SEIU Member Activists For Reform Today

SEIU Member Activists For Reform Today

SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today (SMART) is a national organization of rank-and-file union members working for the democratic reform of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU primarily represents workers in the public sector, healthcare industry, and property services. Today it is America’s largest and fastest growing union with 2 million members, many of whom are minorities, immigrants, and women.

According to SMART’s website, the organization opposes consolidation of power in the hands of international union leaders, forced mergers of locals, and agreements made with employers without membership involvement. Like other internal union reform movements including Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), SMART seeks a union which represents and voices the concerns of rank-and-file members rather than the interests of international union leaders. This goal of union democracy includes meaningful membership participation in union activities ranging from local and national union elections to bargaining sessions with employers. Union democracy is also guaranteed by protections for membership dissent and organized internal opposition.

SMART argues that the increased power of SEIU’s international leadership vis-à-vis local union members has limited this type of member access and activism that is essential for union democracy to thrive. Recently, constitutional changes have empowered SEIU’s president and executive board to form bargaining units and negotiate contracts without local member participation. The threat of retaliatory forced mergers or trusteeship has also silenced dissent in many locals. While SMART recognizes that SEIU—like all American unions—operates in a legal and social context that is generally hostile, the organization argues that efforts to expand the union’s power and membership should not compromise union democracy. As SMART puts it, “growth is critical to our success, and to rebuilding a fighting labor movement – but not growth at all costs, and not without full participation of the members.”