibiting aides from becoming lobbyists would restrict Gaspard from going back to the SEIU, especially since the rules against lobbying seem so unclear in the SEIU's case.

But, of course, you can learn all about this in the media...[When the starts doing its job.]

In the meantime, regardless of whether Mary Kay Henry or Anna Burger is running the purple behemoth, the SEIU still has its mole man inside the White House, doing its bidding and keeping an eye on the union's investment, and it looks like that's not going to change any time soon.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

News on the SEIU: New President Differs in Style, But Not Aggression

Although it was a mere formality, Mary Kay Henry's ascendancy to the top of the union food chain became official today.  The replacement for Andy Stern as the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was chosen because she is thought to be different.  However, if anyone thought there might be some labor peace with the changing of the guard at the SEIU, they were mistaken.  Mary Kay Henry may prove to be even more aggressive than her predecessor and, perhaps, less clumsy.

Though her style may be different, according to multiple accounts of a conference call with reporters on Saturday, Henry is vowing to keep some of the SEIU's old battles very much alive, while ending others and starting some new ones:

Old Battles [via WaPo]:

Henry said there have been "no discussions" about SEIU's returning to the AFL-CIO, as several other unions in Change to Win are considering. She said the union was hoping to negotiate a settlement in the UNITE-HERE fight, but she made clear that she has every intention of continuing the union's battle with a large breakaway chapter in California that has cost SEIU heavily both in dollars and reputation within the labor movement.

Translation: The SEIU leadership knows Andy Stern & Co. were wrong in raiding UNITE-HERE's members as that union was splitting up.  However, there is no truce in the California Civil War with the former SEIU-UHW leaders.

New Battles [via BusinessWeek]:

Mary Kay Henry, elected today as president of the Service Employees International Union, pledged to spend $4 million organizing employees in businesses such as banks and supermarkets.

[snip]

Henry said she has “a fire in her belly” for fighting management interference in labor organizing efforts. Henry said she will fight such efforts by “creating complaints” with the National Labor Relations Board.

[snip]

The $4 million fund will be used to organize industries that have traditionally not had employee representation, Henry said. She cited banks, grocery stores, biotechnology companies and independent contractors as prospects, without mentioning specific firms. The union said it spends about $250 million annually to help local officials on organizing.

Some interesting points from the above:

Without clarification, it is difficult to know the context in which Henry referenced unionizing supermarkets. If she is intent on unionizing supermarkets through the SEIU, she is clearly stepping on the UFCW's turf.

Her use of the term "creating complaints" (in quotes even) with the NLRB signifies the SEIU's every intent to use the NLRB (with its recess appointed SEIU/NLRB member Craig Becker) to push the envelope by making up frivolous unfair labor practice charges against employers.

Yes, Mary Kay Henry may be bringing a new face to the SEIU.  However, it appears that she will be every bit as aggressive in continuing the SEIU's legacy as the Union of Purple People Eaters.

UPDATED:  The video below is Mary Kay Henry's "acceptance speech" and a call for SEIU to organize new workers:


__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Showdown in America: Are Unions and President Obama Provocateurs?

Provocateur:  a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator.


They're calling it "Showdown in America" and that is exactly what they seem to be striving for.

As part of their on-going push to get the federal government into every nook and cranny of Americans' lives, the SEIU, AFL-CIO and a left-wing group called National People's Action are planning on storming K Street in Washington, DC on May 17th.

On May 17, everyday people from across the country will descend on K Street in Washington, DC. K Street is ground-zero for the corporate lobbyists that are driving gridlock in Washington. Our plan is to draw a direct line between Wall Street CEOS, their hired guns on K Street, and the elected officials who have become addicted to Big Bank campaign contributions.

It’s time to take back our democracy. Whether you care about banking reform, jobs and the rights of workers, quality and affordable housing and health care, or sustaining our planet, we share a common foe – greedy and reckless corporations that have taken control of democracy and are the big barrier standing between us and a more just and sustainable society.

While we already know that the SEIU's Andy Stern and Anna Burger have direct access to the White House, according to Big Government writer Andrew Marcus, President Obama's history with NPA predates even his history with the SEIU.  Which begs the question Marcus asks:

Is President Obama Using Executive Powers To Organize Angry Anti-Capitalist Protests On The Streets Of America?

You can view some of the NPA's action here:



If one didn't know any better, the question one might ask is:

By using his agent provocateurs, is the President of the United States trying to start a real Showdown in America?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Unions Want Fed Audited

From the Hill...

