Tom DeBruin of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania rose to recommend Convention Resolution #206, calling for one SEIU long-term care local per state.  The resolution was approved to be sent to the Convention Program Committee and to this assembly for discussion by a near-unanimous vote by the SEIU Healthcare Council of Presidents last night.
DeBruin said that he has spent his whole life building a voice for long-term care workers and our clients. "I started 34 years ago as a nursing home worker. For 20 years, I spent every day fighting against the largest nursing home corporation in the world: Beverly Enterprises. One at a time we organized their homes in Pennsylvania until we had almost half organized – but it took 20 years!"
 
DeBruin described the difficulty that having nursing home workers in five separate locals made collective action and unity difficult.
 
After bringing nursing home workers together into one local union, Pennsylvania nursing home workers gained the strength to win an agreement that allowed all Beverly workers in the state to become members – organizing the other 50% of Beverly nursing homes in Pennsylvania in less than 3 years.
 
In an informal 30 minute debate, to "get a sense of the body," more than 20 members spoke from the floor on the issue of mandating one long term local in each state. Here is a sampling:
 
— "I've lived this resolution. I started as a member in a nursing home where we fought for nickels and dimes. We merged 3 locals and became one long term care division. We no longer go to the bargaining table on our knees."
 
— "In Indiana the political environment has been a disaster. Now we’re speaking as one long term care local. By uniting together we can make it better."
 
— "I'm not in support of this resolution. I've been a homecare worker for 31 years and for all those I've been in the healthcare workers union. I think we should still be members of UHW and we shouldn't have to leave UHW to do what we're doing."
 
— "I'm a rank and file member of our union. In Washington State we have one long term care union. In 2006 we passed parity law and set standards for homecare workers as well as CNAs in nursing homes. Having one LTC union strengthens all workers."
 
— "For many years we had 3 unions in New York representing homecare workers. We voted to come together and now through new organizing we've tripled our membership. We have one umbrella for the workers we represent."
 
— "The legislature counts numbers, they don't count names. They react to one voice not the initials or the numbers behind that voice. We are standing here in support of what Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois have done. In the long run we will win. It's not in the short term it's the long term that counts. Stand today tomorrow will go past you. We can all rejoice when we are all lifted up. Not me not you but all of us. Not just homecare workers, but janitors, and teachers, and everyone."
 
An overwhelming majority stood in favor of sending the proposed resolution to the Convention Program Committee.

The Assembly got a preview of a few key resolutions that will be debated on the floor of the convention:
Resolution #103A: Iraq and the Economy
Stephen Thornton, SEIU Healthcare 1199 New England:
“We need to redouble our efforts to end the war. We need to shift the billions from the war to human needs at home, specifically because there’s a healthcare crisis in this country. Not just the 47 million with no insurance, I’m talking about the mental health care crisis among our veterans. A thousand vets attempt to commit suicide every month. No thanks to the Bush Administration, veterans are suing the federal government because care is not forthcoming. My union represents 3,000 mental health workers and we care for vets every day. The solution to the crisis is clear: redouble our efforts to work against the war, elect a president who will help us end the war, join locally with groups to end the war and fourthly, win universal healthcare.”
 
Resolution #111: Rebalancing our Nation’s Long Term Care System and Improving Consumer Choice
David Rolf, SEIU Healthcare 775
“There are too many states where home care is not an option for seniors or people with disabilities. In the majority of U.S. states there’s not a full home care program where people can choose care in their home. This resolution would put focus on home care so people have the civil right to remain in their home for care. This is an opportunity to shape the future of our industry in stead of just reacting to changes. We are going to go on record as the change agent to say every consumer should have the choice they need to receive care in their homes.”
 
Resolution #114: Single Payer Universal Healthcare
Steve Kramer, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
“The California Nurses Association has lied about so many things, one of the lies they tell is that SEIU doesn’t support single-payer, when we’ve been behind the Conyers bill since the outset. We’re setting the record straight and clear that we’re for single-payer and always have been. While we support single payer, we understand no presidential candidate could advocate for single payer and still be a candidate for president who could win. And yet we still should be out there teaching the nation and setting the tone.”
 
