SEIU President Mary Kay Henry to launch 'Unions for All' push in Milwaukee speech

Bill Glauber
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry speaks to the audience attending the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre July 31, 2019 in Detroit.

Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry will be in Milwaukee Wednesday morning to unveil an ambitious "Unions for All" proposal.

And Democratic presidential candidates had better take notice.

The 2 million-member union's endorsement is up for grabs and contingent on a candidate backing the proposal that aims to overhaul the nation's labor laws and give workers easier access to joining a union.

Henry will outline the initiative in a speech to SEIU members and other workers at Turner Hall Ballroom, which is just down the street from Fiserv Forum, the main venue of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

"The eyes of the world are going to be on the city of Milwaukee when the DNC holds its convention and we think working people all across this country are going to want to hear from Democratic leaders on how they'll drive the change we need," Henry said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Henry added: "Milwaukee matters in terms of who needs to show up and vote in the election. Milwaukee knows the important tradition of unions. There is a history of unionizing in Milwaukee and Wisconsin."

Henry acknowledged labor setbacks in the state under Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who implemented Act 10 and signed right-to-work legislation.

But she held up a labor agreement at Fiserv Forum as a model, with the Milwaukee Bucks requiring contractors to pay their workers a minimum of $12.50 an hour, increasing to $15 by 2023.

Peter Rickman, president of the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers organization, said: "The model here is that no matter who the employer is, workers in the Deer District not only have a minimum wage closer to a living wage but that they can join a union and bargain a contract."

Troy Brewer, a cook at Fiserv Forum, laid out the importance of what's going on at the arena.

"If we had a better living wage, it would be better living for everybody," he said.

According to Henry, the "Unions for All" proposal is based on four principles beginning with a push for industrywide bargaining to negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions nationwide.

For instance, she said the next president should "convene McDonald's, Burger King" and other major fast-food chains "to negotiate better wages and working conditions."

She said the National Labor Relations Act "should be a floor, not a ceiling, so that cities and states can innovate."

The third principle is to ensure "that every public dollar is used to create good, union jobs and that every federal worker and contractor makes at least $15 an hour and has the opportunity to join a union."

And the fourth principle is to put "good union jobs at the center of any major economic proposal."

Henry said it's "important that we demand more and push the imagination of the presidential field."

"When you allow more unions for working people, everybody benefits, not just union members," she said. "So it's a good economic stimulus program to kick stagnant wages in the butt and get wages rising for everybody in this country."