UNITE HERE
Encyclopedia
UNITE HERE is a labor union
in the United States
and Canada
with more than 265,000 active members The union's members work predominantly in the hotel
, food service, laundry
, warehouse
, and casino gaming
industries. The union was formed in 2004 by the merger of UNITE (formerly the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees) and HERE
(Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union).
In 2005, UNITE HERE withdrew from the AFL-CIO
and joined the Change to Win Federation
, along with several other unions, including the Teamsters
, SEIU and the UFCW. In May 2009 union president Bruce Raynor (originally from UNITE) left UNITE HERE, taking with him numerous local unions and between 105,000 and 150,000 members, mostly garment workers. They formed a new Service Employees International Union
(SEIU) affiliate called Workers United
.
On September 17, 2009, UNITE HERE announced that it would re-affiliate with the AFL-CIO.
in 2003. The two men quickly concluded their unions should merge. UNITE HERE was formed in 2004 by the merger of UNITE (the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees) and HERE
(Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union). The impetus for the merger was that UNITE was wealthy but losing a significant number of members, while HERE had little cash but had a large number of organizing opportunities which could lead to hundreds of thousands of new members. The merged entity had 440,000 active members and about 400,000 retired members in both the United States and Canada. Raynor was elected general president of the merged union and Wilhelm was named president of the merged union's hospitality division, but the two men shared executive, budgetary, and personnel duties.
In 2005, UNITE HERE withdrew from the AFL-CIO
and joined the Change to Win Federation
, along with several other unions, including the Laborers' International Union of North America
, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
, Service Employees International Union
, United Farm Workers
, and United Food and Commercial Workers
. UNITE HERE Vice-President Edgar Romney was elected the first secretary-treasurer of the new labor federation.
s" that hurt workers but which added new members and avoided protracted organizing battles. According to at least one account, Raynor was unhappy with the fact that the HERE faction had a majority on the board, which permitted Wilhelm and his supporters to veto his proposals. Raynor allegedly began talking about a "divorce" of the two merged unions in order to precipitate just such an outcome.
In 2007 the union lost its bargaining certificate at Vancouver's General Motors Place. The British Columbia Labour Relations Board conducted a vote to find the employees preferred affiliation with the Christian Labourers Association of Canada
Significant conflict within the union emerged in early 2009. The union had 366,958 members in March 2009. In late 2008, General President Bruce Raynor and 15 local and regional UNITE HERE affiliates in the laundry and garment industries filed lawsuits against Hospitality Division President John Wilhelm, accusing him and his division of fraud, theft, gross mismanagement of $61 million in funds committed to union organizing
drives, and failing to resolve members' grievance
s. Raynor also accused Wilhelm and his allies of attempting to impose their will on the executive board and the majority of members. Wilhelm and several affiliate leaders in the hospitality division sued Raynor and his allies in the laundry and garment division, claiming that Raynor had acted in violation of the union's constitution and procedures in firing large numbers of Wilhelm supporters in Detroit and Phoenix, Arizona
. Wilhelm also accused Raynor of disloyalty and dual unionism
for continuing to press for the disaffiliation of the garment division affiliates after the UNITE HERE executive board had voted down the proposal.
By March 2009, the conflict had become unresolveable. On March 7, 2009, Raynor and his supporters held a disaffiliation referendum vote among the members in their affiliate unions in advance of UNITE HERE's first quadrennial convention (set for summer 2009), and said that if they were successful they would affiliate with the Service Employees International Union
(SEIU). Wilhelm and his supporters said that the UNITE HERE constitution prevented any such vote without the permission of the international union's executive board. Also at issue was control over Amalgamated Bank
, which UNITE brought with it into the merger and whose ownership (and its substantial net worth) now belonged to UNITE HERE. Wilhelm sued Raynor and the 15 affiliates in February 2009 in U.S. district court
, but the court declined to prevent the vote.
