The International Convention
At the SEIU 2008 International Convention, over 1,500 SEIU delegates from locals across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico came together to celebrate the victories of the last four years and set a bold new course through 2012. This year the Quadrennial Convention was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico to signify the true international nature of our union. The setting was also significant because the convention delegates clearly outlined an expansive organizing plan for not only Puerto Rico, but for other island nations in the Caribbean.

Local 221’s Delegates
SEIU Local 221 went to Puerto Rico with 11 delegates and one non-voting retiree delegate. Our delegates were elected by a vote of the membership in March 2008 after a thorough election review process that was developed and carried out by a member run Nominations Committee. Your elected delegates were: Alison Barkley, Lois Balfour, Merrill Mickelson, Rick Lovett, Luis Giorgi, Omar Lopez, Sandra Guerra, Diane Cates, Sharon-Frances Moore, Richard Preuss, Marlon Mitchell and Cornelius Hill*

For a full description of the convention nomination and election process click here.

The Convention Proceedings
The 2008 SEIU International Convention began with each Division in the International Union coming together to develop resolutions to take to the convention floor for debate. All resolutions and amendments were vetted through a committee review process in which Local 221 delegates participated. Once the eight hour review process was completed, the convention was underway!

The convention opened with SEIU International Union President Andy Stern announcing to the assembled delegates that SEIU is now two million members strong as a result of our expanded organizing. President Stern said that with this expanded power we can do one of two things: Use this power to benefit just our organization (the currently organized) or expand our reach and raise standards for every worker which will build greater power and begin to eliminate the economic forces that undercut our jobs and services.

During the convention, there was spirited floor debate on a number of issues before our union. The debate focused around the need for growth versus the needs of the currently organized in our union. Many delegates feared expanding the reach of the union could erode the benefits and protections that they enjoy in the current union structure. Other delegates spoke passionately about the challenges they face when they have to compete against unorganized workers in similar industries who are paid less and have no benefits. In the end it was clear that SEIU needs to both grow significantly to build power and maintain the representational and contract standards for the workers that we currently represent.

An Ambitious Agenda for the 21st Century
Out of the discussions at the convention, delegates voted to:

· Increase membership in the International Union by 500,000 in four years;

· Build partnerships with workers in other countries sharing the same multi-national employers as a strategy to build worker power in a global economy;

· Organize a member action and leadership program that commits local unions to increase the percentage of members in leadership roles to 10%;

· Expand the pilot projects for Member Resource Centers which will help locals be more responsive to member needs by providing professional representation in their language of choice and make more resources available for member action, bargaining, and organizing;

· Provide resources to locals like Local 221 that have recently merged with other unions to address the unique challenges that they face;

· Elect a pro-worker President of the United States and pass the Employee Free Choice Act to significantly expand our organizing potential;

· Enact meaningful comprehensive immigration reform that shatters the underground economy that exploits workers and fuels immigration problems, and provides a path to citizenship.