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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Monday, June 2, 2008
Michelle Ringuette, 202-341-7057
media@seiu.org
Unions Forming Partnerships to Make Globalization Work for Workers
Rising Corporate Power Must Be Matched with Worldwide Worker Strength to Ensure Decent Wages & Better Lives for All, Say Union Leaders from Around the World
San Juan, Puerto Rico—Union leaders fromaround the world met today for a lively panel discussion about the challenges –and successes -- of winning for workers in a global economy as part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 2008 Convention.
“Global corporations can chase profits, move wealth, capital and equity around the world and across borders. They have vast wealth on their side, but by partnering with other unions globally, we’re successfully working more effectively with global employers—and helping workers,” said Tom Balanoff, SEIUVice President and the director of UNI Property Services, a global union.
Since adopting a plan at SEIU’s 2004 convention to establish global unionpartnerships, SEIU members have met with 125 unions in 20 countries on all continents to build powerful new alliances, discuss organizing and learn from union members in other countries.
Balanoff described how developing a 30-country alliance of unions of G4S (formerly Group4 Securicor) security workers helped win union recognition for 50,000 workers in the United Kingdom, India, Nepal, Malawi, Poland, Uganda, South Africa and Mozambique. G4S, a British company, is the second largest private corporation in the world,the largest in Africa.
For cleaners, Louise Tarrant, National Secretary of LHMU,the Hospitality and Services Union of Australia, said global solidarity has helped begin turning lousy cleaning jobs into good ones.
“SEIU and its partner unions in Australia and New Zealand came together for the Clean Start/Fair Share campaign, which has trained more than 50 organizers how to win and formed a strong part of a global network of cleaners’ unions that will eventually become a global union capable of matching the power of global employers and owners,” she said.
In the healthcare sector, Edith Snoey, President ofAbvakabo, Public and Health Care Union in the Netherlands, and DanielleLegault, SEIU Vice President in Canada, agreed that working with other healthcare unions on strategies for promoting quality public healthcareservices and addressing issues of global migration of health workers and transnational healthcare corporations would make a critical difference in the lives of workers and their patients.
Panelists Vagner Freitas, President, Bank Workers Union ofthe CUT Brasil, and Randall Howard, President, SATAWU, Transport Workers Unionof South Africa and President of the International Transport Federation,touched on the importance of building worker clout in the areas of finance and transport.
Howard illustrated the power of workers acting globally when describing how his union’s members blocked the shipment of arms from China into Zimbabwe.
SEIU VicePresident Roberto Pagan emphasized expanding global union networks. “So many of our members come from Latin American countries,” he said. “We’re partnering with unions there to build our mutual capacity for growing stronger.”
“We’re also seeing the difference that reaching across international borders can make onimmigration and other issues that affect the lives of workers and their families,” said Eliseo Medina, SEIU Executive Vice President. He described relationships between U.S. and Mexican unions that have opened dialogue and served as important conduits for information as both countries address the need for immigration reform.
A HISTORIC MOMENT
SEIU’s convention—held every four years—brings the rank and file leadership of the union that is vested with the authority to elect representatives and set policy together to determine the agenda of the union. The convention comes at a time when an increasingly global economy has put the squeeze on workers and the impending U.S. elections hold the promise of the first pro-worker agenda indecades.
Nearly 3,500 attendees—including labor representatives from 18 countries and 1,982 member delegates representing 106 Local Unions—are meeting in San Juan from June 2 – 4 to elect leaders, debate and set union policies for the next four years on issues from healthcare, politics, organizing, the Iraq War, immigration, democratic decision making, outsourcing, Burma and more. # # #
With 1.9 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare, and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers, not just corporations and CEOs, benefit from today's global economy.
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