SEIU's not-yet president is beginning to sound very...presidential

On Monday, outgoing-SEIU chief Andy Stern tried to put the brakes on the blogosphere's chatter over Stern's hand-picked successor, Anna Burger, losing her presidential bid to the relatively-obscure SEIU EVP Mary Kay Henry.

Yet, despite the fact that he is trying to quell the rumor fact that the Queen of Labor has unofficially lost, Andy Stern's unofficial successor, the not-yet-named next SEIU president, Mary Kay Henry is certainly moving as though she is the winner.

According to Politico's Ben Smith (the dude who broke the Henry victory story), Ms. Henry released a memo on Monday to her fellow SEIU leaders sounding very presidential and as though the contest is over.

For the past few days, I’ve been reaching out to as many of you as possible to hear your views on what makes our union great and ideas about how to make it even better. I hope speak to every single one of you, and answer any questions you may have, before the upcoming vote of the International Executive Board.


[snip]


In the coming months, our first priority will be to engage SEIU leaders at every level and across divisions in a dialogue about our goals for the future and how best to achieve them. I am firmly committed to creating the space for an open and honest debate that will lead to shared decision-making and ownership.


It’s a dialogue that I hope each and every one of you will participate in fully – no matter who you chose to support as the next president of SEIU – because we will need the benefit of everyone’s experience and insights to meet the challenge of moving forward without Andy at the helm. Because our varying opinions and points of view will enhance our debate about the future direction of our union. And because it is in the best interests of our members to bring about a smooth, seamless, and, above all, unified transition to this new chapter in the rich and proud history of SEIU.

You can download Mary Kay Henry's acceptance speech memo here (in PDF).
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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

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