As a Republican and SEIU member for over 20 years, I have felt that my union did not always represent my Republican viewpoints or listen to my concerns. It seemed to me that the union only had a liberal political agenda, which did not represent my conservative values. It also seemed that the union wanted to elect only Democrat candidates to office, regardless of their position on worker issues.

Recently, I have seen a positive change at SEIU. When Andy Stern was elected president of SEIU International, the political focus changed from representing just Democrat issues and candidates to representing and supporting policies, legislation, candidates and elected officials that benefit all working people, regardless of their party affiliation. SEIU has formed an International GOP Advisory Council to advise the union at the national level on Republican politics and issues. Nationally, SEIU has endorsed Republican candidates that support worker rights and issues. In fact, SEIU recently helped elect a Republican as Mayor of Dallas over the incumbent Democratic Mayor because the Republican candidate supported our workers.

At SEIU Local 221, President Sharon-Frances Moore has taken a leadership role in assuring all members are represented and their voices are heard. SEIU Local 221 is one of the first locals in the nation to form a Local-driven GOP Advisory Council.

SEIU Local 221 has appointed staff from the Government and Community Relations Department to work with the GOP Advisory Council and our Republican members. The GOP Advisory Council is made up of Republican SEIU Local 221 members who believe that all members working together can have a positive impact on the issues facing working families. SEIU Local 221 has taken the stance that we should consider issues based on whether they are worker’s issues, instead of whether they are Democrat or Republican.

Over 30 percent of SEIU Local 221 members are registered as Republicans. To ensure we have a voice in our Local, we need to step forward and get involved. Together we can make an improvement on the issues facing working people such as fair wages, health care benefits, and a secure retirement. One of our members recently made the comment, which I felt was right on target, “We should not look at the world as Blue (Democrat) or Red (Republican), but as Purple (SEIU).”

Sincerely,

Richard E. Preuss

Chair, SEIU Local 221 GOP Advisory Council