In: Accounting
Answer.
Service Employees International Union
(SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9
million workers
in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada.
SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: health care
(over half of members work in the health care field), including
hospital, home care and nursing home workers;
public services (local and state government employees);
property services (including janitors, security officers and food
service workers).
In 2003, SEIU was a founding member of the New Unity Partnership, an organization of unions that pushed for a greater commitment to organizing unorganized workers into unions. In 2005, SEIU was a founding member of the Change to Win Coalition, which furthered the reformist agenda, criticizing the AFL-CIO for focusing its attention on electoral politics, instead of encouraging organizing in the face of decreasing union membership. These differences boiled over on the eve of the 2005 AFL-CIO convention, as the SEIU and Teamsters announced that they were disaffiliating from the AFL-CIO.The Change to Win Federation held its founding convention in September 2005, where SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger was announced as the organization's chair.
In the following decade, several Change to Win members disaffiliated and re-joined the AFL-CIO, leaving SEIU, the Teamsters, and the United Farm Workers as the remaining members. The SEIU's decision to break away from the AFL-CIO is considered controversial by some labor experts. After the disaffiliation, the SEIU continued to experience significant growth in membership. Stern stepped down as president of SEIU in 2010, and was replaced by Mary Kay Henry, a long-time organizer and staff member at the union, and its first female president.
SEIU has over 150 local branches. It is affiliated with the Change to Win Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress. SEIU's international headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. and it is one of the largest unions in the country.
Sources of Donations: According to the Center for Responsive Politics, since 1990 the SEIU has been the nation's top organization contributing to federal campaigns, donating $232,694,670, 99% of which went to Democrats. Over that same period, the National Education Association was the second highest organizational political donor, contributing $96,992,506, 97% of which went to Democrats.[46] Since 1998, the SEIU has spent $19,676,660 in additional money on lobbying.
Objectives
The objects and purposes of this International Union shall be to benefit its members and improve their conditions by every means, including but not limited to:
A. By securing economic advantages, including better wages,
hours and working conditions, through organization, collective
bargaining, legislative and political action, and the utilization
of other lawful means;
B. By organizing and uniting in this International Union all
working men and women eligible for membership herein; C. By
engaging in all such civic, social, political, legal, economic,
cultural, educational, charitable, and other activities, whether on
local, national, or international levels, as will advance this
International Union’s standing in the community and in the labor
movement and further the interests of this organization and its
membership, directly or indirectly;
D. By advancing and strengthening the rights of working men and
women to bargain collectively, and introducing innovative ways to
carry out this work;
E. By providing benefits and advantages to individual union
members, officers, and employees through education, training,
access to new technology, member resource centers, a 21st century
communications system, pensions, and death and welfare
benefits.
Jurisdiction & Membership
The International Union shall be composed of and have jurisdiction over its affiliated bodies and all Local Unions composed of working men and women who are employed or engaged in any phase of private, nonprofit or public employment, including without limitation employees of colleges, schools or universities, public employers (including cities, counties, states, provinces, territories, commonwealths, governmental districts, federal agencies, and multiple agencies or authorities and any subdivisions thereof), institutions or agencies, hospitals, nursing homes or other health facilities, and private and public utilities, department stores, industrial plants, law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and all employees thereof, including clericals, technicians, professionals, paraprofessionals and paramedicals, or those who are engaged in maintenance, sales, servicing, protection or operation of all types of institutions, buildings or structures, commercial, Financial goals Affiliations Jurisdiction Cooperation with other organizations Cooperation among Local Unions Safeguarding the union Empowering members New forms of organization Movement for justice SEIU 2016 9 mercantile or other establishments, edifices and grounds, and their environs, whether private, public or nonprofit, and all categories of employees therein and thereabout, including places of assembly, amusement, recreation, entertainment, and the presentation of sporting events.