SEIU Annual Report

Worst of all, American workers were the ones paying the
price. Home foreclosures, plant shutdowns, healthcare cuts,
nightmarish state budget problems and service reductions
were the news of the day.
But in the face of these terrible gale winds, SEIU members
did the only thing we know how to do: we pushed ahead.
And at year’s end we had made real progress toward our
goals:
• We are closer then ever before to comprehensive
healthcare reform.
• We rallied behind the economic stimulus plan and won
hundreds of millions of dollars to ward off deep cuts to
state and local budgets.
• We united tens of thousands of new members into SEIU
and fought at the bargaining table to save pensions and
jobs, and keep critical services from being cut.
• We made sure that workers’ voices were heard in
statehouses, in the halls of Congress and in our
communities. The appointment of several SEIU staff to
influential positions means that workers’ voices are being
heard inside the Obama administration as well.
In short, 2009 was the most difficult and wrenching time
American workers have faced in decades. But because
we stayed true to SEIU’s mission, we can look back at our
work and be proud—even as we prepare to take on new
challenges in 2010.
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