Committee of the Future Leads Change at Local 1000
Nearly a year ago, the SEIU Local 1000 Board of Directors undertook a comprehensive effort to work on the future governance structure of our union. They created the Committee of the Future (COF), a group of two dozen member leaders from across the state charged with researching the best structure and model for an effective, powerful, 21st-century member- driven union.
The COF has been meeting regularly and just concluded a week-long meeting to finalize their reports and recommendations for presentation to the Board in September.
That positive change is already happening.
In two recent meetings (July 22 – 23 and July 31), the Board of Directors took steps to ratify several early recommendations from the Committee.
The Board passed two COF motions that will improve our election processes. We will convert to electronic voting – when possible. In future internal elections, we will use ranked-choice voting for union leadership. This process allows union members to select candidates that more accurately represent their preferences and ensures that the winning candidate will receive 50% +1 (a majority) vote.
In addition, we passed a motion to change the union’s Chief of Staff position to an Executive Director position. The Chief of Staff was hired by and answered only to the union’s president. Under the new structure, our Executive Director will report to the entire Board of Directors. The BOD will continue to set overall policy and direction for the Local, and the Executive Director will be responsible for enacting those policies and plans. Staff will report to the Executive Director.
On July 31, the Board passed a motion to hire Nina Schulman as our first Executive Director. Nina has been working as Acting Executive Director since December 2022. Our staff respects Nina’s leadership and enjoys working under her direction.
The Committee on the Future’s recommendations and the Board’s oversight are combining to build a better Local 1000 to better serve our members.