Organized labor is throwing its muscle behind financial legislation requiring heightened audits of the Federal Reserve.


The AFL-CIO sent a letter to senators Friday urging them to support tougher audits. Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), signed a similar letter.


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is championing an amendment to broad financial legislation now under debate that would require additional audits of the central bank and require the Fed to disclose on its website all loans and assistance made during the Wall Street bailout. Sanders circulated the labor union letters on Saturday.

What's up their sleeve...?
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU's Andy Stern has got a new gig...

The soon-departing SEIU boss, Andy Stern, has a new gig.

A press release by Leading Authorities, Inc. ("the nation's most progressive event design firm") earlier this afternoon states the following:

Leading Authorities, Inc. has signed Andrew (Andy) L. Stern, the former president of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest-growing union in North America. Stern turned SEIU into a powerful political force, and Stern and SEIU were widely credited for helping elect Barack Obama in 2008.


"We are extremely proud and privileged to be representing Andy Stern," said Leading Authorities founder and CEO Mark French. "He is a major force in Washington politics. He transformed the labor movement, raised huge sums for President Obama's election, and exerted monumental influence on the health care debate. Everyone at LAI is thrilled to be working with Andy."


[snip]


Stern will be addressing audiences about politics and issues such as fiscal policy, entitlements, immigration, healthcare, and the future of the labor movement. He will speak independently, and also be matched with leading Republican thinkers.

Apparently, Leading Authorities believes people will be lining up to hear Mr. Stern speak in the future.

__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

DC's New BMOC: AFL-CIO Boss is Wasting No Time Claiming the Crown

Now, there is only one.  With media-star SEIU's Andy Stern soon leaving the union stage, AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka is the man--the new king of the Hill (so to speak), the man poised to tell Democrats what to do and how to do it.  He no longer has to share the stage with the lavender-lapeled lord of labor and Democrats seem to be aware that there's a new bully on the block:

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will work the room ahead of a 4:30 p.m. vote on the financial regulatory reform bill Tuesday.

[snip]

Democrats are planning to hold continuous votes on the motion to proceed, which are expected to fail, seeking to cast Republicans as opponents of the reform package who cast their lot with large Wall Street banks.

"It is unbelievable that two years, hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of lost jobs later, Congress still hasn't acted to rein in Wall Street to protect Main Street," Trumka said in a statement. "Yesterday all 41 Republican senators stood united in their opposition to debate a Wall Street accountability bill, protecting the big bank lobby."

Now that Trumka's the BMOC in DC, he's not doing badly for a guy who just a decade or so ago pleaded the Fifth Amendment before Congress.
__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

SEIU's not-yet president is beginning to sound very...presidential

On Monday, outgoing-SEIU chief Andy Stern tried to put the brakes on the blogosphere's chatter over Stern's hand-picked successor, Anna Burger, losing her presidential bid to the relatively-obscure SEIU EVP Mary Kay Henry.

Yet, despite the fact that he is trying to quell the rumor fact that the Queen of Labor has unofficially lost, Andy Stern's unofficial successor, the not-yet-named next SEIU president, Mary Kay Henry is certainly moving as though she is the winner.

According to Politico's Ben Smith (the dude who broke the Henry victory story), Ms. Henry released a memo on Monday to her fellow SEIU leaders sounding very presidential and as though the contest is over.

For the past few days, I’ve been reaching out to as many of you as possible to hear your views on what makes our union great and ideas about how to make it even better. I hope speak to every single one of you, and answer any questions you may have, before the upcoming vote of the International Executive Board.


[snip]


In the coming months, our first priority will be to engage SEIU leaders at every level and across divisions in a dialogue about our goals for the future and how best to achieve them. I am firmly committed to creating the space for an open and honest debate that will lead to shared decision-making and ownership.


It’s a dialogue that I hope each and every one of you will participate in fully – no matter who you chose to support as the next president of SEIU – because we will need the benefit of everyone’s experience and insights to meet the challenge of moving forward without Andy at the helm. Because our varying opinions and points of view will enhance our debate about the future direction of our union. And because it is in the best interests of our members to bring about a smooth, seamless, and, above all, unified transition to this new chapter in the rich and proud history of SEIU.

You can download Mary Kay Henry's acceptance speech memo here (in PDF).
__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Andy Stern on SEIU Replacement: Not so fast...

