SEIU Local 205 endorses David Briley and Erica Gilmore and Harold Love

by Rod Williams - The union that represents most Metro employees except for Police, Firemen and teachers has made their endorsements and I am very pleased. There was no chance the union would endorse anyone who wanted to increase government efficiency and cut government waste. A more efficient government is not in the interest of a public sector union. Since they were not going to endorse anyone interested in a more efficient government, they did the next best thing and endorsed three big-spending candidates. Endorsing three candidates is about as good as endorsing no candidate. They endorsed David Briley, Erica Gilmore and Harold love. Below is the SEIU press release.

Press release - The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 announces their recommended candidates for Nashville’s Mayoral special election, which is to be held on May 24th, 2018.

The candidates were chosen by a committee of union members who work for Metro Government or for Metro Nashville Public Schools – all of whom are residents of Davidson County.

Because there are multiple candidates who have been strong supporters of Metro employees and of working families, SEIU Local 205 recommends Mayor David Briley, Metro Council Member Erica Gilmore, and State Representative Harold Love
.
Mayor David Briley has been a strong supporter of Metro employees throughout his tenure on the Metro Council and as Vice Mayor, and he has always been an advocate for making sure Nashville’s prosperity is shared by everyone.

Erica Gilmore was one of the first Metro Council members to speak up to defend Nashville General Hospital and she has been an advocate for holding businesses accountable for public tax incentives they have received.

State Representative Harold Love has fought hard to protect Nashville from overreach by the state legislature and he has been a strong supporter of a living wage in the “Fight for $15” campaign.

All three have been strong defenders of Nashville General Hospital and of the Bordeaux long term care facility.

Election Day for the Mayor’s race will be on Thursday, May 24th. Early voting is from Friday, May 4th until Saturday, May 19th. Complete information on early voting dates and voting locations is available from the Davidson County Election Commission at 615-862-8800.

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SEIU Local 205 announces their endorsments for August 6th election. A Guide for whom not to support.

From SEIU -The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 announces their endorsed candidates for Nashville’s Metro Council elections to be held on August 10, 2015.

The candidates were interviewed and chosen by a committee of rank and file members of our union.  The members of this committee are Davidson County residents who work for Metro Government or for Metro schools.

If there were more than three candidates in a district race, the committee decided to wait until the runoff to give an endorsement.  The committee also decided to wait until the runoff to endorse for the At-Large races.

The endorsed candidates are:
Mayor             Bill Freeman
Vice-Mayor    David Briley
District 5         Sara Martin
District 7         Anthony Davis
District 16       Tony Tenpenny
District 20       Mary Carolyn Roberts
District 21       Ed Kindall
District 23      Mina Johnson
District 24      Kathleen Murphy
District 26      Jeremy Elrod
District 27      Clement Ledbetter
District 28      Tanaka Vercher
District 29      Karen Johnson
District 32      Jacobia Dowell
District 33      Jimmy Gafford
District 34      Steve Butler
District 35      Dave Rosenberg

My Comment: The SEIU is predisposed to support candidates who oppose innovation, cost saving measures, and who favor higher taxes. Except for Tony Tennpenny, whom I support, I would use this list as a guide of whom not to support.  In most cases, the SEIU has endorsed the most liberal candidates running. Rod

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Nashville SEIU supports charter amendment for smaller council, expanded terms.

"Choose smaller Metro Nashville council, no term limits," is the title given an op-ed in the Tennessean written by Mr. Doug Collier, who is the president of SEIU Local 205. I assume the title was written by the staff of the Tennessean, not Mr. Doug Collier. The charter amendment which will be on the August 7th ballot calls for reducing the Council to 26 seats and expanding the number of terms a council member may serve from two to three; not "no term limits."

 Unless you subscribe to The Tennessean, you can't read their stuff online as they have finally put it behind a pay wall. In this piece, Mr. Collier laments that metro employee salary increases have not kept pace with inflation but says, "those budget constraints haven’t stopped councilmembers from rubber-stamping virtually every major capital project Mayor Dean has proposed."

He is critical of tax giveaways like Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) deals which mean that a lot of the new construction downtown does not put much more money in city coffers. He calls it "corporate welfare." I agree.

