Dian Palmer, President of the Service Employees International Union Local 73, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss how her union member husband helped guide her to a career with SEIU. Palmer also talked about the contract issues with the city of Chicago and the difficult negotiations workers at the University of Illinois went through to earn their new contract.
SEIU Local 73 represents 35,000 workers in Illinois and Indiana. These workers are primarily public service and publicly funded in school districts, municipalities, social service agencies and more. Palmer was a registered nurse facing workplace mistreatment from her employer. She was first introduced to SEIU when Palmer’s husband, a member of the United Steelworkers, recommended she reach out to their organizers and see how they could help. After helping to lead that organizing drive, Palmer explained how she found herself at Local 73 and inevitably elected President of the Local.
On June 22, 2022, the previous contract for the city of Chicago workers expired. They ratified a new contract in short order, but the contract still has not been implemented. Palmer explained how the delay is the result of the city’s dispute with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 21 whose contract is tied to SEIU Local 73’s contract. She discussed why Local 73 hopes to implement their contract before their pandemic bonus expires in December. There are a few options available to the city of Chicago that could allow the Local 73 contract to be implemented before the December deadline, and Palmer discussed the next steps for the Local.
Finally, Palmer discussed the University of Illinois food service and building service workers that ratified a 3-year worker. The Local represents about 900 workers on campus, and she explained why these workers have always struggled to earn a new contract. These negotiations took an 8-day strike before the two sides could finalize a new contract. Palmer explained the wins for workers in the new contract and how the Local is preparing for future university negotiations.
For more from Palmer and SEIU Local 73, please listen to the show above.