Despite reports that Mary Kay Henry has been selected as the successor to outgoing SEIU president Andy Stern, the Huffington Post is reporting that Andy himself is saying the selection has not been made:

Officials at the powerful SEIU labor union say that the campaign to find a replacement for departing president Andy Stern remains undecided, despite reports that California nurses leader Mary Kay Henry had secured a majority of the votes.

In an interview Monday morning with the Huffington Post, Stern said that the contest shaping up between Henry and his more natural successor, Change to Win President Anna Burger, has been amicable and constructive. There was not, however, a clear winner yet.

"No votes have been cast," Stern said. "And it has been a pretty, I'd say, healthy conversation. It doesn't look like America's political campaigns, where you spend a lot of time telling people what's wrong with other people as opposed to what's right about them. So I think that we've had as appropriate a process that we can have in a very short period of time that will reach a conclusion in a way that will keep the union unified."

[snip] 

Aides at SEIU didn't dispute that Henry, owing to support of local affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Oregon, and Washington State finds herself in a strong position to take over for Stern. But they quibbled with two aspects of the story line. For starters, the SEIU's 73-member Executive Council has yet to vote on the matter (a vote will likely occur in the middle of the month), meaning that dynamics could change. More importantly, they disputed that notion that Henry would tone down the political focus that was a trademark of Stern's leadership.

It looks as though there are more backroom politics going on.

Developing...

Check back here for more updates.
__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

'It's Done'...SEIU's new president is...

In what can only be described as a nationwide repudiation of Andy Stern and his divisiveness within the Service Employees International Union, as well as with other labor unions, a majority of large SEIU locals chose to reject Andy Stern's hand-picked successor, Anna Burger, and elected California SEIU leader Mary Kay Henry as the next SEIU International President.

Key locals in New York, Los Angeles, Oregon, and Washington State committed crucial votes to Henry, choosing her over Stern's protege, Anna Burger, who had promises continuity with Stern's leadership.

"It's done," an SEIU insider emailed moments ago.

Henry benefitted from a sentiment in the union's constituents across the country that Stern had become a divisive, and even exhausting, figure. Final negotiations included ensuring peace between Henry's California nurses' union and a long-term care workers local in the state led by Laphonza Butler. Butler and building workers leader Mike Fishman met in New York today with the leaders of other large undeclared locals, including the largest Chicago SEIU chapter.

With Stern leaving within the next couple of weeks and Anna Burger's future uncertain, the politically powerful SEIU falls into the hands of a relatively unknown (outside of the SEIU) labor leader.  Yet with Stern and Burger presumably still holding keys to the White House (for now), the change must be concerning for President Obama and the Democrats.

Meanwhile, with his competition all but gone, the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka is the new BMOC.

More to come as the official congratulatory statements come out...
_________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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Is Blago blowback the reason why SEIU's Andy Stern resigned?

Geez!  The never-ending story of fallen-from-grace governor Rod Blagojevich seems to be...well...never-ending.

You may recall, Blago was the Illinois governor who allegedly was trying to sell the Senate seat of president-elect Obama in 2008.

Well, lo and behold, Blago's defense attorneys subpoenaed the President today and, according to this, there could some blowback on retiring SEIU boss Andy Stern.

Today in United States v. Rod Blagojevich: following up on his 2008 claims that then-Senator Barack Obama was one of a few people who could testify to his innocence, his defense team issued a motion today to subpoena the President to testify in court. Most of the juiciest bits involving Obama’s role in choosing a new Senator are blacked out, or so we thought. It turns a lucky PDF glitch gave us VIP access. Who wouldn’t want to see the blacked out part? Let’s investigate!

Most of the non-blacked out portions of the motion are predictably tame general knowledge: the seat in dispute belonged to the President; the FBI did speak with the President about this case at some point in time. A “labor union official” close to the President (who may be SEIU President Andy Stern) is said to contradict public statements on the case by Obama directly.

At this point, it's all speculative.  However, since Andy Stern has been the lubricant to Barack Obama's piston and, as long as there those who still question the 'real reason' Andy Stern's exiting the union he built so abruptly, this is as good a theory as any.

