Understanding How the Service Employees International Union Operates - Term Paper Example

Understanding how the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) operates and How Its Operations Benefits its Members I. Introduction Unions are organized to help ordinary people bond together and have a stronger bargaining power. In the labor sector, having a union often become necessary to champion the rights of workers and help the workers get the benefits that they deserve from their employers. According Yates (2009), workers from marginalized sectors and those belonging to the service industries are more likely to get better employment conditions if they are part of a strong union. Aside from giving workers a better chance of getting better deals with their employers, many unions in the country also help its members have a say in their own communities and in the legislative and administrative branches on government (Yates, 2009; Bennett et. al. 2007). Over the past several years, a number of unions have been formed in the country and many of these unions have grown big and strong over the years. One of the most prominent unions in the country is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) which over has over 2 million members and has offices in major cities in the different states and overseas (http://www.seiu.org). The SEIU is actually an umbrella organization and it has a number of affiliate local labor organizations from different parts of the United States and Canada (Fink, et al, 2009). As an international organization, the SEIU deals with various issues that affect the working community, offer different types of services to its clients, spearhead a number of programs and help its members achieve their full potentials through continuing education programs and scholarships (http://www.seiu.org). To get a better picture of what SEIU is all about and how its serves the interests of its members, partners and the communities, let us take a close look at the organization and the issues that it faces. II. History and Structure Established in 1921 in Chicago, the SEIU used to be an organization of window washes, janitors and elevator operators (http://www.seiu.org). At that time, the organization was known as the Building Services Employees Union (BSEU) and has only a few members mostly coming from the Chicago downtown area (http://www.seiu.org). However, as the need for a unified voice of workers increase, the organization started to accept more members from other sectors and by 1934, the membership of the organization has grown significantly that the BSEU begun to expand its operations to include other areas (http://www.seiu.org). By 1968, the BSEU official changed its name to SEIU and recruited more members from the healthcare sector (http://www.seiu.org). It also started to accept partners and affiliate organizations and became one of the leading labor unions in the United States and Canada. The organizational scope of the SEIU expanded over the years and in 2003, it became not just a labor union that helps its members get better benefits and fair working conditions, it also became one of the primary movers for change in the country. In 2004, the organization founded the Purple Ocean program which focused on finding solutions to correct the economic injustices in the workplace and in the society as a whole (Fletcher et al. 2009). While working on establishing a more economically balanced society, the SEIU also became a prominent fixture in the political arena in 2005 when it helps found the Change to Win Coalition which push for political changes in the country (http://www.seiu.org). Since 2004, the SEIU has been actively expanding its membership has organized workers in the different sectors including the unorganized workers composed of low-wage service workers. As of 2009, the SEIU has organized workers in the health care, public service and properties services sector (Fink et al, 2009). According to the SEIU, it has more than 1 million members from the health care division, 850 members for public services and 225 workers from the property services division (http://www.seiu.org). At present, the organizational structure of the SEIU is designed to accommodate both the local and international operations of the organization. The highest government body of the SEIU is the general assembly which has the power to elect the members of the board of directors and ratify changes in the organization’s constitution and bylaws through an election or a referendum as the case may be. The elected members of the Board of Directors of the union serves as the policy making body of the organization and takes care of the decision-making processes of the organization. Next to the Board of the Directors are the organization’s staff and career officials who compose the operations group of the organization and take care of the day to day operations of the union. The operations group of the organization is divided into several divisions which take change of the different aspects of the operations including administration, special programs, political lobbying groups and other services that are beneficial to the members. The union’s operations are divided into head office and affiliate groups and these groups have their own designated functions (http://www.seiu.org). Each of the divisions located at the head office of the union has their own terms of reference regarding scope of work, powers and limitations. These divisions cannot operate beyond their defined powers and functions without proper authorization from the top management or the Board of Directors. When it comes to the local branches of the SEIU, the local branches enjoys certain degree of independence and they can decide certain matters on their own without consulting the head office of the union (Fink, 2009). III. Bargaining Environment The SEIU bargains through its different local and national bargaining units. The composition of the bargaining units may vary from one industry to another but the key members include the accounting officers, job analysts, evaluators from the pertinent government agencies and other persons as may be deemed necessary. The bargaining environment fostered by the SEIU is usually collegial and the parties involved follow the five core steps of the bargaining process starting with the preparation, discussion on the rules of the bargaining process, submission of proposals, negotiation of terms or bargaining and settlement (Fink et al, 2009). In the preparation process, the bargaining unit will select its members and the members will then determine if there are issues that need to be negotiated and settled during the bargaining stage. During the second stage which is the establishment of the rules of bargaining, the members of the SEIU bargaining teams will meet with the management team of the company and discuss with them how the bargaining process will push through. At this point, the parties are expected to create an environment of mutual trust and understanding. During the proposal stage, the parties exchange messages to explore different options while during the bargaining process, the parties now work at reaching a settlement based on the proposals and counterproposals made by the parties. When the