Labor's Civil War in California: The NUHW Healthcare Workers' Rebellion

by Calvin Winslow

A clear analysis of tactics and politics, this thorough account examines the dispute between the United Healthcare Workers (UHW) union in California and its “parent” organization the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—one of the most important labor conflicts in the United States today. It explores how the UHW rank and file took umbrage with the SEIU’s rejection of traditional labor values of union democracy and class struggle and their tactics of wheeling and dealing with top management and politicians. The resulting rift and retaliation from SEIU leadership culminated in the UHW membership being forced to break out and form a brand new union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). Timed to coincide with elections in California, this detailed history calls for a reexamination of the ideological and structural underpinnings of today’s labor movement and illustrates how a seemingly local conflict speaks to the rights of laborers everywhere to control their own fates.

Genres: Labor

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

Reviews

[Rohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy, and angry account on a health care labor conflict in California in the late 2000s within SEIU. This book is definitely not meant for everybody; its targeted toward a leftist unionist audience which is already familiar with unionism and labor law, and is critical toward mainstream "business unionism". The book does not pretend to be particularly scholarly, and certainly not objective; but nonetheless it comes across as a well-informed and generally accurate analysis of the conflict and the underlying dynamics. Its a good book for anybody looking for a detailed account of how an undemocratic business union can get into a vicious conflict with its own members, and how rebel members can come out for the better.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very important book if you want to understand the critical position labor (SEIU and NUHW/CNA) is at with the fight for worker's rights and wages in healthcare today in the state with the world's 10th largest economcy. This book is especially important after the 2007-8 financial crisis and neoliberal politicians which have crippled labor unions and transformed them into the co-opted & institutionalized, social movement blood-sucking, safety valve machines they are today.

[Leslie D. Soule · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's great for giving you the "inside baseball" of how SEIU operates. Overall, it's a bit dry reading though, and might lose some people who aren't familiar with the NLRB and its processes.