For now, though, we'll throw this one into the 'grassy knoll' category.
__________________
“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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Union Honchos and Crony Capitalists in Attendance at Obama 'Reform' Speech

For the past year and one half, union bosses, political pundits, and politicians have decried the reign of greed and the evils of capitalism. Yesterday, as President Obama and his fellow Democrats lay siege to the financial sector for what Washington helped create, some 700 attendees attendees listened to his speech in New York.  Here's a partial list (via WaPo):

• Bob Diamond, Barclays
• Paul Calello, Credit Suisse
• Deborah Wright, Carver Bancorp, Inc
• Barry Zubrow, JP Morgan Chase 
• Tom Nides, Morgan Stanley 
• Gary Cohn, Goldman Sachs
• Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs
• Bruce Thompson, Bank Of America
• Arthur Levitt, former SEC member
• Harvey Goldschmid, former SEC chair
• Bob Greifeld, CEO, NASDAQ
• Paul Volcker
• Penny Pritzker
• Mark Gallogly
• Timothy Duncan, American Business Leaders for Financial Reform
• Jerome Davidson, National Consumers League 
• James Fishman, National Association of Consumer Advocates 
• Evena Guerrier, NYPIRG 
• Michael Hudson, Center For Responsible Lending 
• Melanie Johnson, National Consumers League
• Norman Silber, Consumers Union
• Rich Trumka, AFL-CIO
• Andy Stern, SEIU
• Denis Hughes, NY AFL-CIO
• Greg Floyd, Teamsters
• Anna Burger, Change to Win
• George Gresham, SEIU 1199
• Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)
• New York Governor David Paterson (D)
• New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D)
• New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I)
• Ruben Diaz Jr., Bronx Borough President
• Thomas DiNapoli, State Comptroller
• John Liu, New York Comptroller 
• Christine Quinn, New York City Council Speaker
• Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President
• Bill DeBlasio, New York Public Advocate
• Richard Neiman, State Banking Superintendent
• Jim Wrynn, State Insurance Superintendent

Funny thing is, there's a lot of politicos, union honchos, bankers and cronies, but there does not seem to be a real capitalist among them.
__________________


“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776


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SEIU's Burger Responds to Purple Palace Coup: It's all about me...

On Monday, we posted on the threat to Anna Burger's throne at the SEIU.  Although Andy Stern has, in fact, endorsed Burger, in a letter penned by four of nine executive vice presidents to the SEIU executive board, the EVPs urged the backing of a fifth EVP, Mary Kay Henry.

In response, the Queen of Labor has penned her own letter (via Politico), asking for the support of the SEIU's International Executive Board and hanging her hat on her seniority and political ties while laying out a vision for transforming the world.

In the long, four-page letter (download in PDF here), Burger walks her fellow SEIU bosses through her 38 years of experience, using "I" as opposed to the collective "we" (this is about her the union, after all).

During my 38 years in SEIU, I’ve held every position but one and now I’m asking for your support… to be the next International President.

Throughout those 38 years I’ve developed, implemented, led organizing, bargaining and political campaigns, stepping up, speaking out, and partnering with all of you.

I launched the national Beverly nursing home organizing campaign in Pa., and have led the Public Divisions growth work. I helped win the rights for child care, home and state workers to organize from Maryland, Maine and Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kansas and North Carolina. I’m proud that we’ve turned our political program into an engine for growth.

I led the negotiations of the merger with 1199  and the restructuring of health care and the Property Services jurisdiction on the East Coast.

I helped to expand SEIU’s political reach by building our member‐to‐member capacity; worked across the labor movement, with progressive and political allies to partner and build the best grass roots political organization the progressive movement has ever seen.

As Secretary Treasurer I’ve worked with all of you to build strong Divisions, but at the same time, making sure that we continued to unite our strength in one powerful Union, with union wide programs and a political field operation second to none.

In SEIU, when issues were complicated, challenging or divisive I was asked to lead, whether  chairing the committees to find a forward or acting as an honest broker, bringing different perspectives together to create a common strategy and a united approach.

In 2008 when our union was being pulled apart by conflict over coordinated bargaining and bargaining for growth, I chaired the cross divisional committee that created unity a framework.

I’ve often been the officer responsible for getting the “job” done, and I am proud of what we've accomplished!

With all these accomplishments, it is shocking that Mary Kay Henry has even the audacity to question Ms. Burger's qualifications to be the purple leader.  This is like a lowly mortal challenging the status of Wonder Woman herself!

The Queen even throws a nod to her departing "partner" Andy Stern...

Andy Stern’s brilliant leadership has challenged us to evaluate, imagine, decide and act. We take risks, try new strategies, galvanize our members, and work with unconventional partners.

For readers unfamiliar with labor union lingo, here's a breakdown of the above SEIU-speak:

• "take risks" = fighting with then-AFL-CIO chief John Sweeney for over a year on the future of the union movement
• "try new strategies" = breaking up the AFL-CIO over an ambitious, but failed agenda
• "galvanize our members" = there's no union that can beat our astro-turfing
• "work with unconventional partners" = Wal-Mart; SEIU's bargain to organize strategy  

Before turning back to the accomplishments under her (and Andy's) watch...

