Fresno Members Choose SEIU UHW
Old-Guard NUHW Officials Show Their Disrespect for Home Care Workers
By Eliseo Medina and Dave Regan

In a closely watched union election in Fresno County, home care workers have spoken: They want to stay united in the Service Employees International Union -- United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU UHW). Their votes show they want a strong, united union so that together they can focus on what's really important -- fighting the proposed cuts to home care services at the state and local levels to protect consumers and workers.

The recently concluded mail ballot election was between SEIU UHW and NUHW, which was started by old-guard union officials who were removed from office in SEIU UHW for, among other things, improperly diverting $3 million in members' dues to a bogus non-profit organization. The old-guard officers include former president Sal Rosselli.

The Fresno members voted to keep SEIU UHW as their union in a record turnout for an election among home care workers. They made this choice after enduring an unprecedented two-year campaign of lies, distortions and false promises by the NUHW officials, who ran a management-style, anti-union campaign. But despite NUHW's dishonesty and their long-ties with these workers, they still lost their effort to convince Fresno members to divide themselves from California's 700,000 home care workers and other members in SEIU.

The old guard from NUHW has talked a lot over the past two years about their commitment to "member-driven" or "bottom up" unionism. But the results in Fresno have shown that they won't recognize the voice of working people or the democratic process if it in any way conflicts with their personal ambitions. For all their high-minded talk, their belief in democracy dissolves the minute they lose a vote. It's time for NUHW to respect these workers and the democratic decision they made.

Unfortunately, that appears unlikely. As predictable as the sunrise was NUHW's set of wild, post-election accusations, lies, and excuses about why they lost, amounting to little more than a sour grapes rant. In fact, at the final vote count, the instant they realized they had lost an election they thought they would win, NUHW officials threw a tantrum, refused to sign the election papers, and then kicked over some garbage cans as they stormed out of the building.

We have seen the same pattern of ridiculous claims and charges over and over from NUHW. In Fresno, they resorted to making up numbers with no documentation and no facts (such as claiming SEIU spent a preposterous $10 million on the Fresno campaign, or failing to acknowledge that 80 percent of the SEIU supporters who came to Fresno to back the home care workers were rank-and-file members).

The truth is, NUHW officials can posture however they want, but they will not be able to change the simple fact that when members finally had their chance to speak, they chose SEIU UHW. And now these workers, and other SEIU UHW members across California, can continue fighting for a better future for their families and the people they care for.