I'm not the only blogger down here in lovely Puerto Rico covering the SEIU convention.

• Dave Johnson, of Seeing The Forest, has his take on the Accountability project over at The Huffington Post.

  So SEIU will step up to the plate to with serious resources that does two things. First, it finally gives politicians whose hearts are with us a reason to vote with us. Second, it tells politicians who don't agree with a progressive agenda (of reducing corporate power over our lives and restoring democracy to the people) that their time is past, that we will run candidates against them in the primaries and these candidates will have strong support.

  While this is election activity, it begins to put an enforcement component onto our progressive movement's policy agenda.

• Also, Tim Tagaris is down here as well, doing some net outreach on behalf of SEIU. He's posting over at Open Left.

  All told, SEIU spent over $1 million dollars in an "unprecedented effort" to help elect Donna Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District earlier this year.

  And as part of the "Justice for All" platform at SEIU's Convention -- you'll be seeing more primaries like this fought in the coming months and years. [...]

  The goal is not simply to run primaries and win, but to elect representatives who will work and vote for universal health care, freedom to form a union without employer interference, economic fairness, an end to the war, and more.

  Donna Edwards will be speaking in front of the convention tomorrow. Come back here for a livestream and some liveblogging of her speech.

• Now even with all this talk of "justice for all" and accountability, it's not all roses and butterflies. There's a deep-rooted conflict that's playing out here between the SEIU International and the United Healthcare Workers West local based in California. This is worth a far more extensive post than a bullet point in a round-up, which I intend to write tomorrow, but I recommend reading this NY Times article for an intro to the conflict:

  [SEIU President Andy] Stern...is facing considerable internal criticism that he is seeking to increase the union's size and the leadership's power at the expense of rank-and-file members.

  "He's taking things in a bad direction because he's taking steps without involving any workers," said Sal Rosselli, president of United Healthcare Workers West, which represents 140,000 S.E.I.U. members in California.

  Mr. Stern insists that the changes will help rank-and-file workers and are vital not just to make his union stronger, but also to transform the nation's politics and policies. [...]

  Mr. Stern says it is important to push to unionize millions of workers both to lift wages and benefits for nonunion workers and to prevent union members' wages and benefits from being pulled down.

  This Nation article is a more in depth look at it:

  At the heart of Stern's vision is a drive toward growth, to organize the "90 percent of workers without a union." Without growth, he argues, any union gains are built on sand--"a higher compensation island in a growing nonunion sea." This singular focus is rooted in a realization that, given the long slide in union ranks since the 1950s, the labor movement must build a critical mass of members ("density") in key industries in order to wield power against ever larger and bolder multinational employers.

  On the other hand:

  In what Stern sees as a classic example of "Just Us" unionism, Rosselli worked out a deal with better terms for his members that only covered Tenet's California facilities. But Rosselli is vehement that he was serving national goals: his members accepted healthcare givebacks in order to win the right to criticize Tenet publicly and throw up solidarity pickets--exactly the tools needed to aid SEIU's organizing drives in Florida and beyond. Good contracts now, Rosselli wrote in a letter to Stern, "are the best examples we can use to organize the unorganized." SEIU, he says, has lost sight of that.

  For more on UHW-W's side of the story, check out SEIUVoice.org.

  You can find SEIU International online over at SEIU2008.org.

Watertiger NYC from Fire Dog Lake is here too, will have a link to her piece tomorrow.

I'm not the only blogger down here in lovely Puerto Rico covering the SEIU convention.

• Dave Johnson, of Seeing The Forest, has his take on the Accountability project over at The Huffington Post.

  So SEIU will step up to the plate to with serious resources that does two things. First, it finally gives politicians whose hearts are with us a reason to vote with us. Second, it tells politicians who don't agree with a progressive agenda (of reducing corporate power over our lives and restoring democracy to the people) that their time is past, that we will run candidates against them in the primaries and these candidates will have strong support.

  While this is election activity, it begins to put an enforcement component onto our progressive movement's policy agenda.

• Also, Tim Tagaris is down here as well, doing some net outreach on behalf of SEIU. He's posting over at Open Left.

  All told, SEIU spent over $1 million dollars in an "unprecedented effort" to help elect Donna Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District earlier this year.

  And as part of the "Justice for All" platform at SEIU's Convention -- you'll be seeing more primaries like this fought in the coming months and years. [...]

  The goal is not simply to run primaries and win, but to elect representatives who will work and vote for universal health care, freedom to form a union without employer interference, economic fairness, an end to the war, and more.

  Donna Edwards will be speaking in front of the convention tomorrow. Come back here for a livestream and some liveblogging of her speech.

• Now even with all this talk of "justice for all" and accountability, it's not all roses and butterflies. There's a deep-rooted conflict that's playing out here between the SEIU International and the United Healthcare Workers West local based in California. This is worth a far more extensive post than a bullet point in a round-up, which I intend to write tomorrow, but I recommend reading this NY Times article for an intro to the conflict:

  [SEIU President Andy] Stern...is facing considerable internal criticism that he is seeking to increase the union's size and the leadership's power at the expense of rank-and-file members.

