Doug, did it occur to you that the story you're whining in response to was announcing that SEIU just got -rid- of Tyrone? Have you so mentally checked out from the give and take of intellectual debate when it concerns SEIU, are you so posting on autopilot, that you didn't even read what this article was reporting?
SEIU has a lot of flaws and things reasonable leftists can disagree on. But the one thing we DON'T have a problem with, is tolerating corruption like this. Honestly, we're pretty ruthless about removing anyone who steals. In the bad old days, there used to be a lot of locals where it happened, as throughout organized labor in general. But from Gus Bevona back then to Tyrone now, the administrative powers of the international get used like an absolute hammer against anyone doing shit like this.
And you want to know a secret? Kicking Tyrone out? It happens via the big, bad power of SEIU's international. Yeah, as it turns out, that big evil 'trusteeship' weapon people are always fretting about, actually exists so that stuff like this can be dealt with firmly and decisively (certainly its been used for less noble purposes in other cases as well). And if a case like Freeman's was in almost any other union? I can tell you what would happen--- he'd be chugging along, bunkering down, remaining in power until and unless the feds could win a case against him.
And perhaps, if it was one of the unions where a trot sect had a couple college kids 'proletarianize' themselves by getting real live actual jobs and becoming 'rank and file' members in opposition, why, Labor Notes would be dilligently selling papers outside that local's meetings and soapboxing their hearts out, while the corrupt president continued business as usual.
But why here we find, that a union where a central body wields substantial power to compel fucked up locals to fix their shit, that within days of serious allegation a corrupt leader is knocked out.
But yeah, doug, union density is so horrible. Thanks for pointing that out. You must feel very happy about the state of the US labor movement overall.