The period before the vote lead to more accusations of misconduct. Wilhelm and his supporters accused SEIU President Andrew Stern
of supporting Raynor's disaffiliation move, a charge Stern vigorously denied. Wilhelm also accused Raynor of supporting the disaffiliation effort only because he faced a difficult re-election bid, and of misusing union money and staff to support the secession effort. Raynor categorically denied all charges. Delegates from the 15 affiliates (representing 100,000 members) met in Philadelphia in late March, and on March 22, 2009, they voted to disaffiliate from UNITE HERE and establish a new union, Workers United
. Workers United immediately affiliated with SEIU. Former UNITE HERE elected officer Edgar Romney was elected President of Workers United. Despite winning the disaffiliation vote, Raynor announced he would finish his term as General President of UNITE HERE rather than join Workers United—a move, one newspaper said, undertaken so that Workers United could gain control of the Amalgamated Bank.
UNITE HERE and Workers United began arguing over who had jurisdiction over various kinds of workers and how to divide UNITE HERE's assets (most importantly, the bank). Wilhelm asked a federal court to give UNITE HERE control over all the union's assets, but the court declined to issue a ruling at that time. Joseph T. Hansen
, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers
(UFCW), attempted to mediate a solution in mid-April, proposing (among other things) that UNITE HERE take jurisdiction over workers in the gaming industry
and hotels; that Workers United take jurisdiction over workers in textiles and laundries; and that the two unions split organizing in food service. Hansen also suggested that Workers United keep the Amalgamated Bank and the former New York City headquarters of UNITE, but that Workers United make a multi-million dollar payment to UNITE HERE to compensate it for the losses. Wilhelm rejected the offer. Andrew Stern then suggested that each union retain their existing casino workers, but that UNITE HERE have exclusive jurisdiction over casino workers in the future. Workers United would also pay UNITE HERE $20 million immediately and $46 million move within five years, if UNITE HERE would agree to turn the Amalgamated Bank and other of UNITE's pre-merger assets over to Workers United. United States Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid
also unsuccessfully attempted to mediate the dispute. American Federation of Teachers
president Randi Weingarten
urged the sides to settle as well, writing a letter to both Raynor and Wilhelm cautioning that "This conflict is causing collateral damage... . The longer it continues, the less likely we are to enact a strong Employee Free Choice Act
."
Raynor did not finish his term. In April 2009, Wilhelm formally charged Raynor of using union resources to support the disaffiliation movement. Later that month, the UNITE HERE executive board gave Wilhelm the power to suspended Raynor as the union's president, pending an investigation into Wilhelm's charges. Wilhelm suspended Raynor on May 15. Raynor sued Wilhelm and UNITE HERE in federal court, arguing suspension was not permitted under the union's constitution. At 4:00 AM on May 22, the UNITE HERE's executive board and John Wilhelm ordered security guards to secure Raynor's New York City office and prevent Raynor and his allies from entering. Wilhelm said he acted to prevent the destruction of documents, and that Raynor's staff had already removed hundreds of documents and scrubbed computer hard drives clean. Wilhelm told the press on May 28 that UNITE HERE staff had found documents showing that Raynor was receiving confidential updates about Workers United activities and finances even though he was still a UNITE HERE official, and that he had shifted millions of dollars of union assets to affiliates seeking disaffiliation. Juan Gonzalez, a columnist for New York Daily News
, reported on June 16, 2009, that Raynor had transferred more than $12 million to affiliates which supported him as well as to groups outside the union. The transfers allegedly included:
According to internal union documents obtained by the newspaper, Raynor disbursed the money without the required approval from Wilhelm. Wilhelm also accused Raynor of absconding with the $23 million UNITE HERE strike fund (which was invested in the Amalgamated Bank), and investing another $333 million in long-term assets so that the union could not function. Raynor categorically denied the charges. Raynor sued Wilhelm and UNITE HERE, seeking an injunction
, access to his office, and return of all property therein. The court declined the request for injunctive relief on May 26. An angry Raynor accused Wilhelm of removing his personal files from the office and resigned on May 30 mere hours before the start of the hearing on his suspension. Wilhelm was named General President of UNITE HERE after Raynor's resignation. He was elected to the position at the union's first quadrennial convention in July 2009.
