Yesterday afternoon the leaders of Unite Here had to listen to their rank and file members as they made a plea for peace. Members from Service Workers United, Unite Here Local 2552, presented a resolution to the Unite Here Convention Monday afternoon which called for binding arbitration to end the bitter dispute between Unite Here and Workers United.
The delegates -- workers in laundry, food service and related industries -- have a personal stake in the situation, as the conflict has already harmed workers in our shops, weakened our union and squandered approximately $7 million.
Our delegates were quite brave to speak to this resolution on the floor, as the leadership of Unite Here blamed the entire conflict on Workers United and SEIU in three separate presentations to the delegates. It was truly unfortunate that while our members were standing up to end the fight, it was clear from their words and actions at the convention that the leadership of UNITE HERE is gearing up for a long inter-union battle.
Though this dispute has dragged on for many months, today was the first opportunity many Unite Here delegates had to read for themselves a copy of the arbitration proposal which Workers United and SEIU have agreed to, which calls an arbitrated settlement based on the recommendations of mediator, United Food and Commercial Workers President Joe Hansen. Copies of President Hansen's detailed recommendations were provided as well.
In the discussion that followed our submission of the resolution, Service Workers United members argued for an end to the conflict, and a return to the critical work of building the union.
"Its time to stop this infighting stop wasting members' money. All we're doing is hurting our members...I'm a victim from Katrina. I live in New Orleans. I lost everything I had. Now I'm in this fighting, in this stuff that just don't make sense to me, and I feel like arbitration is the best way to handle it. I think we need to get these petty differences aside. We need to stand on what we believe in and in what's right. It's been a long road rebuilding. I used to work in prosthetics, making fake arms. When I came back in town, I became a custodian. My job was gone. I had no insurance. Since this union has been formed, I have insurance. I have a health care. I have a pension. I feel deep in my heart, that with arbitration, we can work these differences out." -- Ronald Johnson, Chief Custodian, New Orleans
"We have to resolve the differences between our unions so that the workers will not be confused. Now who can the members turn to? The workers are suffering because of the fight, a fight that we should resolve in a fair or just arbitration. This would enable us to continue to organize hotels, casinos, laundry, and foodservice workers." -- Maria Isabel Lozoya, Laundry Worker, Los Angeles
The resolution was defeated in a voice vote. We were not surprised by this, as about a third of the people in the convention hall are paid staff of Unite Here and this convention has been the most tightly managed one I have ever attended in 33 years in the labor movement. The leadership allowed very little dialogue, and no delegates spoke against the motion. The only speakers were the chair of the resolution committee and President Wilhelm. The goal of the resolution was to present information directly to the delegates, and to help them recognize that ending this conflict quickly is in everyone's best interest.
While the vote may have ended the formal discussion at this convention, the presentation by SWU delegates must be the beginning of a union-wide open discussion on our priorities. It is not acceptable to simply continue with more inter-union war, spending over a million dollars every month on fighting other workers. It is not in the best interests of our members, who need their dues money and their union focused on winning for them. It is a terrible thing for the labor movement to continue to be distracted, publicly tarnished, and split by this conflict. And it is unconscionable for workers to continue to be hurt by this dispute -- as employers respond to Unite Here's actions by yanking union recognition, threatening benefits, and refusing to bargain--with no real opportunity to weigh in on how it ends.
As other Unite Here members continue to learn the true cost of the path the leadership of Unite Here has set, and get the information so that they understand that the proposal to arbitrate already contains the settlement recommendations that would protect their futures, we are confident they too will call for an immediate end to this conflict.
Source: Service Workers United
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