We block bridges, build bridges and cross bridges. People listen to what we say and react to what we do because of the strength of our members.

We are the fastest growing union in North America, the best grass roots political movement in our country, a catalyst for change, and a beacon of hope for workers across the United States,Canada, Puerto Rico and around the world.

What we say and do matters.

But...

...we are challenged as well.

The economy is a mess, our labor movement in decline, divided by ideology ‐ lacking strategy  and a commitment to each other.

Our public sector members and locals are a growing target of attacks as private sector density
slips away.

The right wing machine is well funded, pitting people against each other to block change and  destroy the President ‐‐ and too many Democrats lack the courage to stand up and act.

Our union conflicts with NUHW and external assault from HERE divide our attention and create
additional tension.

We are at a critical moment with the opportunity to transform our countries and rebalance the economy.

But we have immense opportunities as well.

We have the best President of our generation, at a time when SEIU is THE voice for workers and justice.

The next 7 years of an Obama Administration provide us the best opportunity of our lifetime to grow our movement, transform our economy, our nation and our world and we need a plan so we do not squander it.

What's that?!? Seven more years of an Obama administration?

The other things Burger calls for in her "Seven-Point Program"

First, I believe that we have the potential to not only achieve our goal of 500,000 new members
by our 2012 convention, but also to set the stage for massive expansion to set our sights on ways to turnaround the decline of the private/private sector union density.

[snip]

And finally we must face up to the challenge of rebuilding our ability to win traditional NLRB
organizing campaigns, as well as exploring new models for organizing the private/private sector  where millions of workers, not dependent on shrinking public dollars live on poverty wages in SEIU strongholds.

Apparently, Burger realizes that the card-check provision of the job-destroying and hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act is a non-starter.

Second, we must challenge our President to be the best that he can be. As we build political power we can partner with the President and agitate and turn up the heat all at the same time. We won’t be a lap dog or a mad dog but we will be a bull dog for change constantly.

Third, our locals are bigger and more powerful than many other unions and have made a huge  difference in changing workers lives, but we face a challenge of speaking with one voice in our geography, industry and across our countries; we must maintain our focus but not silos, and  create synergy to win more together.

Fourth, a union that has the aspirations of ours must be fueled by the energy of members who want to step up and lead our union. We must complete our vision of Justice for all, and achieve our goal of 10% leaders and 50% active.

Fifth, as we expand and grow as a labor movement and a social movement, we are challenged by relationships with other unions, political parties and progressive partners. We must come to grips with how to decide when to act on our own, when we build consensus, and what our choices mean to our ability to win for ordinary people.

We must know when to make peace and when to stand up for what is right. I believe we must take advantage of this moment of change and bring an end to the attacks from HERE and continue to act decisively to make sure NUHW is never a threat to building one Health Care Union

Sixth, immigrants not only want an end to the raids, but also deserve to come out of  the shadows with a pathway to citizenship. We must show the same determination as we did in health care to lead the country to live up to its ideals.

Seventh, I believe that it's time again for SEIU to start the process to decide on our long term future direction. We must be cognizant of both the strength of our union and the dire circumstances of our movement, and prepare to evaluate, imagine, and decide once again how workers in our countries can have their dreams come true, and how the next generation of leaders emerges to take responsibility and build the movement for tomorrow.

So, in other words, Burger's agenda sounds a little bit lot like Stern's.....And, it only took four long pages to spell it out.

And back to being "all about her"...

I am humbled by the opportunity to lead this union. Growing up in Levittown, Pennsylvania I was taught to reach for the stars, but this star was never in my wildest imagination.

I promise you that I will always keep the members in my heart and my head. 

Spoken like a true queen.

Oh, by the way, all you little people can read the whole thing here (in PDF).
__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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Correction: Andy Stern Endorses Anna Burger for SEIU Boss

Following Andy Stern's surprise announcement that he is resigning as President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), we posted our surprise that Stern was not endorsing his likely successor, Anna Burger.  The post was based on a Politico report that stated:

Two women have emerged as the primary candidates, including SEIU's International Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, who also oversees the union’s political operation. Stern said he will not make an endorsement. “The one thing I’m glad about is that my replacement will be a woman,” he added.

