SEIU: A Successful Union in an Era of Labor Decline

Dr. Timothy Minchin explores how the SEIU nearly doubled its membership from 1980-1995, during a time of significantly declining numbers in most other American labor unions. Through an exploration of SEIU’s membership drives at nursing homes, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and its long-running Justice for Janitors campaign, Minchin credits the union’s growth to a combination of organizing, affiliation with independent unions, legislative advances for public employee unions, and the prevalence of low-wage jobs in the growing service sector. Dr. Minchin is a Professor of History at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Related Collections: SEIU Executive Office: John Sweeney Records SEIU Publications SEIU Organizing Department Records Related Resources: Timothy Minchin – “A successful union in an era of decline: interrogating the growth of the Service Employees International Union, 1980-1995,” Labor History Episode Credits Producers: Dan Golodner and Troy Eller English Interviewers: Dan Golodner, Sarah Lebovitz Interviewee: Timothy J. Minchin Music: Bart Bealmear