He says the Council is not responsive to the needs of metro employee's because only being able to serve two terms, they do not have to fight to be reelected and do not have to be responsive. He also says the size of the Council is a problem, saying that a small council, "like a small classroom — enhances that learning process and allows them to come up the curve quickly."

I am sure there are a lot of things I disagree with the SEIU about, but I agree with Mr. Collier in supporting reducing the size of the Council and expanding terms. It is an advantage to have people in the Council with institutional knowledge, who remembers how certain things came to be. Also, with a large body it is easier for one not to step up and really study the issues and do the hard work of the Council. When you are one in a group of forty it is easier skip the committee meetings than when you are one of a smaller group.

The bureaucracy is permanent and a department head can snow a new council member and the bureaucracy answers to the mayor, not the Council. The goal of a department head is always to have a bigger budget and more employees. No department head tries shrink his department and have fewer employees.

It takes a while to actually learn how government functions and to know when someone is being truthful with you. Term limits and a large Council, make for a weak Council and a strong mayor. That is not the most important change I would make to shift the balance of power to the Council, but it is a step in the right direction.

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Outsourcing Custodians Paid Off For MNPS

Outsourcing Custodians Paid Off For MNPS, Audit Says

The audit says the district saved more than $6 million last year by outsourcing, while a survey of Metro principals found most were content with the service. The move to outsource custodians was controversial, drawing criticism from unions and some city council members. When Metro school board...

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SEIU Nashville releases endorsements for school board

I have not seen the official announcement, but Nate Rau ‏@tnnaterau 

tweets "The SEIU rolled out its school board endorsements today. The are: Fred Lee in district 3, Al Wilkins district 7, Amy Frogge in district 9, Ed Kindall in district 1 and no candidate in district 5 where chair Gracie Porter is the incumbent."

If you have no basis for deciding who to vote for, vote for the candidate not endorsed by SEIU. 

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The March 13 School Board Meeting: Thanks for support of the dream act, the SEIU is mad, CMT partners and more.

Below is the 3/12/2012 School Board meeting. You can view the agenda here.


Something humorous happens at the start of this meeting. Mr. Majors is asked to lead the pledge and he must have been confused. He starts the pledge with "Our Father ..," apparently thinking he was leading a prayer. There is laughter and he gets back on track and and leads the pledge.

Here are highlights of this meeting.

Arely Bravo (8:08), expresses gratitude to School Board for Supporting the Dream Act.

You really ought to watch this. I am of the opinion that we need to pass some version of the Dream Act.  

Student Arely Bravo says "Tennessee is the only home I have ever known." 

I think that we must address the situation of those Americanized immigrants who were brought to America as children. It would be wrong to send them "back" to a country they have never know. I support strong borders and oppose blanket amnesty, but we must have a heart as we seek a solution to this difficult complicated problem. Watch this presentation and then ask your self if you really think this young lady ought to be deported or denied the in-state tuition rates if she otherwise qualifies for college. 

Doug Collier of the SEIU speaks about a filed complaint. "We do have a class war going on," he says. He is followed by another angry SEIU member. Alma Sanford is another SEIU member who chastises the Board.

The Board approves a contract with Country Music Television,(22:17)  to partner with McGavock High School and is provided Exclusive Naming Rights to the Academy of Digital Design at McGavock. CMT becomes the fifth corporate entity to partner with a school. To me, this seems like a very positive and innovative practice.To give students a real world experience in an exciting career field is valuable and may motivate some students who would otherwise be tempted to drop out of school to stay in school. Some student's life may be changed due to what they experience in this environment. Some students may discover a rewarding vocation at an early age. 

A teacher, Donald Brian Wood, has charges for dismissal approved. Here is a link to a video posted on the Today Show that shows Woods swearing in front of his students then throwing a chair. (link) He apparently had some sort of nervous break down. He was an Algebra teacher at McGavock.

These schools have the word  “Comprehensive” removed from their name: Antioch, Cane Ridge, Glencliff, Hillsboro, Hillwood, Hunters Lane, Maplewood, McGavock, Overton, Pearl-Cohn, Stratford, and Whites Creek


There is a lengthy presentation on "Asset" which will interest few except for academics but addresses professional development and teacher evaluation and recruiting, retaining and rewarding good teachers.

