Two proposals were put to a nonbinding vote among the 300,000 members of the California Service Employees International Union (SEIU) today. The two plans propose consolidating all three of California?s main healthcare unions into one 300,000 member mega-union, or consolidating all long-term care workers into one 220,000 member union. Three unions are subject to the vote: SEIU 521 in San Jose, SEIU 6434 in Los Angeles, and United Healthcare Worker West (UHW) in Oakland. UHW has set itself against the merger, and is running a substantive campaign claiming that such a large union would be too inefficient and unresponsive. Proponents of the merger believe that a larger union will have more power, thus giving each member greater voice, and that it will be easier to centralize membership rather than contend with three separate organizations. The vote is set to finish December 11.
See "Proposed merger of California healthcare union locals draws intense protest", Evelyn Larrubia, Los Angeles Times, November 23, 2008