Wilhelm subsequently accused SEIU of spending millions of dollars to convince more UNITE HERE members to disaffiliate and join Workers United. UNITE HERE retaliated by urging employers not to recognize or negotiate with the locals affiliated with Workers United or honor their dues checkoff agreements. Stern disputed the claim, saying SEIU was merely helping its affiliate regain textile workers still part of UNITE HERE, and that SEIU itself had a legitimate right to organize workers in food service. Stern also said on August 12, 2009, that the efforts had stopped. Nonetheless, UFCW President Joe Hansen continued to try to mediate a resolution, and expressed his hope that a settlement was possible. In July 2009, the presidents of 27 national unions signed a letter sent to Stern in which they announced their support of UNITE HERE and said they would help defend the union against any raid on its membership or incursion into its organizing jurisdiction.
The remaining 265,000 members of UNITE HERE reaffiliated with the AFL-CIO on September 17, 2009.
On July 25, 2010, SEIU and UNITE HERE announced they had resolved their 18-month-long dispute. As part of the agreement, ownership of the Amalgamated Bank will be transferred to Workers United (pending approval of federal banking regulators). UNITE HERE retained ownership of the union's headquarters in New York City and an additional $75 million in assets. The agreement also settles a jurisdictional dispute over which workers the unions will organize. UNITE HERE agreed to restrict its organizing in the food service industry to those workers at airline caterers, airports, businesses, convention centers, and athletic stadiums, while SEIU and Workers United will restrict its organizing activity in the industry to food service workers in state and local government, health care facilities, and prisons. Both unions will continue to organize food service workers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools and in higher education. The two unions had also disagreed over whether several thousand members of Workers United had been given the opportunity to choose which union they wished to belong to. In the new agreement, SEIU and UNITE HERE agreed to let an arbitrator
decide to which union the workers wished to belong to. At least one analyst characterized the agreement as "SEIU surrendered most of the assets of the venerable splinter union it had tried to absorb, and gave up some jurisdiction it had sought..."
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with more than 265,000 active members The union's members work predominantly in the hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, food service, laundry
Laundry
Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
, warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
, and casino gaming
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
industries. The union was formed in 2004 by the merger of UNITE (formerly the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees) and HERE
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union
The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union , was a United States labor union representing workers of the hospitality industry, formed in 1891. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees to form UNITE HERE. HERE notably organized the staff of Yale...
(Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union).
In 2005, UNITE HERE withdrew from the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
and joined the Change to Win Federation
Change to Win Federation
The Change to Win Federation is a coalition of American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL-CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advocacy of the organizing model...
, along with several other unions, including the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
, SEIU and the UFCW. In May 2009 union president Bruce Raynor (originally from UNITE) left UNITE HERE, taking with him numerous local unions and between 105,000 and 150,000 members, mostly garment workers. They formed a new Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
(SEIU) affiliate called Workers United
Workers United
Workers United is an American and Canadian union which represents about 100,000 workers in the textile, commercial laundry, and gaming industries....
.
On September 17, 2009, UNITE HERE announced that it would re-affiliate with the AFL-CIO.
A merged new union
Bruce Raynor and John W. Wilhelm became close friends after meeting on a HERE picket line at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 2003. The two men quickly concluded their unions should merge. UNITE HERE was formed in 2004 by the merger of UNITE (the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees) and HERE
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union
The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union , was a United States labor union representing workers of the hospitality industry, formed in 1891. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees to form UNITE HERE. HERE notably organized the staff of Yale...
(Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union). The impetus for the merger was that UNITE was wealthy but losing a significant number of members, while HERE had little cash but had a large number of organizing opportunities which could lead to hundreds of thousands of new members. The merged entity had 440,000 active members and about 400,000 retired members in both the United States and Canada. Raynor was elected general president of the merged union and Wilhelm was named president of the merged union's hospitality division, but the two men shared executive, budgetary, and personnel duties.
In 2005, UNITE HERE withdrew from the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
and joined the Change to Win Federation
Change to Win Federation
The Change to Win Federation is a coalition of American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL-CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advocacy of the organizing model...
, along with several other unions, including the Laborers' International Union of North America
Laborers' International Union of North America
The Laborers' International Union of North America is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of March 31, 2010, they have about 632,000 members, members, about 80,000 of which are in Canada.The current general president is Terence M...
, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
, Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
, United Farm Workers
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
, and United Food and Commercial Workers
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile, G4S Security, chemical...
. UNITE HERE Vice-President Edgar Romney was elected the first secretary-treasurer of the new labor federation.
Split and reaffiliation with AFL-CIO
The merger of UNITE and HERE was not a successful one. By 2007, Raynor was accusing Wilhelm of stifling change, and Wilhelm was angry at Raynor's "heavy-handed" managerial style. Raynor's critics also said the union president often agreed to "sweetheart dealSweetheart deal
The term sweetheart deal or sweetheart contract is used to describe an abnormally favorable contractual arrangement. A golden parachute is an example of a type of sweetheart deal...
s" that hurt workers but which added new members and avoided protracted organizing battles. According to at least one account, Raynor was unhappy with the fact that the HERE faction had a majority on the board, which permitted Wilhelm and his supporters to veto his proposals. Raynor allegedly began talking about a "divorce" of the two merged unions in order to precipitate just such an outcome.
In 2007 the union lost its bargaining certificate at Vancouver's General Motors Place. The British Columbia Labour Relations Board conducted a vote to find the employees preferred affiliation with the Christian Labourers Association of Canada
Significant conflict within the union emerged in early 2009. The union had 366,958 members in March 2009. In late 2008, General President Bruce Raynor and 15 local and regional UNITE HERE affiliates in the laundry and garment industries filed lawsuits against Hospitality Division President John Wilhelm, accusing him and his division of fraud, theft, gross mismanagement of $61 million in funds committed to union organizing
Union organizer
A union organizer is a specific type of trade union member or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers....
drives, and failing to resolve members' grievance
Grievance
A grievance is a wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint.-History and politics:A grievance may arise from injustice or tyranny, and be cause for rebellion or revolution....
s. Raynor also accused Wilhelm and his allies of attempting to impose their will on the executive board and the majority of members. Wilhelm and several affiliate leaders in the hospitality division sued Raynor and his allies in the laundry and garment division, claiming that Raynor had acted in violation of the union's constitution and procedures in firing large numbers of Wilhelm supporters in Detroit and Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. Wilhelm also accused Raynor of disloyalty and dual unionism
Dual unionism
Dual unionism is the development of a union or political organization parallel to and within an existing labor union. In some cases, the term may refer to the situation where two unions claim the right to organize the same workers....
for continuing to press for the disaffiliation of the garment division affiliates after the UNITE HERE executive board had voted down the proposal.
By March 2009, the conflict had become unresolveable. On March 7, 2009, Raynor and his supporters held a disaffiliation referendum vote among the members in their affiliate unions in advance of UNITE HERE's first quadrennial convention (set for summer 2009), and said that if they were successful they would affiliate with the Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union
Service Employees International Union is a labor union representing about 1.8 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States , and Canada...
(SEIU). Wilhelm and his supporters said that the UNITE HERE constitution prevented any such vote without the permission of the international union's executive board. Also at issue was control over Amalgamated Bank
Amalgamated Bank
Amalgamated Bank is a national bank owned by the Workers United/SEIU labor union. It was founded by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in 1923. It is headquartered in New York City....
, which UNITE brought with it into the merger and whose ownership (and its substantial net worth) now belonged to UNITE HERE. Wilhelm sued Raynor and the 15 affiliates in February 2009 in U.S. district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
, but the court declined to prevent the vote.
The period before the vote lead to more accusations of misconduct. Wilhelm and his supporters accused SEIU President Andrew Stern
Andy Stern
Andrew L. "Andy" Stern , is the former president of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union , the fastest-growing union in the Americas. SEIU is the second largest union in the United States and Canada after the National Education Association.Stern was elected in 1996 to...
of supporting Raynor's disaffiliation move, a charge Stern vigorously denied. Wilhelm also accused Raynor of supporting the disaffiliation effort only because he faced a difficult re-election bid, and of misusing union money and staff to support the secession effort. Raynor categorically denied all charges. Delegates from the 15 affiliates (representing 100,000 members) met in Philadelphia in late March, and on March 22, 2009, they voted to disaffiliate from UNITE HERE and establish a new union, Workers United
Workers United
Workers United is an American and Canadian union which represents about 100,000 workers in the textile, commercial laundry, and gaming industries....