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Jessie Register speaks the truth and the mic was on

A YouTube video has been posted of Director of Schools Jesse Register speaking bluntly when he thought he was off the air but he was actually on the air. He says that what is happening at Metro schools is a cultural change and that employees are moving away from a situation where they have a sense of entitlement.



What is the big deal? This is no scandal.

 It is interesting anytime someone is caught speaking bluntly when they thought the mic was off. However, what Register said is simply an observation that is most assuredly true. Many people who work for government do think they have an entitlement of a job for life and should be exempt from lay offs. They also think they are entitled to raise year after year. And, they think they are entitled to more days off and more benefits than comparable jobs in the private sector.

If the school system can save money by contracting for a service rather than providing it in-house, they should contract for that service. If innovation and cost savings lead to a reduction in the work force then the work force should be reduced. Government administrators should be good managers and good stewards of the public's money. Keeping government employees employed is not the function of a good administrator.

The video is edited to be critical of Register and points out that some Metro School employees only earn a modest income. I think we already knew that was so, so what is the point? There are a lot of jobs that do not pay a lot money.  Government employees should be paid competitive wages with the private sector and I don't think one can argue that the wages paid by metro are not competitive. Government employees should not earn more than a person working in the private sector would be paid for the same job. And, they should not have more benefits or job security than a person in the private sector doing the same job.

The only criticism I have of Register as a result of this incident is that he was hesitant to say publicly what he thought he was saying privately. He spoke the truth.

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Unions Rally at School Board meeting of 2/14/2012

Supporters Rally for the SEIU and Unions. 

No Valentine's Day Love for Register. 

 

School Board Meetings can be very boring. This was not a boring meetings. A large crowd packed the February 14th School Board meeting, the majority there to protest the Metro School Board's cancellation of the 12-year-old Memorandum of Understanding with the unions. This School Board meeting was the first since the  Metro Council meeting in which the Council voted 29-5 to urge Register to comply with the district’s current labor negotiation policy.

Elected officials attending the meeting included Representatives Mike Steward, Sherry Jones, Mike Turner, Gary Moore, Janice Sontany, Brenda Gillmore, and Council Members Jason Potts, Karen Johnson, Davette Blalock, Scott Davis, Fabian Bedne and Brady Banks.

Unlike the Metro Council meetings which strictly prohibit the display of signs in the chamber, the crowd at the School Board meeting were allowed to display signs and union supporters waved red valentine-like signs that said "Have a heart." Also, unlike the Council meetings which discourages applause and outburst, applause and cheering was permitted.

The "Public Participation" portion of the School Board meeting had a large number of people wanted to speak. Speakers were limited to three minutes. (It starts at 18:17 in the video.) A couple speakers spoke about school reassignment request for their child and such matters but all of the others were there to speak about the School Board's termination of the Memorandum of Understanding. All speaking on this issue were speaking in favor of the unions with the exception of Councilman Steve Glover. Speakers worth noting are these:

• Pastor Don Beisswenger, a retired Vanderbilt Divinity School professor known for his civil disobedience and involvement in left wing causes, was the first speaker speaking in favor of the unions. 
• Jim Buckley of the United Steel Workers (23:09) takes the opportunity to slam Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin and refused to abide by the three minute time limit and keeps talking after being told his time was up. 
• Doug Collier, President of SEIU Local 205 (32:00) complains that he has filed a formal complaint with the board and has yet to receive a reply. He also takes issue with Metro Councilmember and former School Board Member Steve Glover's interpretation of the Director's authority to set district policy. 
• Representative Gary Moore, who is also President of the Tennessee AFL-CIO calls for cooperation and open dialogue to settle issues (35:27). 
• Representative Brenda Gilmore (36:48). 
• Representative Mike Turner (39:17) 
• James Brown speaks out about the new employee handbook restrictions (41:40). 
• Former Council Member Vivian Wilhoite (45:00). 
• Councilman and former School Board Member Steve Glover (1:08:42) explains the sequence of events that led to the current situation and why the Director of Schools was correct in following the law and acting within their policies. His comments were met with boos. 