bargaining process breaks down, the SEIU may exercise its option to declare a strike and push its agenda more forcefully to reach a favorable settlement with the company (Fink et al, 2009). IV. Analysis, review and critique of the major issues SEIU has steadily grown over the years and the key to its growth can be traced back to the industry it serves, its mission, vision and goals, its organization structures and the integrity of the people who are running the organization. Over the years, the organization has expanded its coverage to include political agenda and pushing for legislations that are pro-people and pro-workers. By keeping abreast with current developments and expanding its coverage to accommodate changes in society, the union is also to keep itself relevant to our times. In the recent years, the organization has been involved in the campaign for affordable healthcare for every man, woman and child in the country and it has continually served as the voice of many healthcare workers around the United States and Canada. Aside from championing the rights of health workers, the organization is also actively campaigning and promoting the rights of migrant workers and those who belong to the marginalized sector (http://www.seiu.org). However, like any other big organizations, it is not immune to issues and controversies. In fact, SEIU has been accused of corruption, political misconduct, violating the rights of its members, violence, intimidating workers to persuade them to allow SEIU to represent them and election law violations among others (Fletcher et al, 2009; Plummer, 2008). The issue of corruption and violation of the rights of its members are some of the most unsettling issues that the organization has to face in recent years. No less than the union’s president Andrew Stern has been accused by different sectors for corruption and this situation can hurt the integrity of the organization (Jones, 2009; Raine, 2009). Note that SEIU prides itself from championing the rights of the workers and promoting equality and justice in the workplace so issues on corruption will not only diminish its credibility, it will also put in serious doubt its capacity to represent its members and protect their rights. As for issues on violation of the rights of its members, these issues are not new and there have been cases in the past when the union was involved in cases of member misrepresentation. The controversy between SEIU and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUWH) which resulted to incidents of violence and intimidation which allegedly caused many SEIU members in favor of NUWH is one of the biggest issues that the SEIU had to deal with in 2009 (Jones, 2009). At the height of the controversy between these two organizations, the SEIU was accused of using ugly tactics including card checking and bullying to get the votes of the members to represent them (Jones, 2009; www.nuhw.org). The case between SEIU and the NUWH is not the first and will not be the last of its kind in the history of SEIU. In fact, it was not too long ago that SEIU made peace with another rival union, Unite Here, and agreed that since Unite Hear works on the hotel and garment industry, SEIU should not go into these industries to avoid conflict with SEIU. The settlement between these organizations was reached after more than two years of fierce battle and a lot of wasted resources. Many observers believe that these two organizations are spending too much money going after each other at the expense of their members and in the process; they do not truly promote the welfare of their members at all. In fact, the money which should have been used to promote the welfare of its members and other programs that are beneficial to society has been used in vain. Moreover, the fact that many members claimed that they were bullied or harassed into voting for a certain union during the height of the disputes between these unions, we can clearly see that the acts of these unions tantamount to a denial of the rights of the members to choose and to decide for themselves. The idea that members can be coerced and harassed by the very organization that is supposed to protect their rights reflect the way union is governed within and the kind of ethical values that the organization believes in. No, it is not a question of whether or not the SEIU cares for its members but rather it is question of ethics and right conduct of the people who holds the reigns of power within the organization. Whether we like it or not, an organization is leader driven and once the management of the union loses control over the goals and aspirations of the organization, there is a big possibility that the organization will no longer be able to truly connect with the needs of its members. V. Conclusion SEIU is already more than 100 years old and it has gone through a lot of trials in the past. Despite the fact that the union’s reputation has been repeatedly tarnished by many controversies, the union already has inside mechanism that allows it to move on despite setbacks and controversies. The fact that the union has established a strong and favorable bargaining environment with a number of companies in the United States and Canada and it has more than 2 million members, we can safely say that the organization will go on for many more years. Yes, there will be a lot of issues against SEIU in the future and there is doubt that the union will again face changes or corruption, violence, intimation, political meandering and many other controversies but the fact remains that when an organization has established a system and has made strong connection within and outside of the sector where it primarily revolves, there is little possibility that the organization will experience a total collapse in the near future. In the event where the union does suffer severe riffs that may cause it to lose many of its members, the worst thing that can happen is that the union will overhaul its system, fire its officers, elect new officers and go on with its business. References: 1. 9th Circuit Grants Court Power to enforce arbitration clauses in code-of-conduct agreement Immigrants Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 7, November 24, 2003 2. Bennett, James T., and Bruce E. Kaufman. What do unions do?: a twenty-year perspective‎ (2007) 3. Fink, Leon, and Brian Greenberg. Upheaval in the Quiet Zone: 1199/SEIU and the Politics of Healthcare Unionism (2nd ed. 2009) 4. Fletcher, Bill, and Fernando Gapasin. Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice (2009) 5. George Raine, Ousted SEIU Leaders Push Decertification Vote, San Francisco Chronicle (February 3, 2009) 6. Government Charges against SEIU highlight violations, intimidation Thursday, April 8, 2010 http://www.nuhw.org/seiu/the-governments-case-against-seiu.html 7. Lopez, Steven Henry. Reorganizing the Rust Belt: An Inside Study of the American Labor Movement (2004), focus on SEIU in Pittsburgh 8. Plumer, Bradford. "Labors Love Lost," New Republic, April 23, 2008, Vol. 238, Issue 7 9. Service Employees International Union http://www.seiu.org/index.php 10. Steven T. Jones, Union Showdown, San Francisco Bay Guardian (January 28, 2009) 11. Yates, Michael D. Why Unions Matter‎ (2009) Read More