  "He's taking things in a bad direction because he's taking steps without involving any workers," said Sal Rosselli, president of United Healthcare Workers West, which represents 140,000 S.E.I.U. members in California.

  Mr. Stern insists that the changes will help rank-and-file workers and are vital not just to make his union stronger, but also to transform the nation's politics and policies. [...]

  Mr. Stern says it is important to push to unionize millions of workers both to lift wages and benefits for nonunion workers and to prevent union members' wages and benefits from being pulled down.

  This Nation article is a more in depth look at it:

  At the heart of Stern's vision is a drive toward growth, to organize the "90 percent of workers without a union." Without growth, he argues, any union gains are built on sand--"a higher compensation island in a growing nonunion sea." This singular focus is rooted in a realization that, given the long slide in union ranks since the 1950s, the labor movement must build a critical mass of members ("density") in key industries in order to wield power against ever larger and bolder multinational employers.

  On the other hand:

  In what Stern sees as a classic example of "Just Us" unionism, Rosselli worked out a deal with better terms for his members that only covered Tenet's California facilities. But Rosselli is vehement that he was serving national goals: his members accepted healthcare givebacks in order to win the right to criticize Tenet publicly and throw up solidarity pickets--exactly the tools needed to aid SEIU's organizing drives in Florida and beyond. Good contracts now, Rosselli wrote in a letter to Stern, "are the best examples we can use to organize the unorganized." SEIU, he says, has lost sight of that.

  For more on UHW-W's side of the story, check out SEIUVoice.org.

  You can find SEIU International online over at SEIU2008.org.

Watertiger NYC from Fire Dog Lake is here too, will have a link to her piece tomorrow.

I'm not the only blogger down here in lovely Puerto Rico covering the SEIU convention.

• Dave Johnson, of Seeing The Forest, has his take on the Accountability project over at The Huffington Post.

  So SEIU will step up to the plate to with serious resources that does two things. First, it finally gives politicians whose hearts are with us a reason to vote with us. Second, it tells politicians who don't agree with a progressive agenda (of reducing corporate power over our lives and restoring democracy to the people) that their time is past, that we will run candidates against them in the primaries and these candidates will have strong support.

  While this is election activity, it begins to put an enforcement component onto our progressive movement's policy agenda.

• Tim Tagaris is down here as well, doing some net outreach on behalf of SEIU. He's posting over at Open Left.

  All told, SEIU spent over $1 million dollars in an "unprecedented effort" to help elect Donna Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District earlier this year.

  And as part of the "Justice for All" platform at SEIU's Convention -- you'll be seeing more primaries like this fought in the coming months and years. [...]

  The goal is not simply to run primaries and win, but to elect representatives who will work and vote for universal health care, freedom to form a union without employer interference, economic fairness, an end to the war, and more.

  Donna Edwards will be speaking in front of the convention tomorrow. Come back here for a livestream and some liveblogging of her speech.

• Now even with all this talk of "justice for all" and accountability, it's not all roses and butterflies. There's a deep-rooted conflict that's playing out here between the SEIU International and the United Healthcare Workers West local based in California. This is worth a far more extensive post than a bullet point in a round-up -- a post I intend to write tomorrow -- but I recommend reading this NY Times article for an intro to the conflict:

  [SEIU President Andy] Stern...is facing considerable internal criticism that he is seeking to increase the union's size and the leadership's power at the expense of rank-and-file members.

  "He's taking things in a bad direction because he's taking steps without involving any workers," said Sal Rosselli, president of United Healthcare Workers West, which represents 140,000 S.E.I.U. members in California.

  Mr. Stern insists that the changes will help rank-and-file workers and are vital not just to make his union stronger, but also to transform the nation's politics and policies. [...]

  Mr. Stern says it is important to push to unionize millions of workers both to lift wages and benefits for nonunion workers and to prevent union members' wages and benefits from being pulled down.

  This Nation article is a more in depth look at it:

  At the heart of Stern's vision is a drive toward growth, to organize the "90 percent of workers without a union." Without growth, he argues, any union gains are built on sand--"a higher compensation island in a growing nonunion sea." This singular focus is rooted in a realization that, given the long slide in union ranks since the 1950s, the labor movement must build a critical mass of members ("density") in key industries in order to wield power against ever larger and bolder multinational employers.

  On the other hand:

  In what Stern sees as a classic example of "Just Us" unionism, Rosselli worked out a deal with better terms for his members that only covered Tenet's California facilities. But Rosselli is vehement that he was serving national goals: his members accepted healthcare givebacks in order to win the right to criticize Tenet publicly and throw up solidarity pickets--exactly the tools needed to aid SEIU's organizing drives in Florida and beyond. Good contracts now, Rosselli wrote in a letter to Stern, "are the best examples we can use to organize the unorganized." SEIU, he says, has lost sight of that.

  For more on UHW-W's side of the story, check out SEIUVoice.org.

  You can find SEIU International online over at SEIU2008.org.

Watertiger NYC from Fire Dog Lake is here too, will have a link to her piece tomorrow.

