SEIU-UHW Union Structure
For many years it has benefited our top union seats and committees for our union members to be under educated and unaware of how our union works. Why? Because this allows them to push an agenda without many questions or resistance. Although we have 100k healthcare workers across the state from different employers, it is a small group of "leaders" who continue to decide our fate, set agendas and budgets, and who have created a culture
within our union of retaliation, bullying, disappointment, and isolation.
WE SAY NO MORE!
By educating our fellow sisters and brothers on how our union works and how they can become more informed and engaged, we will help rise up our union workers, take control of the mess, and create a more "member-driven"
union full of proud and supported members.
Executive Board
Although we have about 100,000 members of healthcare workers from across the state of California, it is a very small group of individuals who control our union - Meaning we are at the mercy of their decisions.
It is ultimately the Executive Committee who constructs agendas that the Executive Board vote on, then carry out by relaying information and action items to the steward councils. Whatever they decide, we are stuck with due to retaliation and bullying if an Executive Board (EBoard) representative questions or votes against an agenda item. This is why we have witnessed a steep decline in local representation and steward support in the last decade. We continue to face decreases in member engagement and a real sense of distrust amongst members.
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You can find a list of our Executive Board seats here, but keep in mind that members leave
their seats and changes occur that may not be reflected.​
Vacancy election information can be found here: Leadership Vacancy elections
Check back often to see if there are vacancies in your area!
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In the image below, these are the individuals who are actively harming our union. They are all paid staff except for Dennis Anderson and Sonya Allen-Smith. Instead of making local representation, steward support, member education, and ethics top priorities of our union, they continue to drive our union in a direction that promotes their self-interests.
The issue is not how much their salary is. It is that they are not in this for us. They are not healthcare workers or affected by our contracts. They block other members of our union from moving up. We have too many brilliant members in our union who should have the opportunity to help run our union. Instead, they keep those close who will follow their agenda and who continue to lack proper planning and protections for our workers.
Key Details
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The President and Vice President of our union that we vote in do NOT have to be healthcare workers. This means that they do not truly understand the work we do, and they are not affected by the contracts we negotiate. They get a raise ever year and face no real consequence for the demise of our union.
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We have an "Executive Board Election" EVERY 3 YEARS! The next election will be in 2026. This is when we can and should vote out leaders who are self-serving and not supporting members at the local levels.
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Our Executive Committee and Executive Board are rampant with bully culture. The only way to combat this is to VOTE THEM OUT!
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You do NOT have to be a steward to run for Executive Board or Executive Committee seats in your area.