Marilyn Albert, RN, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Portside, September 15, 2004

Much of Steve Early's essay "Reutherism Redux: What Happens When Poor Workers' Unions Wear the Color Purple" rang true to me as a long time member of New York's health care workers union, 1199, which affiliated with SEIU several years ago. Early makes an important contribution to the discussion of the relationship between democratic practices within unions and the strength of the union and the labor movement in general. This is an issue which like-minded progressive trade unionists often don't agree about and that difference frequently can be attributed to whether one is a staff member/official or whether one is a rank and file activist. ... Democracy