SEIU Forces Chattanooga Official Out of Office!

Some anti-union Chattanooga lawmakers may have won the battle, but at least one of them lost the war—and their job—for taking on SEIU.

Over the summer, SEIU pushed for a $1/hr. pay raise for all Chattanooga city employees. The Mayor and his Council allies supported a 3% across the board increase; a structure that gives top-level managers thousands and thousands of dollars and leaves lower-paid workers holding the bag. After the Council approved the Mayor’s anti-union plan, SEIU filed a formal complaint and challenged councilwoman Marti Rutherford’s eligibility to even serve on the Council. The Union’s complaint states that Rutherford is not actually a resident of the district she represents and is therefore, ineligible to serve.

Despite some fierce resistance by Rutherford and her band of anti-union political insiders, SEIU won the day, sending one more enemy of working people packing as Rutherford finally resigned in disgrace on Oct. 1.

Read local news coverage at the Chattanooga Times Free-Press or the Chattanooga Pulse.