SEIU Members for Democracy

SEIU Members for Democracy connects rank and file 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 members. 

One site, one voice, for a strong and democratic labor movement.

This site is a portal for SEIU and other union groups fighting for democratic labor reform. This site reports back on the democratic labor reform movement for the education of rank and file members.

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 

Visit the Democracy4SEIU Blog

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

Twitter Democracy4SEIU

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

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 supporters of UHW-West and their SEIU-represented, rank and file members. UHW, we support your right to ethical self-governance and condemn this attempt by Andy Stern to trustee one of our most sucessful SEIU locals.

SEIU Members for Democracy 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 the recent California wildfires:

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.

Our labor files page looks at reformists and events in other unions.

We 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