Resolution #118: Role of Nurses in Policy Making
Cathy Stoddart, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania
“Every day in this country, the governance of nursing practice is in hands of someone other than a nurse. There is not an official forum for elected officials to turn to nurses’ expertise. Quality should not be defined by legislators or the external health care industry but by those of us who do the work. This resolution supports the creation of a state and federal-level policy committee made up of nurses so policymakers can consult with us before laws or policies affecting nurses are developed.”

SEIU Healthcare Local 49 president Alice Dale highlighted the decision-making portions of the Program to Win.
“We want every single local to have a voice in decision-making,” she said.
 
She described the various representative bodies proposed to make decisions and the process by which they’d make those decisions. While striving for consensus, she said, ultimately, decisions have to be made, and that’s why majority would rule.
 
“The best decisions are made when all points are heard and considered. We’re committed to stay at the table even when it gets tough. That’s consensus. At some point, we have to make a decision. To call the question. We know what it’s like to be on the losing side of a vote. We don’t like it, but it’s part of the democratic process. This isn’t a debating society. We need to take action,” she said.
 
“Local 49 did not vote in the majority on many of these resolutions. But we recognize that we need unity.  And the opportunities before us demand that we have unity.”
 
Accordingly, debate on the floor ensued:
 
John Borsos, SEIU UHW vice-president, encouraged members to look at a flyer distributed at lunch. “If we really truly are interested in building a consensus-driven, unity-driven process, then we should be able to reconcile the differences and issues that UHW has.”
 
Tom DeBruin, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania president: “It’s important that we have real discussion, real debate, and real leadership. It's important to stay in those discussions, and it's wrong to take those issues outside rather than stay in those discussions. We have to hold our leaders accountable. And when we make decisions together it's important that we leave together and stand together.”
 
Dave Regan, SEIU OH/WV/KY president: “To my ears this debate has exemplified the best of our union, we're hearing the various points of views that we are expressing, that's exactly what democracy is. It's not ok to say that just because you do not prevail, does not mean that you have not been heard."
 
Kim Jacob, SEIU UHW West: “Strength of the union begins with the members. The national hospital bargaining council will eliminate bargaining members on the council. Ever since I've been a member of the union, we've always been for a national healthcare union. But the way things have been set up, members won't be a part of the decision-making. It will be International Executive Board and then appointed leaders, and members will be on the bottom.”
 
Paulette Forbes, a member of SEIU UHW East brought down the house by asking everyone in the hall who was a rank-and-file union member to stand up. Nearly everyone in the hall stood and cheered.
 
“SEIU has been a democratic union for as long as I've been a member—for over 20 years.  There is a debate going on right now about member representation among delegates. Over 3/4 of the delegates here today are rank-and-file members. We are represented.  We are here. We are proving today that we have a democratic union. But being a small boat on the water isn't good enough if the water starts coming in—we need to become a ship that can float and take us into the future and the next century. That’s what this debate is about, and the rank and file is making that decision.”
 
Adopted.

George Gresham, President of SEIU United Healthcare Workers East took the stage to introduce the portion of the Program to Win Resolution on how “Local Leaders are also National Leaders.”
"At 1199 we've been blessed to have great density and great standards. And it could be very rewarding to me as president of the largest union and the largest local to be content. But then I don't think I would be doing my job.  My job for the labor movement," said Gresham.
 
Gresham emphasized the importance of leadership that is held accountable to working for the better good of all healthcare workers and members, and not about their own ego or personal motives.
 
"If there comes a day when it becomes more about George than about the workers, I'm asking you to retire me.  If I've forgotten about the movement, it's time that the movement forgets about me," said Gresham.
 
