This week, we announced that our SEIU Local 1000 Board of Directors has voted to make some bold and important changes in our governance structure.
It’s a revolutionary step for Local 1000, one that will allow us to more effectively serve the 96,000 state workers we represent.
About a year ago, we created the Committee of the Future—comprised of nearly two dozen member leaders from across the state—charged with examining our current leadership structure and recommending improvements that would make our union stronger and more responsive to the needs of the employees we represent. You can read their full report here. At a week-long meeting earlier this month, our Board of Directors worked collaboratively to put the Committee’s recommendations in place.
Our goal is to rebuild the trust and confidence in our union.
For the first time in Local 1000’s history, our governance has a true division of power, with a never-before level of accountability. This new structure includes checks and balances that ensure the performance of our elected leaders and increases the success of our programs and initiatives.
Here are the highlights of the Committee of the Future recommendations that were debated upon and approved by a strong majority vote of the Board of Directors.
- Makes the Local 1000 President the principal officer of our union. The President will be the Union’s spokesperson, and will make appointments to the Union’s standing committees.
- Retains the position of Board Chair. The Chair will work at the direction of the Board of Directors to schedule meetings, compile the agenda, and preside over board meetings.
- Restructures the Local 1000 Executive Committee to include the President, the Vice President / Secretary-Treasurer, and the Board Chair. The Executive Committee will oversee the actions needed to implement the policies of the Board of Directors between board meetings.
- Creates seven new Regional Officer positions. The Regional officer will represent one of seven geographic regions created by the Board. These Regional Officers will be one of the District Labor Council presidents in their region and will be selected by the presidents of the District Labor Councils within those regions
- Creates an advisory Officer’s Committee which will review reports on the programs of Local 1000 and make recommendations to the Executive Director for improving the execution of programs and policies of the Board. The Committee is comprised of the Local 1000 President, the Vice President / Secretary-Treasurer, the Board Chair, the Chief Negotiator, two Bargaining Chairs, and the seven Regional Officers.
- Eliminates the position of statewide Vice President for Bargaining, whose duties will mostly transfer to the Chief Negotiator. The Chief Negotiator will be selected by a vote of the Bargaining Unit Negotiating Council (BUNC) Chairs.
- Eliminates the position of statewide Vice President for Organizing/Representation, whose duties will be distributed to other leaders and staff.
In actions taken by the Board of Directors in two meetings held in July, the following changes—also recommended by the Committee of the Future— were adopted and are effective immediately:
- Establishment of “ranked choice” voting for Local 1000 leadership. The process allows Union members to select candidates that more accurately represent their preferences and ensures the winning candidate will receive 50% +1 (a majority) vote. Voting will be converted to electronic voting, where possible.
- The Union’s Chief of Staff position has been changed 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 Board 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. In addition, the Board passed a motion to hire Nina Schulman into the position.
The changes in the governance structure will go into effect around June 30, 2024, with the installation of elected leaders after our statewide election in the first half of 2024.
There’s more work to be done. The Committee of the Future, in concert with our Board of Directors, will continue to fine tune the details of the changes they’ve set in motion. As before, additional recommendations will be debated and voted upon at board meetings held in December 2023 and in March of 2024.
“I’m proud of how our Board members stepped up to embrace these necessary changes,” said Local 1000 Board Chair Bill Hall. “They were focused, thoughtful, and demonstrated the leadership we need to improve our service to state workers.”