Attendees of the SEIU Convention in Puerto Rico are facing a protest encampment and multiple pickets by Puerto Rican teachers, parents and schoolchildren, furious at Andy Stern and his  North American union for their efforts to bust a historic strike and take over the independent Puerto Rican Teachers Union (FMPR--Fdederacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico).  

Labor Notes is on the scene:

 The Puerto Rican convention center hosting the Service Employees International Union's big confab is kind of an eerie cross between Superman's Fortress of Solitude and a prison in some isolated part of rural California. The entire complex was fenced in or gated off, with police and security guards posted at every entrance.  Apparently the looming threat is the Puerto Rican teachers, whose union is known by its Spanish acronym FMPR. About 100 teachers gathered outside the convention center Saturday morning to protest SEIU's raid on their union (read the full story from the February Labor Notes). In January the FMPR was decertified by the Puerto Rican government for authorizing a strike. The decertification coincided with SEIU's announcement that they were affiliating a rival teacher union and making plans to scoop up Puerto Rico's 40,000 teachers.

You can see SEIU President Andy Stern addressing the 2008 SEIU convention by going to this website:  SEIU 2008 Convention, Ustream.TV: Streaming live from SEIU's 2008 Convention in Puerto Rico.

Update [2008-6-2 14:37:49 by Todd Beeton]:This was an absolute barn-burner of a speech. The membership in this hall was absolutely rapt by Andy's message of "justice for all, not just us" and "we are our brother's and sister's keeper." Up on the jumbotron, you could see the tears welling in the eyes of people who stood up and cheered Andy, the people in this hall were clearly moved by the speech. There's been more than a little political theatre at play here, especially the "Deal of the Century"-like graphics announcing the landmark of crossing 2,000,000 members, but no matter how theatrical the speech and the presentation were, the reaction by the membership was clearly genuine.

Update [2008-6-2 14:44:30 by Todd Beeton]:Two women, non-union workers, just left the stage after telling their stories, again, a genuinely moving moment in what is generally a fairly scripted theatrical affair. They spoke of making in the area of $7 an hour, having to work several jobs and still living paycheck to paycheck. They have no healthcare insurance, one woman spoke of being one paycheck away from being homeless, unable to save for retirement and unable to visit her grandchild in NY. That's when she broke down and I heard to my right in the back of the room: "That's OK, take your time, darlin." She stopped speaking to collect herself and the place rose to their feet in solidarity with their sisters, many wiping away tears. It was a reminder to me of why we're fighting for what we're fighting for.

As an RN of 29 years and a CNA/NNOC RN who witnessed the dramatic vote for change by St. Rose Las Vegas RNs, who voted by 53% for CNA/NNOC, I am proud to post this diary today.

In the last few years, America's RNs have formed--at last--a National Nurses' Movement, with the creation of the first national union of RNs.  So far we are 80,000 RNs banding together for guaranteed healthcare, nursing practice, and a progressive labor movement, and that number grows daily.  As patient advocates we believe that this is the only path towards making sure that every one of our patients get the care they deserve.

You may know CNA/NNOC for its political profile, but it is the nurse organizing that has allowed us to make a difference for RNs across the country.  Here's a quick update on the incredible progress we're making just this week:

Intro
You must enter an Intro for your Diary Entry between 300 and 1150 characters long.
As an RN of 29 years and a CNA/NNOC RN who witnessed the dramatic vote for change by St. Rose Las Vegas RNs, who voted by 53% for CNA/NNOC, I am proud to post this diary today.

In the last few years, America's RNs have formed--at last--a National Nurses' Movement, with the creation of the first national union of RNs.  So far we are 80,000 RNs banding together for guaranteed healthcare, nursing practice, and a progressive labor movement, and that number grows daily.  As patient advocates we believe that this is the only path towards making sure that every one of our patients get the care they deserve.

You may know CNA/NNOC for its political profile, but it is the nurse organizing that has allowed us to make a difference for RNs across the country.  Here's a quick update on the incredible progress we're making just this week:

The California Nurses Association won a restraining order against the Service Employees International Union on April 18 after reports of widespread physical abuse by members of the SEIU was documented against members of the mostly female rival union.

This video is from the cna href=http://www.calnurse.org/ website:

<object width="425" height="355"></object>

On the heels of a series of incidents in California where female nurses have been followed and harassed by mostly male SEIU staffers, and in the wake of SEIU's violent attack on the peaceful Labor Notes conference, a California Superior Court has issued a temporary restraining order against Andy Stern, President of SEIU, and his staff, ordering them to stay away from nurses with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.  

Stern will appear in court on May 1st for a hearing on whether to issue a permanent restraining order.SEIU claims its actions are in retaliation for a disputed election in Ohio where Catholic Healthcare Partners filed for an election to choose SEIU as their company union.  

SEIU's recent actions makes clear why RNs around the country do not have a good opinion of their organization.

The story is in the LA Times: URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me- nurses17apr17,1,1579801.story

California nurses union gets restraining order against SEIU - Los Angeles Times