[lbo-talk] First Unionized Hospital in Texas

Joseph Catron jncatron at gmail.com
Sun Mar 30 20:43:22 PDT 2008


On Sun, Mar 30, 2008 at 9:03 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:


> Are there CNA
> dissidents? I'm not saying they don't exist - I just haven't heard of
> any. Have you?

Apples and oranges: SEIU has 23.75 times CNA's membership, and dissident factions like SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today and SEIU Voice obviously have more room to grow in a larger organization.

I don't think it's a secret that organizations suck, and larger organizations often suck more than smaller ones, since growth requires both efficiency and (as long as we live in capitalist societies) compromise.

Larger organizations are also stronger and able to deliver better results.

Will CNA ever win representation of 74,000 workers in one fell swoop, as SEIU did with Los Angeles' home health aides in 1999? Or even 17,000, as the AFT did for New York's home child care providers in February?

Only if it combines ruthless efficiency with a willingness to compromise, both necessary here in the real world. Judging from the Tenet deal, it seems well on course in both regards.



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