Bolder, Stronger, United Report from the SEIU Healthcare Minnesota Executive Board Meeting, March 20, 2007

Building a 21st Century Union: Report from Chicago Town Hall Meeting
Delegates Elsie Urman and Kent Wilcox, Vice President Elva Neubauer, Secretary-Treasurer Shane Davis and Executive Vice President Jigme Ugen, were part of a delegation to Chicago to get a preview of the 2008 SEIU International Convention, which will set the course for our union over the next four years.

Neubauer, Urman, and Wilcox reported that they were amazed by the excitement, diversity, and commitment in the room and are excited about how our work will continue to strengthen our union to make work pay, to unite more workers, to build a working families majority, and engage more members than ever. They heard preliminary reports from the Local Strength Committee, including information on member leader development and the use of Member Resource Centers to expedite our work.


Historic Allina Negotiations Continue
Executive Board member Evelyn Zopp, and part of the 55-member strong bargaining team, reported on the ongoing negotiations with Allina Hospitals and Clinics. She shared that we are making significant strides that could improve contract language more than we have in decades. The committee is still focused on ways to achieve fully employer paid healthcare. Our healthcare committee has explored different plan designs to get us the best, most affordable healthcare possible. Healthcare workers deserve healthcare and we are hopeful that we will make improvements in this area. The Central Committee is now moving into the final stages of bargaining, including the always difficult arena of “economics.”


Rochester
In Rochester, there are over 30,000 healthcare workers, many of whom work for the Mayo Systems. When we speak clearly and with one voice, we can be a powerful force for working families in Rochester.

In December, nearly 2000 members of UNITE-HERE Local 21, took the first step towards uniting with the one million members of SEIU Healthcare, including 14,000 in Minnesota, by creating a Healthcare Division. The members of the Executive Board would like to acknowledge this courageous action by the members of UNITE-HERE Local 21.