Members unanimously approved a resolution that, by October 17, our cooperative “shall notify GHC Workers United and SEIU Wisconsin of the co-op’s intent to voluntarily recognize the bargaining unit democratically chosen by GHC workers.” Members also unanimously passed four other transparency resolutions demanding that GHC share how much it has spent on union-busting lawyers and consultants. Finally, we asked to schedule a member meeting on the democratization of the co-op, signaling membership concerns about the Board and management’s dedication to cooperative principles more broadly.
GHC members and workers left that night feeling that we had participated in an historic event for the co-op. But later that week, the GHC Board of Directors sent an email to members that calls GHC’s cooperative values into question. The Board reminded members that any member vote on the union issue would be advisory, merely “encouraging” the Board to take action.
They went on to say that the unanimous motions would be “reviewed and considered,” but that GHC “continues to believe” in precisely what members had overwhelmingly repudiated just days earlier: GHC’s union-busting stance.
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