What will happen next? Register, after this public hearing told reporters that he doesn’t plan to change his position on unions. I think most people think Jesse Register has been a good Director of Schools. However, I wonder if by standing up to the unions he has been too bold and made too many enemies. Are his days numbered?

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SEIU announces protest at Metro school board meeting | Nashville City Paper

The City Paper, Monday, February 13, 2012 at 1:16pm By Joey Garrison

Unhappy with Director of Schools Jesse Register’s unwavering stance on unions, the Nashville chapter of the Service Employees International Union has planned a protest prior to Tuesday’s Metro school board meeting.
The rally, which SEIU Local 205 says will feature elected officials, parents and local clergy, kicks off at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday outside the central office on Bransford Avenue. (Read more:SEIU announces protest at Metro school board meeting | Nashville City Paper)

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Update: What happened at the Metro Council 2-7-2012: The School Unions, John Arriola and more.

Council Highlights: Council meetings can be very boring, so I have highlighted the interesting parts of this meeting. I watch the whole council meeting so you don't have to. 
.  

Council Highlights:

Ordinance 2011-83 to allow Metro water services to extend water lines to residential properties currently served by private wells is deferred until the second meeting in March. Councilman Stanley explains the bill. (See 25:06 in the video above)

A memorializing resolution by Councilman Robert Duvall calling for the resignation of John Arrriola. (see video at 34:55)

A memorializing resolution by Councilman Tygard urging the State to expand the prohibition of the manufacture or sale of synthetic drugs. Tygard has various samples of the drugs which he shows to the council. Tygard’s presentation is informative and he makes a passionate argument in favor of passage. (See 36:29) We need to see more presentations like this on the Council floor.

A memorializing resolution calling on Metro Public Schools to abide by the current labor union negotiation policy.  This bill required a suspension of the rules and could have been stopped from consideration had two people objected but none did.  Councilman Karen Johnson, a former School Board member, makes an argument that the Director of Schools changed policy without bringing it to the Board. Councilman Glover counters her argument and makes a good presentation explaining the state law and why the Director is following the law and Board policy. He is clear and his thoughts are well organized. Councilman Bo Mitchell make a pro-union argument and several other members weigh in on the issue. The vote was 29 yes votes, 5 no’s, 2 abstentions and 4 members not present. The four no’s were member who are generally thought to be conservative or Republican members of the council.  They were Glover, Stites, Claiborne, Tenpenny, and Todd. The two abstentions are from members identified as Republicans also, Tygard and Dominy.  Two other Council Members who are considered Republican, Duvall and Blalock, voted with the majority and supported the resolution. (The discussion starts at 40:20)

The Unions win, Arriola condemnation put off two weeks. 

On the memorializing resolution urging embattled County Court Clerk John Arriola to resign, the Rules Committee vetoed 10 to zero to defer until the DA had acted. Councilman  Phil Williams of Channel 5 reported that the committee room was full. He tweeted that there were lots of county court clerk employees present to support their boss.  

Jason Holleman argued the Council should wait until the District Attorney takes action as did the Council in the case of David Torrence.  In the Council meeting, the bills sponsor, Councilman Robert Duvall argued against deferral. Duvall said he "takes no malice with the committee," but said he disagrees with their position. He reviewed the comptroller's audit and said, "These violations are much worse than anything David (Torrence) did." He argued for an up or down vote. The Council voted to defer the resolution for only two weeks. This is a partial victory for Duvall. The DA may not act for months. This drama will be played out again in two weeks.

The Metro Council sided with the SEIU and the Steelworkers union which represent school custodians and bus driver sand voted against Director of Schools Jessie Register's effort to curtail union power. Register recently ended the district's Memorandum of Understanding policy with those union. "He should not unilaterally change existing policy," argued Council Member Karen Johnson, a former School Board Member. The vote was 29-5-2.

A Bill calling for preparation of a fiscal impact statements on most legislation passed on second readings. Council Member Sherri Weiner is the lead sponsor of this bill.

