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Published Wednesday, June 25, 2008 | 8:32 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:15 a.m.
After months of vicious infighting, the two top officials of the Service Employees International Union Nevada have resigned.
Executive Director Jane McAlevey and President Vicky Hedderman submitted their resignations to the union's executive board this evening, "in an effort to move the union out of the period we’ve been going through, so we can move forward and focus on issues that actually matter," said SEIU spokeswoman Hilary Haycock.
SEIU Nevada is one of the state's largest unions and represents 17,500 health care and public sector workers. Its two leaders have clashed over the direction of the local.
Some members have raised concerns about a lack of internal union democracy. Among other examples, they point to the overturning of an election in which several candidates opposed to McAlevey won, leading to a second contest in which McAlevey and her top lieutenants — whose job it is to represent all members — actively campaigned for favored candidates.
That election is now the focus of a Department of Labor investigation.
The division was on display again in in a failed takeover attempt by a rival union at an SEIU-represented hospital. The California Nurses Association won more votes than the SEIU but not a clear majority because some nurses voted for "no union."
The California union is now posturing to unseat the SEIU at University Medical Center.
We should note that McAlevey was widely credited with reforming the union since coming to Las Vegas in 2004, winning good contracts for public employees in Clark County and for nurses at Las Vegas Valley hospitals and increasing political activism.
Two separate attempts by the international union to mediate the dispute apparently failed.
"This is the right time to offer members of our organization the opportunity for a new beginning," Haycock, the spokeswoman, said. "The distractions had gone on far too long in an organization that both people have built."
Vicky Baca, who has been working in the international union's public services division with a focus on organizing, will replace McAlevey for the next six months while the local's executive board conducts a national search for her replacement. Shauna Hamel, the union's executive vice president, will replace Hedderman.
“Far too much time and energy has been focused on personality issues rather than on the important work of improving the lives of our members,” Hedderman and McAlevey said in a joint letter of resignation. “We believe it is time to move beyond the current situation so that our members can continue to win the improvements they deserve.”
The union's executive board vowed to win standard-setting contracts in negotiations with Catholic Healthcare West’s St. Rose hospitals, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and six other employers currently at the bargaining table.
The message is clear: unity.
It's ironic that part of McAlevey's overall plan was to replace Hedderman with Hamel and now that has happened. McAlevey and Andy Stern supporter is being replaced by another Andy Stern supporter, so overall the local is under the finger of the international and if anything, more control has been lost by rank and file members which is Stern's agenda for all of SEIU.
The above comment is true and Shana has followed Jane so blindly that a phone call would keep her "in line." Hilary Haycock's comments have sure changed since the "few dissenters" and we are strong and united comments of December. Just proves she knows less of the members' true sentiments than the board. Unity is not a given at this point and if the UMC nurses article was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back", that issue is still in the hands of the UMC nurses who signed the 150 or so CNA cards that are out there. I think SEIU is in real trouble here and putting a brave face on it is just what they are doing.
Gawd I wish some people would learn to read.
To that "davidhp" person, if you took the time to read the article instead of just posting silly comments, you'd see that the union Executive Board is the one looking for a replacement while this "Vicki Baca" person is only temporary for the next 6 months. If you actually knew your constitutions and bylaws, you'd know that's in there and has been in there as such.
Also, it was not said at all that Vicky Hedderman or Jane McAlevey was forced to resign or step down. They submitted their resignation. If Jane really wanted to replace Vicky Hedderman, stepping down wasn't the way to do it as she wouldn't be in position to do so. Again, you're clearly talking like someone who has a personal vendetta and even if all the facts are laid out in front of you, you'd still wouldn't take it as truth.
In terms of that random "UMC nurses who signed the 150 or so..." blah blah blah comment, it's probably another case of how the out of state union lied to nurses and said "sign here for more information" without giving us a chance to read the cards like they did at CHW's St. Rose hospitals.
I see the SEIU moving in a great direction and hopefully having these two people out of the picture will allow the SEIU to grow, become stronger and unify like the powerful Nevada union they've grown to be in the last few years.
VegasHeat you are clueless....I'm thinking you must be from the "new" private sector membership--the members duped by the Mcalevey spin. Don't think for one minute that Jane "stepped down" under her own power. Just shows how much members really know how this union works. The real key to making this happen was the cooperation of Hedderman, who was ELECTED, not once but many times, by the members. If she hadn't agreed to step down, then the deal would have been off....Jane, on the other hand, a member of the INTERNATIONAL board, works under the direction of Stern......duh....Jane was TOLD to sign the resignation VegasHeat--you think that woman would have given up her "reign of power" under her own volition....davidhp knows what he's talking about and it's about time some of you "members" need to start surfing the web to find out what's going on in SEIU all over the country. It's POWER and MONEY--it's not about what MEMBERS want or need..they'll sell you out for the right to organize somewhere else...pull your head out of the clouds and gather some REAL facts...but beware when reading anything SEIU puts out...they are notorious for "spinning" the truth..get on some of the other sites; like union democracy or labor notes...my eyes are WIDE OPEN-time yours are too.