. Workers United immediately affiliated with SEIU. Former UNITE HERE elected officer Edgar Romney was elected President of Workers United. Despite winning the disaffiliation vote, Raynor announced he would finish his term as General President of UNITE HERE rather than join Workers United—a move, one newspaper said, undertaken so that Workers United could gain control of the Amalgamated Bank.
UNITE HERE and Workers United began arguing over who had jurisdiction over various kinds of workers and how to divide UNITE HERE's assets (most importantly, the bank). Wilhelm asked a federal court to give UNITE HERE control over all the union's assets, but the court declined to issue a ruling at that time. Joseph T. Hansen
Joseph T. Hansen
Joseph T. Hansen is an activist from the United States, best known for his work as the international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union .-Early years:...
, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile, G4S Security, chemical...
(UFCW), attempted to mediate a solution in mid-April, proposing (among other things) that UNITE HERE take jurisdiction over workers in the gaming industry
Gambling in the United States
Gambling is legally restricted in the United States, but its availability and participation is increasing. In 2007, gambling activities generated gross revenues of $92.27 billion in the United States. Commercial casinos provided 354,000 jobs, and state and local tax revenues of $5.2 billion...
and hotels; that Workers United take jurisdiction over workers in textiles and laundries; and that the two unions split organizing in food service. Hansen also suggested that Workers United keep the Amalgamated Bank and the former New York City headquarters of UNITE, but that Workers United make a multi-million dollar payment to UNITE HERE to compensate it for the losses. Wilhelm rejected the offer. Andrew Stern then suggested that each union retain their existing casino workers, but that UNITE HERE have exclusive jurisdiction over casino workers in the future. Workers United would also pay UNITE HERE $20 million immediately and $46 million move within five years, if UNITE HERE would agree to turn the Amalgamated Bank and other of UNITE's pre-merger assets over to Workers United. United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
also unsuccessfully attempted to mediate the dispute. American Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
president Randi Weingarten
Randi Weingarten
'Randi Weingarten is an American labor leader, attorney, and educator, the current president of the American Federation of Teachers , a member of the AFL-CIO, and former president of the United Federation of Teachers. New York magazine called her one of the most influential people in education in...
urged the sides to settle as well, writing a letter to both Raynor and Wilhelm cautioning that "This conflict is causing collateral damage... . The longer it continues, the less likely we are to enact a strong Employee Free Choice Act
Employee Free Choice Act
The Employee Free Choice Act was a legislative bill that was introduced into both chambers of the U.S. Congress on March 10, 2009. The bill's purpose was to,...
."
Raynor did not finish his term. In April 2009, Wilhelm formally charged Raynor of using union resources to support the disaffiliation movement. Later that month, the UNITE HERE executive board gave Wilhelm the power to suspended Raynor as the union's president, pending an investigation into Wilhelm's charges. Wilhelm suspended Raynor on May 15. Raynor sued Wilhelm and UNITE HERE in federal court, arguing suspension was not permitted under the union's constitution. At 4:00 AM on May 22, the UNITE HERE's executive board and John Wilhelm ordered security guards to secure Raynor's New York City office and prevent Raynor and his allies from entering. Wilhelm said he acted to prevent the destruction of documents, and that Raynor's staff had already removed hundreds of documents and scrubbed computer hard drives clean. Wilhelm told the press on May 28 that UNITE HERE staff had found documents showing that Raynor was receiving confidential updates about Workers United activities and finances even though he was still a UNITE HERE official, and that he had shifted millions of dollars of union assets to affiliates seeking disaffiliation. Juan Gonzalez, a columnist for New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, reported on June 16, 2009, that Raynor had transferred more than $12 million to affiliates which supported him as well as to groups outside the union. The transfers allegedly included:
- A January 31, 2009, transfer of $457,981 to The Organizing Group, a consulting firm founded by Steve Rosenthal (a close associate of former SEIU President Andrew Stern). The Organizing Group, the paper said, used the money to mail and call to UNITE HERE members and advocate for disaffiliation, and to set up a pro-disaffiliation Web site.