The Council approved on third reading a bill that authorized $2.5M to complete infrastructure in subdivisions that were never finished.

The Council approved Mayor Karl Dean's appointment of former Council Member Anna Page to the MDHA board. She is a former one-term council member who was supported by the Mayor in her reelection bid and who was defeated by current Council Member Tony Tenpenny.

The Council unanimously approved a rules change to have public hearings every month instead of the current every other month.  The change begins in June.

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Another Update: What is on the 02-07-2012 Council Agenda? School Unions and John Arriola

Will Council Say No to Jessie Register's standing up to School Unions?  Will Council Say Arriola, you gotta go!

Will Council say Jessie, Don't bust the Unions?
A late resolution has been introduced by Councilman Bo Mitchell, the most pro labor union member of the Metro Council,  that would urge the Metro School Board and the Director of Schools Jesse Register  to abide by the current labor negotiation policy.

As reported in the City Paper, The School Board currently has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Unions concerning labor negotiations which Register says is not binding. This year, the State of Tennessee passed a new law that stripped teachers’ unions of their ability to bargain collectively. Mitchell says the law applied only to "certified" personnel and was not applicable to unions representing support personnel.

This is the same argument that Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 made on January 13th when they filed a complaint with the school board. "This is not a dispute over wages, funding, or benefits" said Doug Collier when filing that complaint. "Last year, the state legislature passed laws which affected teachers' right to bargain collectively. Dr. Register is now trying to use those laws – which do not apply to school support employees - as an excuse to overreach his authority and silence the voices of thousands of loyal city employees who voted to form a union." (See: Complaint filed against Metro schools director.)

I am not sure that the question of whether or not the law stripping teachers unions of their ability to bargain collectively applies to other school personnel is even relevant. Other public sector unions, as far as I can tell, never had that right written into state law in the first place. The more relevant question maybe whether or not our current MOU with the unions is a binding agreement that can be terminated by one party.

One of the more conservative members of the Council to whom I talked to today, said that he is uncertain if the MOU is a contract or not.  If the MOU is in fact a contract and by Register suspending it the city would be liable for violating a contract and face a law suite we are likely to lose, he said he would have to support Mitchell's resolution.  Whether or not the MOU is a contract is a fact yet to be determined. As reported in the City Paper, Register is very clear in saying the MOU is not a binding agreement. Unless the MOU is a binding contract,  I would have to vote to stand with the Director of Schools. If that cannot be determined at this time, then this resolution should not be passed but time should be given to make that determination.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Steelworkers are the unions involved in this dispute. In this year's elections the SEIU endorsed a broad range of candidates, not just liberal Democrats. Conservative and independent minded members of the Council endorsed by SEIU included Tim Garrett, Robert Duvall, Duane Dominy, Emily Evans, and Davette Blalock. (To see who the SEIU endorsed, click here.) Union members vote heavily in Council elections and can mobilize their relatives and friends and can exercise considerable clout. I hope members of the Council do not buckle to the Unions.

I hope members of the Council have the fortitude to stand up to the Unions and stand with Director of Schools Register. According to Council rules, a late resolution can be stopped if two members object. They should object. There is no crisis that requires a late resolution. Let this resolution be introduced following the normal procedures and give the council time to deliberate and get all the facts.

 Arriola you gotta go!
The most interesting item on the agenda will probably be RESOLUTION NO. RS2012-158 by Councilman Robert Duvall calling on John Arriola to resign. It is only a memorializing resolution which means it expresses the will of the council but is non-binding. Last year the council rejected this resolution.

Arriola is under investigation by the District Attorney's office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and a recent audit revealed massive irregularities and questionably practices in the office. The most troublesome issue surrounding Arriola is his charging a $40 fee to perform marriages and pocketing the money.

Robert Duvall is to be commended for pushing this resolution. It this does not pass, I will be totally disgusted with our Metro Council. This is a vote that will tell us a lot about the Council: who is for defending the good 'ole boy system of political corruption and who favors honest government. I don't know how anyone can spin this any other way. To read the full text of the resolution click here.

Get your own copy of the Agenda and Analysis: 

You can find the agenda at the link: Metro Council Agenda. And,  the analysis at this link: Metro Council Analysis. The council meeting are less boring if you have an agenda and an analysis, not that they are still not boring, but they are less boring.

