Union Hypocrisy On Display: SEIU's Union Staff Votes To Strike

There’s nothing more embarrassing for union bosses than their own unionized staff striking against them or, in this case, threatening to strike.

In San Francisco, SEIU staff, represented by the left-wing Communications Workers of America, has been without a contract since their contract expired last September.

SEIU boss Roxanne Sanchez, according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian, is trying to get her union staff to give concessions on their pensions and health care.

Last week, after months without a contract, 94% of the SEIU’s own union staff voted to strike.

After several cancelled negotiating sessions between the two sides (which haven’t met since our story was published), CWA last week called for a strike authorization vote that was approved by 94 percent of voting members. CWA Area Director Libby Sayre and Nick Peraino, a CWA shop steward at Local 1021, say the vote repudiates Sanchez’s characterization that it is a small but vocal group that is unhappy with management.

“We’re very much united in our position and our willingness to do what it takes to get a decent contract,” Peraino told us. Sayre told the Guardian, “There is widespread sentiment they’re being low-balled by management.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time the purple behemoth’s staff has had troubles with its own union staff.

In 2009, then SEIU-boss Anna Burger was the target of union picketing by her own employees over the SEIU bosses’ laying off one third of its union staff.

Union members yesterday picketed an event at which their boss was being honored – accusing her of union-busting and anti-worker policies in connection with layoffs and contract talks at their workplace.

[snip]

“Anna Burger is a hypocrite,” said Malcolm Harris, president of the Union of Union Representatives, which represents 210 employees of the SEIU. Harris said 75 of the 210 are scheduled to be laid off.

While it is unknown whether the CWA-represented staff at the SEIU’s local 1021 will actually strike their SEIU bosses, the fact that union bosses are exposed as no different that the companies they often target is, nevertheless, another lesson in union bosses’ do-as-we-say-not-as-we-do hypocrisy.

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“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

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