- About a dozen transfers totalling $11.2 million between January 26 and January 31, 2009, to affiliates which supported Raynor and the disaffiliation movement. The affiliates then allegedly transferred the funds to an external group called Fund for the Future, which supported the disaffiliation effort.
- Another dozen transfers totaling $500,000 on March 6, 2009, sent to supportive affiliates allegedly to reimburse them for expenditures.
According to internal union documents obtained by the newspaper, Raynor disbursed the money without the required approval from Wilhelm. Wilhelm also accused Raynor of absconding with the $23 million UNITE HERE strike fund (which was invested in the Amalgamated Bank), and investing another $333 million in long-term assets so that the union could not function. Raynor categorically denied the charges. Raynor sued Wilhelm and UNITE HERE, seeking an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
, access to his office, and return of all property therein. The court declined the request for injunctive relief on May 26. An angry Raynor accused Wilhelm of removing his personal files from the office and resigned on May 30 mere hours before the start of the hearing on his suspension. Wilhelm was named General President of UNITE HERE after Raynor's resignation. He was elected to the position at the union's first quadrennial convention in July 2009.
Wilhelm subsequently accused SEIU of spending millions of dollars to convince more UNITE HERE members to disaffiliate and join Workers United. UNITE HERE retaliated by urging employers not to recognize or negotiate with the locals affiliated with Workers United or honor their dues checkoff agreements. Stern disputed the claim, saying SEIU was merely helping its affiliate regain textile workers still part of UNITE HERE, and that SEIU itself had a legitimate right to organize workers in food service. Stern also said on August 12, 2009, that the efforts had stopped. Nonetheless, UFCW President Joe Hansen continued to try to mediate a resolution, and expressed his hope that a settlement was possible. In July 2009, the presidents of 27 national unions signed a letter sent to Stern in which they announced their support of UNITE HERE and said they would help defend the union against any raid on its membership or incursion into its organizing jurisdiction.
The remaining 265,000 members of UNITE HERE reaffiliated with the AFL-CIO on September 17, 2009.
On July 25, 2010, SEIU and UNITE HERE announced they had resolved their 18-month-long dispute. As part of the agreement, ownership of the Amalgamated Bank will be transferred to Workers United (pending approval of federal banking regulators). UNITE HERE retained ownership of the union's headquarters in New York City and an additional $75 million in assets. The agreement also settles a jurisdictional dispute over which workers the unions will organize. UNITE HERE agreed to restrict its organizing in the food service industry to those workers at airline caterers, airports, businesses, convention centers, and athletic stadiums, while SEIU and Workers United will restrict its organizing activity in the industry to food service workers in state and local government, health care facilities, and prisons. Both unions will continue to organize food service workers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools and in higher education. The two unions had also disagreed over whether several thousand members of Workers United had been given the opportunity to choose which union they wished to belong to. In the new agreement, SEIU and UNITE HERE agreed to let an arbitrator
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
decide to which union the workers wished to belong to. At least one analyst characterized the agreement as "SEIU surrendered most of the assets of the venerable splinter union it had tried to absorb, and gave up some jurisdiction it had sought..."
See also
- Culinary Workers UnionCulinary Workers UnionCulinary Workers Union or UNITE HERE local 226 is a private sector local union in Nevada, USA, affiliated with UNITE HERE, a national labor union. With 60,000 members, the Culinary Workers Union represents more members than any other union in Nevada, is the largest union local in a right-to-work...
- Hotel Workers RisingHotel Workers RisingHotel Workers Rising is a campaign of UNITE HERE aimed at organizing and mobilizing UNITE HERE members in the hotel industry to win improvements in the workplace, including: higher wages, better benefits and safer workloads.-Injury Rates in Hotels:...
- Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees UnionHotel Employees and Restaurant Employees UnionThe Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union , was a United States labor union representing workers of the hospitality industry, formed in 1891. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees to form UNITE HERE. HERE notably organized the staff of Yale...
(HERE) - Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile EmployeesUnion of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile EmployeesThe Union of Needle trades, Industrial, and Textile Employees was a labor union in the United States, formed in 1995 as a merger between the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union...
(UNITE)