I just got home from downtown, where I voted in the representation election bwtween Sharleen Stewart's SEIU and Tim Oribine's OWU. I considered our options carefully, and in the end I put the X next to the SEIU.

I am not happy to do this, mind you. A lot of what Tim and my friends on the OWU side have to say about the way the SEIU, even Local 1 Canada, has been run is valid and true. I just don't think on balance that starting a new union from scratch is the way to fix it. There has to be a genuine reform effort from within the local first! I've been guilty of just coasting along, the last few years, and letting Stern get away with a lot of stuff that has taken control of this union away from the membership. But my conversation with the SMART group over the last couple of years has shown me that there is a smart way to do this, an intelligent way to kick-start reform efforts from inside Local 1.

I'm going to be joining the retiree's group within the local soon, but I expect that in my copious free time as a pensioner I will be able still to advise anybody who wants to carry the fight. Y'all know where to find me.