Other issues worth watching:

Ana Page is to be confirmed as a Mayor's appointee to the Metropolitan Development & Housing Agency for a term expiring November 5, 2014. These appointees to boards and commission are usually routine and I expect this one will be also. The thing that makes this appointment noteworthy is that Ms Page is a former member of the Metro Council who was defeated for reelection by Councilman Tony Tenpenny. She was only one of two incumbents seeking reelection to the Council that was not reelected in the last council election. The Mayor's office supported Page. It seems like an unfriendly act on the part of the Mayor to appoint a sitting councilman's former and possibly future opponent to a position of influence.

RESOLUTION NOS. RS2012-136 & RS2012-137 are on the consent agenda so most likely will pass with no discussion and I bet, if truth be known, there is not a council member up there who really knows what they are voting on. I may sound like I understand this but am still vague on how all of this works.

These two resolutions appropriate $600, 000, $300,000 each, ultimately to two different entities. The money is appropriated from the Capitol Mall Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) to MDHA for the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and ServiceSource.

One interesting thing about this is that the money has to be spend in a “pocket of poverty” areas of the Metropolitan Government. Now, if you are familiar with downtown, think about the boundries of this "pocket of poverty:" The Capitol Mall pocket of poverty includes basically the heart of the downtown area bordered by 2nd and 4th Avenues to the east, Union Street to the north, 8th Avenue to the west, and Peabody Street to the south. Think about those boundaries. That has got to be some of the richest poverty areas I have ever seen! If you want to try to understand this, look at the analysis and good luck.

Every Resolution on the agenda is on the consent agenda which means they have received anonymous approval in committee and will be voted on as a group instead of individually.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2011-83 by Councilman Stanley which is on second reading would allow Metro to extend water lines to homes using private wells. Currently, if one wants to extend a water line to ones property, it is at one's own expense. The director of finance was unable to certify that funds are available to implement this ordinance. Fiscal watchdogs in the Council may have a problem with this bill. I hope there is an explanation of why we would deviate from a long-standing prudent fiscally-sound policy.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2011-91 which is on second reading would require a  fiscal impact statements to be prepared for legislation pending with the council, other than zoning ordinances and non-binding memorializing resolutions. The fiscal note is to include a dollar estimate of the anticipated change in revenue, expenditures, or fiscal liability associated with the resolution or ordinance. 

This is a good move. Council needs to know what something will cost before they vote on it.  However, Council should not let a fiscal note replace good judgement. As we see at the state and federal level, an estimate of cost is a static estimate and changes in expenditures and tax rates are often dynamic. A "saving" may cost more elsewhere or later and an increase in tax rates can sometimes lead to less revenue to the government rather than more.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2011-82 on third reading creates a means whereby Metro can accept unfinished infrastructure. When a developer develops a subdivision, he is supposed to complete the streets to an acceptable standard before Metro will accept them. There are several developments around town, where the developer went broke or the developer just abandoned the project and the streets were never completed. The developer is supposed to post a bond or secure a letter of credit which would insure that if the developer does go broke or abandon the project, Metro has the funds to complete the project. That did not always work out as planned. This bill establishes a procedure whereby, under certain circumstances, Metro can accept the incomplete streets and complete the development. This will set the stage for finishing the streets and infrastructure such as sidewalks and drainage systems in several subdivisions where the infrastructure was never completed. 

I am disappointing that this bill was not publicly discussed on second reading. I would like to know who screwed up and cost the city millions of dollars and have assurances that the problem has been fixed.

I had thought this meeting would be super short and super boring, but the the resolution calling on Arriola to resign and the resolution supporting the SEIU, may make this a good meeting. 

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SEIU Local 205 endorces Conservative Council Candidates: Crafton, Jakes, Duvall, Dominy

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 announced their endorsements today for Metro Council races. I am pleasantly surprised! SEIU Local 205 is supporting several of the same candidates I am supporting.

