Danny Glover Calls on John Wilhelm to Enter Binding Arbitration for the Good of the Labor Movement

Today, Danny Glover, famous movie actor and long-time labor advocate, joined the long list of national and international labor leaders and advocates to call for an end to the internal Unite Here dispute. In a letter directed to the labor and progressive movemement, Danny Glover calls on John Wilhelm, General President of Unite Here, to accept the offer to enter binding arbitration, an offer originally proposed by Bruce Raynor, President of Workers United, and Andy Stern, President of SEIU, on April 30, 2009, and later renewed in a letter directed to John Wilhelm on June 3, 2009.

Please read the full text below.

Labor and Progressive Movement:

Labor unions have been a real force for good in the life of my family, and in so many other families like mine. I am who I am, and who I have been able to become, in large part because of the strength and resources my parents and aunts were able to gather from their unions.

That is why I have used my celebrity to support unions and organizing drives, pro-union political candidates and Employee Free Choice. I will always be a union activist, and I am proud of that.

What I am not proud of is what the fight between UNITE HERE and Workers United/SEIU is doing to this movement I care so much about. I stood side by side with UNITE HERE throughout the merger, but it was obvious even from the outside that that organization was not reaching its potential. I supported Workers United members when they decided to go their own way. But now, even after the formation of that new union the fighting has not stopped.

I was just in Niagara Falls, Canada with workers who finally won their union, but now can't get a contract because their employer has gotten wrapped up in this intra-union battle. That is unacceptable and I raise my voice and add to the others that are calling for a quick and fair end to the UNITE HERE merger which ends all this infighting. The stakes for folks like these hotel workers in Canada are too high to let this drag on.

I call on President Wilhelm to accept President Raynor and President Stern's offer to enter into binding arbitration. The sooner the better.

Sincerely,

Danny Glover

For Raynor and Stern's original proposal, please follow the link below.

http://workersunitedunion.org/content/seiu-and-workers-united-lay-out-clear-path-resolving-issues-and-serving-workers

For Raynor and Stern's letter renewing the offer, please follow the link below.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM110_090603_open_letter.html