> And the larger point is that the kind of
> centralization and growth at all costs that characterize SEIU are a perfect
> breeding ground for this sort of thing.
Certainly I don't think SEIU's growth strategy is above criticism. But I think it desperately needs to be placed in context in this discussion -- and that context is virtually every other union's no-growth strategy at all costs. What other unions besides SEIU and Unite Here devote the percentage of their respective resources to organizing the unorganized? Where's the criticism of the vast majority of the labor movement, which has no plan to grow, no plan to build density? Given this, should one of the only unions that does have an organizing plan be the focus of so much ire from the left?
And no, I don't think SEIU's growth strategy is a breeding ground for corruption. I think it's the exact opposite: unions that have no plan and no mission to organize the unorganized are far more susceptible to corruption. One doesn't hear about these unions because they're not doing anything.