SEIU’s next million members

May 29, 2024

QUICK FIX

A NEW DAY: Earlier this month, the Service Employees International Union elevated April Verrett to succeed Mary Kay Henry as the face of one of the largest and most influential labor organizations, both in D.C. and in blue-state bedrocks like California and New York.

SEIU is one of the most diverse unions in the country, both in terms of the demographics of its membership and the sectors it represents — everything from Park Avenue doormen to Midwest hospital staff and corrections officers. In addition to following Henry as the second woman to lead the union, Verrett is SEIU’s first Black president.

In an interview with POLITICO, she underscored the union’s plan to grow its ranks by a million members over the next decade, mirroring an organizing goal of the comparatively much larger AFL-CIO — from which SEIU split nearly 20 years ago and has operated in parallel with since, even as several other unions it defected alongside have since reconciled.

“I'm proud to be SEIU,” Verrett said. “We are an energized union and an energized movement, particularly in this moment, where we're seeing unprecedented interest in workers of every stripe, from every background and every job wanting to be a part of building worker power.”

Verrett lauded the work done by the United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers to organize workers in the South, while also casting an eye toward November’s elections, where SEIU has pledged up to $200 million this cycle.

“We want to elect pro-unions-for-all champions up and down the ballot, including the president and the vice president of the United States,” she said. “We're an early endorser of President Biden and proud of that. So we will play in the key battleground states to support that election. We'll also invest in the Senate races in Montana and Ohio, as well as the key congressional races in New York and California.”

Nick has a full Q-and-A for Pro subscribers.

And for more retrospectives on Henry’s tenure at SEIU from New York Magazine, Fast Company, and New York Times opinion writer Peter Coy.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Wednesday, May 29. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and lukenye@politico.com. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @NickNiedz and @Lawrence_Ukenye.

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Unions

CHANGE OF THE GUARD: As waves of labor activism sweep the country, women of color are leading union growth, while union women in construction and manufacturing are raising labor and safety standards for all workers, our Emma Cordover writes in Women Rule.

Within unions — spaces once largely dominated by white men — leaders say they are pushing women of all races and men of color to take on leadership roles and incentivizing women to join previously male-dominated industries.

Contrary to the stereotype of the flannel-wearing, work-boot-stomping union guy, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler says “the reality is the labor movement is the largest organization of working women in the country. We represent 6.5 million women — so we are a women’s movement.”

A DONE DEAL: California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s largest teachers union have reached a deal that would provide California schools with billions more in future funding and resolve a bristling public feud over the state budget, our own Blake Jones reports.

The agreement comes less than a week after the California Teachers Association released an ad needling Newsom over his education spending proposal — part of an intense campaign to publicly and privately pressure the administration and Legislature not to cut school spending.

More union news: “The Delivery Business Shows Why Unions Are Struggling to Expand,” from The New York Times.

Even more: "Mercedes Hired Squad Of Anti-Union Consultants To Combat Alabama Organizing," from HuffPost.

AROUND THE AGENCIES

TAKING AIM: Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will be releasing a report on Wednesday attacking the Biden administration's labor policies, including the the National Labor Relations Board’s joint-employer rule and the Labor Department's overtime and independent contractor rules.

“The Biden administration’s attempts to serve its political allies is a shortsighted strategy that harms workers more than it helps labor unions,” the report reads.

The committee also went after the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration’s walkaround rule that would allow union activists to participate in workplace inspections.

More agency news: “Biden’s NLRB Picks Set Up Clash Over Agency Future If Trump Wins,” from Bloomberg Law.

Even more: “The Low-Paid Humans Behind AI’s Smarts Ask Biden to Free Them From ‘Modern Day Slavery,’” from Wired.

On the Hill

FARM BILL TAKES ON CHILD LABOR: Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Texas) introduced a farm bill amendment last week stating that USDA will not contract with meatpacking facilities that engage in illegal child labor was shot down in a party-line vote, our colleagues in Morning Agriculture reported.

Instead, committee members voted to initiate a Government Accountability Office study on child labor. Thompson also said during the markup that he would invite acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to talk before the committee about child labor in agriculture.

The Biden administration has said it’s stepping up efforts to combat child labor violations following a New York Times investigation showing a number of factories are using child labor.

In a release, Casar cited a Food & Environment Reporting Network analysis that 75 percent of recent child labor violations were in the food industry.

RIGHT TO KNOW: House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) introduced a bill on Tuesday that will require unions to inform members of their right to free speech and to avoid paying dues based on their religious beliefs and nonrepresentational union activity.

The Union Members Right to Know Act would also mandate that unions provide members with summaries of their rights within 30 days of joining a union and annually to all current members.

In the Workplace

HMM, SURE: Arthur Grand, a technology services company, agreed to a $7,500 federal settlement after publishing a job posting that stated a role was for only white people born in the U.S., NBC News reports.

The company alleges that the posting was created by a “disgruntled” employee in India and denies that it sought to prevent non-white candidates from applying for the role.

Makes you think: “We work remotely from Chuck E. Cheese — our 9-to-5s should be fun, too,” from The New York Post.

IN THE STATES

THE LAND OF SCRIVENER: Illinois legislators over the weekend gave final passage to legislation that would add the state to the list of places where employers could not hold so-called “captive audience meetings” on certain charged topics like religion or unionization.

More than a half dozen states have enacted similar laws in recent years, even as businesses have brought legal challenges to them in court, and IL SB 3649 was a priority of organized labor groups in Illinois — as Shift highlighted back in February.

The bill would task the state Department of Labor with pursuing allegations raised by workers. Employers who violate the statute could be subject to a $1,000 penalty in addition to things like back pay for a suspended worker.

“Employers are increasingly using the workplace to advance their political and religious interests, and this creates an atmosphere ripe for coercion,” Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea said in a statement. “The Worker Freedom of Speech Act ensures that workers are protected when choose to walk away from these meetings.”

More state news: “[Former New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo hitting up key unions as he lays the groundwork for potential NYC mayoral run,” from the New York Daily News.

Even more: “Minnesota Legislature approves minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers in final hours of session,” from The Star Tribune.

IMMIGRATION

ONGOING BALANCING ACT: Democrats are strategizing on how to campaign on immigration after a Senate border package failed last week, providing them an opportunity to draw a contrast with Republicans by portraying them as unwilling to solve the issue, CNN reports.

While the party has sought to show voters they care about addressing the issue, some progressives have warned Democrats must continue to emphasize their pro-immigrant tilt to avoid alienating parts of the electorate.

WHAT WE'RE READING

— “UAW Urges US to Overturn Mercedes-Benz Loss on Accusations of Union Busting,” from Bloomberg.

— “The N.C.A.A. Agreed to Pay Players. It Won’t Call Them Employees,” from The New York Times.

— “The Loneliness of the American Worker,” from The Wall Street Journal.

— “Despite surging demand for long-term care, providers struggle to find workers,” from The Associated Press.

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