New California union president’s agenda at standstill after failed SEIU Local 1000 meeting

The new president of California state government’s largest union is at a standstill with the union’s board of directors two and a half weeks into his term.

SEIU Local 1000 President Richard Louis Brown was expected to face obstacles from the union’s 65-member board in carrying out his unconventional campaign promises like ending political spending and reducing the cost of dues.

His first scheduled meeting with the board on July 6 sputtered to a halt before it officially began.

Dozens of board members didn’t show up or left before roll call was taken. Their absences denied Brown a quorum as he put forward a proposal to set aside $2 million of the union’s money to support workers who might lose their jobs when the state closes a prison in Lassen County.

Brown has said the fund could help employees pay for things like food, housing and child care.

The agenda also showed a proposal to increase union leave time for the organization’s three elected vice presidents. The boost in leave time would have fulfilled one of Brown’s campaign promises and reversed a change made under former President Yvonne Walker.

At 6 p.m., the meeting’s appointed start time, Brown began filming himself and sharing the video on social media. He said he would deliver opening remarks and read letters from California Correctional Center employees who would be affected by the closure of the prison.

He read the letters and commented on them for more than an hour. His live recording from his phone was constantly interrupted as people called him and he declined the calls. He said the calls were part of an effort to disrupt the meeting.

When he called the meeting to order, not enough people were on the call to form a quorum.

Twenty-eight board members were present, falling short of the 33 needed for a quorum of the 65-member board.

It’s not clear if enough members to form a quorum were on the call at the start of the meeting.

“The board didn’t have the patience to hear my opening my remarks as the new Local 1000 president,” Brown said in an interview Friday. “I respect everyone. If they don’t have the patience to understand they have a new president, I understand.”

Criticizes Gov. Newsom’s plan to close prisons

He said he plans to reschedule another meeting in the next couple of weeks and is reaching out to individual board members.

“My love for Lassen County will not stop,” he said. “We’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to try to convince the governor that this is wrong.”

Brown has been blasting Gov. Gavin Newsom over the decision to close the prison — one of the 35 California operates with its $17 billion per year corrections budget. Closing the prison, which is a major employer in the rural area, is expected to save the state about $122 million per year.

The prison is the second slated for closure in the state, after Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, which is scheduled to close later this year. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has recommended California close five prisons to save money amid a declining prison population.

Wants major changes at SEIU Local 1000

On July 9, Brown made the second appearance since his election on Fox News, telling host Neil Cavuto that Newsom has “lost his mind” in relation to the prison closing.

Brown defeated four other candidates, including Walker, in the May election.

He promised to get the union out of politics, reduce members’ dues by 50%, allow non-members to vote in union elections, negotiate an unprecedented 21% raise and persuade the state to eliminate Local 1000’s contributions to a retirement health insurance fund, among other pledges.

Many of the proposals would be major changes for Local 1000 and departures from established union strategies and practices, and board approval is required for most of them under the union’s policies.

Many of the board members were on union leave before Brown took office. Walker did not extend their union leave agreements beyond her last day in office, and Brown has not extended those leave agreements. Brown has authority to administer and authorize union leave for most of the board members, but not the three vice presidents.

This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 5:25 AM with the headline "New California union president’s agenda at standstill after failed SEIU Local 1000 meeting."