Gresham moved to adopt the resolution empowering local leaders to decide on national change and floor debate ensued. A sampling:
 
Keith Kelleher, SEIU Local 880: “Our local got the resources from the union to organize 10,000 agency workers not organized before. We then found a unit of “personal assistants” – 25,000 – but didn’t have resources as a small local but called on the International Union’s resources which allowed us to organize to bring 880 to 45,000 members. Then 50,000 child care providers. So now our local is 68,000 members! I rise in support of this because we have benefitted, you have, all of us have.”
 
Becky Williams, SEIU Healthcare OH/WV/KY: “18 years ago I made a decision to vote in my first union election. I obviously voted yes. Locals were operating then with their own independence. We had our own colors, we refused to wear purple. What we lacked is the ability to connect and communicate with each other and have the support of 2 million workers in one unit. I’m blessed by the opportunity to work together on more than one occasion. In 2006 we stood with SEIU Local 775 members and went after the largest MRDD employer, and we kicked their ass, we brought them down. 5,500 workers got the same right I got 18 years ago – and without a national plan they wouldn’t have had that right. And they had right to vote for a contract.”
 
SEIU Healthcare Michigan member: “I’ve been a nurse for 26 years. In those years it’s become apparent that healthcare is teamwork. It’s not just nurses, but housekeeping and dietary. That’s the only way we can continue to grow is through teamwork.”
 
Bonnie Callan: retired members division of SEIU UHW East: “We live in a very serious time, nationally and internationally. Multinational corporations control what happens to us. We need to build a very strong power and be deeply united to defeat them.”
 
Kate Pingo, secretary-treasurer of SEIU Local 49 in Oregon: “We’re a small but very powerful union. I’m a 26-year SEIU member. I work with a coalition of unions at Kaiser Permanente. I represent 6,000 members. And I wanted to tell you how different it is that we support each other through leadership. In 2004 I was on a bargaining team elected by my rank and file. I sat on the pension benefit group. We looked across the program at benefits that everyone at Kaiser had. It broke my heart to hear that in Georgia, a medical assistant was making minimum wage with no healthcare. We came together to support Georgia by putting some of our needs on hold so we could get them full healthcare benefits. That’s leadership. I’m asking that we look at our own self interests and look on to the future. We need to speak in one voice.”
 
Debate ended, vote proceeded and the underlying principle was adopted by the overwhelming support of the delegates.

Hal Ruddick, SEIU Local 4 president: “I’m rising in support of national bargaining councils. Our greatest victories come from our power as a national bargaining council. We need to unite as one national, powerful union. Our industry is organized nationally, that's what we need to do to win for our members.”
Member, SEIU in California, member of national bargaining team: “Tenet Healthcare was a national power. It wasn't until 2004 that we became organized and achieved some kind of standard because of the union. Let's not forget where we get our strength: it's from member strength, member power. It's the workers who understand the worksites. Let's make sure that no local will speak on behalf of other locals who don't have members represented.”
 
SEIU 775 NW member, nursing home worker: “When I joined there were 6 nursing homes, no voice, no power. Now we have quadrupled our voice, we have a strong voice. We've been able to increase the quality of care, we've increased with everything we've done.  We are member-based, we will have our voice heard, because we will continue to have a strong voice. In the union are only 7.5 %. We can't let that happen. And if it takes national strategic councils to do that, then that is what we need to do. I fully support the Strategic Unity Plan.
 
Member calls question on ending debate. Dennis Rivera asks for a second and gets it.  Dennis explains the rules about standing votes. Delegates Elect are the only ones that are eligible to vote.
 
Parliamentarian comes to the microphone. Before closing debate, you need to have a vote only on whether or not to close debate. Delegates are standing at mikes – those of us at the front won't know who is voting. Debate is closed – members vote to close debate.
 
Delegates voted on the Strategic Unity Plan—clearly a vast majority of members standing up.
 
Cheers from the floor of delegates: SEIU SEIU SEIU SEIU SEIU!!!