The corrupt Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which has run Oakland for years, is getting the first challenge ever to its authoritarian hegemony, and it’s an existential one that could put it out of business. A rival union, Oakland Workers United, is undertaking a massive publicity drive to attract new members away from SEIU. And that drive appears to be working.
According to OWU, nearly 25 percent of Oakland SEIU members have stopped paying dues. Of the roughly 2,031 listed City of Oakland members, about 503 have withdrawn, making SEIU 1021 the only bargaining unit in the city experiencing such a high volume of withdrawals.
OWU found its footing last March, when its leaders held their first major rally and press conference, positioning themselves as an alternative for members who feel SEIU has prioritized local politics over direct member representation. SEIU’s grip on Oakland politics has been ironclad for a long time. Few politicians can get elected here without its support. The union has been a staunch ally of progressive leaders, including former District 4 Councilmember and recalled mayor Sheng Thao and Councilmember Carroll Fife. The way it works is that SEIU money funds political candidates, who then put fealty to SEIU as their primary obligation. Deals are done exclusively behind closed doors; the public never has a chance to learn what really happens. As a result, SEIU members have increasingly perceived that the union is more focused on a social justice agenda that doesn’t help them, and on increasing its political influence, rather than what members view as their legitimate interests.
As of this moment, SEIU local 1021 has not responded to OWU’s announcement. There is no hint on their website that it even happened. But that doesn’t mean that, internally, the union bureaucrats aren’t trembling. There’s every reason to believe SEIU is taking the threat seriously; although the union has not acknowledged the existence of OWU, the loss of one-quarter of its dues-paying members has got to be a wakeup call.
Steve Heimoff