SEIU Local 1000 power struggle: Read the documents showing vote to strip president’s authority
.JPG "Richard Louis Brown stands in the parking lot with his supporters at SEIU Local 1000 before he is sworn as president on June 27, 2021.")
A group of SEIU Local 1000 board members voted on a series of policy proposals Sunday that, if upheld, would permanently restructure the board’s leadership, transferring powers held by the president to a board-selected chairperson.
President Richard Louis Brown has called the meeting illegitimate, raising questions about whether the changes will stick.
Thirty-four of the board’s 65 members participated in the Sunday meeting. They voted on three agenda items, which each made changes to roles and responsibilities of the president, the board and the newly created chairperson.
The first item, changing the union’s bylaws, passed with 23 “yes” votes and 9 “no” votes, according to William Hall, whom the board selected as its new chairman Sunday.
The second item, changing disciplinary procedures in the union’s policy file, passed 29-1, Hall said.
The third item says union officials may also hold the position of chairperson and makes some tweaks to transfers within the union. It passed on a 25-4 vote, Hall said. The language, as attached, was amended during the meeting to give bargaining unit negotiating committee chairpeople the ability to serve as the chairperson of the board, in the same way district labor council presidents can.
This story was originally published October 18, 2021 at 12:06 PM.