For Council at-Large they are endorsing Eric Crafton, Ken Jakes and Tim Garrett. Tim Garrett is a Democrat but he is a conservative Democrat. Of the current five At-large Council members, only Charlie Tygart may be considered equally as conservative as Tim Garrett. Eric Crafton and Ken Jakes are both Republicans. To bypass incumbent liberals to select two Republican challengers took courage.

In the district races, SEIU endorsed Emily Evans (23), Jason Holleman (24), Davette Blablock (27), Duane Dominy (28), and Robert Duvall (33). Several of these candidates such as Dominy and Duvall are openly Republican and some of the others, while Democrats, have not always voted with the Mayor and have shown a lot of independence.

Nationally the SEIU is perceived as extremely liberal if not radical. They were active in supporting the candidacy of Barack Obama in 2008 and spent $28 million in that effort making the SEIU the biggest spender by an independent organization. They were active in the healthcare issue often showing up to counter protest at tea party event. They have been accused of ballot rigging and using intimidation to persuade workers to vote in the SEIU as their union. In unionizing efforts, many of their activities have been considered thug-like.

Locally, the SEIU represents most government unionized workers who are not represented by either the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters, or the Metro Nashville Education Association. They represent health care workers, janitors, school support staff and people who work for Public Works.

The endorsement of Republicans and conservative and independent Democrats by the SEIU just goes to show that in a big organization their can be diversity and one should be cautious about assuming too much. I know many Metro employees are conservative and if the rank and file really are the ones choosing which candidates to endorse then I should not be surprised that good public servants like Duvall and Dominy get the SEIU endorsement. I applaud the SEIU Local 205 for their independence and courage.

Below is the press release issued by the SEIU.Candidates I am supporting are highlighted in red.

SEIU Announces Metro Council Endorsements

Metro Employee Organization Urges Election of Pro-Worker Candidates

(Nashville) The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 today announced a list of candidates endorsed by the organization for Nashville's Metro Council elections, to be held on August 4, 2011.

“These candidates were chosen by rank and file members of our union who are directly affected by the decisions made by the Metro Council,” said Doug Collier, President of SEIU Local 205.

“We need candidates who will stand up and support working class families and who believe in our values. Working class families are the backbone of Nashville and we make Nashville strong,” said Billy Deaderick, a meter technician for Nashville Electric Service who served on the union’s candidate committee.

“Over 80% of SEIU members and their families live and vote in the county, so we believe that our members will make the difference in many of these races,” said James Brown, a telephony technician working for Metro Schools who also served on the union’s committee.

The endorsed candidates are:

At-Large

Megan Barry
Eric Crafton
Tim Garrett
Ken Jakes
Vivian Wilhoite

Dist. 1

Lonnell Matthews, Jr. 

Dist. 2

Gloria Jones

Dist. 3
Walter Hunt

Dist. 4

Brady Banks 

Dist. 5
Priscilla Eaton

Dist. 6
Peter Westerholm

Dist. 10
Doug Pardue

Dist. 11
Darren Jernigan

Dist. 14
James Bruce Stanley

Dist. 16
Anna Page

Dist. 18
David Glasgow

Dist. 19
Erica Gilmore 

Dist. 20
Buddy Baker

Dist. 21
Edith Taylor Langster

Dist. 22
Seanna Brandmeir

Dist. 23
Emily Evans

Dist. 24
Jason Holleman

Dist. 26
Chris Harmon
Brock Parks

Dist. 27
Davette Blalock

Dist. 28
Duane Dominy 
 

Dist. 29
Karen Johnson

Dist. 30
Jason Potts 

Dist. 31
Fabian Bedne

Dist. 32
Jacobia Dowell

Dist. 33
Robert Duvall

Dist. 35
Bo Mitchell 

Early voting runs from July 15-30. For information on polling locations and other election information, contact the Davidson County Election Commission at 862-8800.

SEIU is the largest single labor union in North America, with a membership of 2.1 million members who work in the public and private sectors. In Nashville, Local 205 represents thousands of public employees in Metro Schools, Metro General Government, the Metro Action Commission, Metro Nashville Hospital Authority, Metro Development and Housing Authority, and Nashville Electric Service, as well as workers in private sector companies including Meharry Medical College and the Nashville Auto Diesel College.

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