IN A stunning upset, union reformers in Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 swept to victory in their local's first-ever elections--an outcome that will rattle the top leaders of the 2 million-member union. The reformers in Local 1021 were expected to do well given the Northern California local's poor performance in defending jobs and public services, and local officials' seeming inability to resist concessions.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the state, reformers in SEIU Local 521 captured a number of seats on the local's executive board after an uphill fight. The Voices of the Members slate had to battle an army of paid union staff. The reformers were unsuccessful in winning any of the officers' positions, but their gains, coming alongside the win in Local 1021, signal growing dissatisfaction with the SEIU's bureaucratic methods.
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