SEIU's International Executive Board of SEIU Adopts Landmark Ethics & Standards Package

"Union members place tremendous trust in their leaders. SEIU elected officers and managers owe not just fiduciary obligations to union members but, given the moral purpose of our mission, SEIU leaders owe members the highest level of ethical behavior in the exercise of all leadership decisions and financial dealings on members' behalf"
-- SEIU Code of Ethical Practices and Conflict of Interest Policy

At the June 11-13 meeting of the International Executive Board (IEB) of SEIU, the highest governing body of the union between conventions, board members voted unanimously over the weekend to adopt a rigorous and sweeping package of ethical standards and practices to be applied union-wide.

The SEIU Code of Ethical Practices and Conflict of Interest Policy is based on recommendations from the SEIU Commission on Ethics and Standards, which is comprised of a nationally respected panel of retired judges, academics, clergy, ethicists and SEIU representatives who were charged last fall with improving union-wide ethics guidelines, practices, enforcement and education efforts. The IEB also created an Ethics Review Board, an independent body that will review appeals of internal union cases on violations of the ethics code. The IEB appointed the following to the Board: Catherine Fisk, a professor at the UC Irvine School of Law; Reverend Nelson Johnson, a pastor of Faith Community Church and member of the UNITE HERE Public Review Board; and Ben Sachs, an associate professor at Harvard Law School.

"SEIU has made a serious and comprehensive move towards greater transparency and accountability at a critical time for the union and the larger progressive movement," said UC Irvine School of Law professor Catherine Fisk, a newly-appointed member of the SEIU Commission on Ethics and Standards. "From setting broad-sweeping ethics guidelines, to developing new mechanisms for financial reporting, and to implementing a robust, union-wide training program, SEIU has created a landmark program to help locals be the best possible stewards of member dues."

At last week's International Executive Board (IEB) meeting, the board also elected four new vice presidents: Edgar Romney, Noel Beasley and Alex Dagg from the Workers United conference; and Kim Cook (SEIU Local 925), who was already a member of the IEB. Two new Executive Vice Presidents were chosen as well: Workers United President Bruce Raynor and SEIU Director of Property Services Mitch Ackerman.