Now, it turns out, Andy Stern has, in fact, endorsed Anna Burger as his successor. In a memo dated April 16th (download PDF here) to the SEIU International Executive Board, Stern writes:

After a great amount of my own thought, hearing opinions from many of you, and  holding them up against my own criteria—I  recommend that Anna Burger not only temporarily—but then permanently—become the 10th President and first woman to lead our union.

The following day, four out of the nine SEIU Executive Vice Presidents wrote a letter endorsing Burger's challenger, EVP Mary Kay Henry. 

At least Andy's made his choice.  Now, attention turns to the battle royale.

__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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The Future of the SEIU: In internal letter, SEIU generals pick sides in fight for Stern replacement

The fight over who will succeed SEIU's Andy Stern is heating up and come out into the open.

With "retiring" Andy Stern refusing to endorse a successor and Anna Burger not the most popular queen be in the purple house that Andy built, the generals are picking sides.

Four of the nine executive vice presidents have penned a letter backing Mary Kay Henry over the Queen of Labor Anna Burger [bold emphasis in original].  [As Mary Kay Henry is also an EVP, this would give her a majority of EVPs in her camp.]

Although as Politico's Ben Smith notes:

The letter gives Henry's supporters -- if Henry herself is included -- a majority of senior SEIU leaders, though the decisive weight on the executive board is in the hands of the presidents of large super-locals in New York, Chicago, California, and elsewhere, who will cast weighted votes on succession. [Emphasis added.]

While the letter doesn't mention Burger by name, its unwritten words (in yellow highlight) are unmistakably directed at her.

[via Politico]

April 17, 2010

TO: SEIU International Executive Board

FROM: International Executive Vice Presidents Gerry Hudson, Eliseo Medina, Dave Regan, Tom Woodruff

SUBJECT: The Future of SEIU

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

The announcement of Andy Stern’s pending retirement has left us all with a great sense of sadness. It’s hard to imagine the future of SEIU without Andy at the helm, inspiring us with his energy, challenging us to be innovative and creative, and leading us with uncommon and unwavering courage.

Andy’s departure will leave a void no one person can fill. We believe that leading our union through the challenges ahead must be a team effort. We will need to draw from the collective talents and strengths of all of our leaders to create the unified vision and strategy to move forward.

That’s why we have come to the conclusion that Mary Kay Henry is the best person to serve as Andy’s successor at this time. 

Mary Kay’s greatest strength is her ability to build consensus and create a highly-effective team around shared goals and responsibilities. Mary Kay is the type of leader who motivates rather than demands, who knows when to delegate and when to take charge, and who always puts the best interests of members first. She respects the diversity of talent, opinions, and causes that have made SEIU the most effective champion of social justice in North America. As president of SEIU, Mary Kay will unite our union — from top to bottom and across divisions — around our mission to build a stronger voice for members and a stronger movement for all workers.

We want you to know that we did not come to this decision lightly. We all want the transition to be as seamless as possible, without conflict or controversies that will distract us from achieving our goals. We are convinced that Mary Kay is the one who can bring us all together during this period of change. Mary Kay is in a position to carry on the best of our union’s traditions, as well as create a bridge to a new generation of leadership and tackle the new challenges we face today.

Many of you have expressed the need to return to organizing as our top priority — to rebuild our organizing capacity and to refocus our political strength on efforts to grow a stronger union and win for workers. We’ve also heard many of you say it’s time to restore our relationships with the rest of the union movement and our progressive allies. We believe Mary Kay is best suited to lead on both of these fronts.

When it comes to organizing, no one has a stronger commitment than Mary Kay. Her organizing experience spans over decades, from making house calls to hospital workers in Michigan to leading a statewide healthcare industry strategy in California. She was on the front lines of the Justice for Janitors campaign, has stood up for public employees in the southwest and across the nation, and has always been a relentless advocate for making organizing our number one priority. She understands that our political strength comes from our two million members, not individual union leaders, and we must use our political influence to build a stronger voice and better life for our members.

At the same time, as the new president of SEIU, Mary Kay would have a unique opportunity to re-establish SEIU as an important partner in the labor and progressive community. She is well-respected both inside and outside of SEIU and has an extraordinary talent for building coalitions and holding them together.

This is a critical moment for our union. We are committed to doing what’s best for SEIU and for all of our members throughout North America. Having worked with Mary Kay for decades, we’re confident that we have made the right decision. If you have questions or want to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to give any one of us a call.

In Solidarity,

Again, while Burger is not mentioned by name, the letter is chalk full of silent disapproval that we're certain the Queen of Labor won't take lightly or lying down.

Stay tuned, as the fur should be flying soon.
__________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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