Bruce Raynor

SEIU's Stern Leaves Troubled Legacy

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 20:16

Almost everyone connected to organized labor by now has heard the news: Andrew Stern soon will resign as president of the Service Employees International Union. His departure in all likelihood will be permanent. And, if somewhat muted, so will the edgy aggression of the union he redefined. Stern made the announcement on April 14 at an SEIU executive board meeting, confirming a flurry of rumors emanating from an internal e-mail sent by Seattle SEIU local leader Diane Sosne. Stern subsequently e-mailed his own members: "There's a time to learn, a time to lead, and then there's a time to leave. And shortly, it will be my time to retire...and end my SEIU journey." The date of departure, though unspecified, will be within a month. Better political instincts suggest Stern will find plenty of ways to keep himself busy.

Raynor Forced Out of UNITE HERE; Allies Form New Union and Affiliate With SEIU

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Fri, 06/19/2009 - 17:35

UNITE HERE logo In labor as in business, a merger doesn't always work out. In the case of UNITE HERE, which represents well over 450,000 hotel, food service, textile, laundry and other workers, it's a marriage gone sour. The odd man out is General President Bruce Raynor. But he's far from out of the picture. In fact, he may wind up on top. Raynor and some 150,000 supporters recently jumped ship and formed a new union, Workers United, which recently elected him president and affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). To say that UNITE HERE President John Wilhelm is not on the best of terms with either Raynor or Service Employees President Andrew Stern is an understatement.

Judge Sides with Dissenting Cintas Workers in Pennsylvania

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 09/11/2006 - 00:00

Unions, like any kind of organization, want to increase their membership. And they have every right to do so. But that right at some point has to yield to the right to privacy of those who might not want to join. That was the view of a federal court in Pennsylvania in rendering a decision in favor of dissenting employees of the nation’s largest uniform and laundry service. On August 30, U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that representatives of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, or UNITE, violated federal privacy laws by copying down license-plate and other information from motor vehicles parked on the lot of the Cintas Corp. plant in Emmaus, Pa. The union’s intent was to track down the residences of vehicle owners in the hopes of organizing them. While the ruling wasn’t a complete victory – the court absolved the union’s international president, Bruce Raynor, of complicity in the scheme – it sent a clear message that certain actions undertaken in the name of organizing are out of bounds.

One California Corporate Campaign Heats Up; Another Cools Off

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 07/31/2006 - 00:00

Those planning a trip to San Francisco during what remains of this summer might want to reconsider their destination. That’s because when they get there, they may find few hotels able to accommodate them, thanks to an aggressive union campaign. And San Francisco isn’t the only major U.S. city affected. The union is UNITE HERE, formed two years ago through a merger of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Workers, and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees. UNITE HERE General President Bruce Raynor admits his campaign, dubbed “Hotel Workers Rising,” is part of a centrally-directed strategy to gain membership at a time when employers ostensibly are trying to thwart organizing. “Local autonomy has to give way to centralized, national leadership when you’re going up against a centralized national corporation,” he said.

Hotel Employee, Textile Employee Unions Merge

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 07/19/2004 - 00:00

At a joint convention ending on July 10, the merger of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees intl. union and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees became official. Now known as UNITE-HERE, the frmr. UNITE chief, Bruce Raynor, will become the merged union's gen. pres.; while the frmr. head of HERE, John Wilhem, will now be the new union's hospitality industry pres. Left unanswered is whether Jesse Jackson's mistress, Karin Stanford, will now be on the payroll of the merged union, as she was put on the HERE payroll in 1999, collecting $35,000 plus health care benefits while performing little work for the HERE.

Hotel-Restaurant & Garment Unions Agree to Merge, Challenge to Sweeney Seen Likely

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 03/01/2004 - 01:00

In a move that could be the first shot in a battle for leadership of the AFL-CIO, the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees union and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees have agreed to merge. The new union will be known as Unite HERE. As part of the deal, union officials say that UNITE chief Bruce Raynor will support HERE boss John Wilhelm for president of the AFL-CIO in 2005. First elected in 1995, current AFL-CIO chief John Sweeney has said he will seek another 4-yr. term.