On Seijas recall, an open letter to union workers by gimleteye

Natacha Seijas, the county commissioner from Hialeah facing a recall election from citizen insurgents, is pressuring organized labor for support.

We would not want to be on the receiving end of that kind of phone call, knowing the anger and vitriol that lurks just beneath the surface.

We hope Miami union workers will sit on their hands, because Natacha Seijas is sitting on the future of Miami Dade county like the talent agent on Borat.

Some union leaders are asking their members: 1) work against the campaign to recall Seijas, and 2) block the one measure that can restore order to Miami Dade county politics—an executive mayor who can balance an unreformable county commission.

Think about it: county commissioners swear that the first business of local government is protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens.

Not in Miami Dade.

Here, the first business of county commissioners is to approve decisions that allow production home builders to build in outlying areas.

Who wins, in this case? The winners are NOT the workers of Miami Dade county.

This is who wins from a disabled, dysfunctional county government turned upside down to protect a wealthy political elite: production home builders, their lobbyists and cronies in outlying areas who want taxpayers and citizens to shoulder most of the direct costs of unsustainable growth—like bad roads, overcrowded schools, and poor water and sewage infrastucture—and ALL of the indirect costs—like the way two wage earner/families have to struggle to make ends meet and drive countless hours in mind-numbing traffic to and from work.

Wealthy developers are supporting union workers to protect Seijas. Union workers owe no loyalty to that crowd.

They don’t live where workers live, don’t commute like workers commute, don’t suffer the stress of family life in Miami Dade county as workers do, and don't worry about the cost of living.

This is who wins with Natacha Seijas in control of the county commission: wealthy developers who treat Hialeah as their political Bethlehem even though they live in gated communities in Coral Gables, Pinecrest, and Miami Beach.

Now we understand perfectly well why union leaders are taking positions antithetical to their members' interest: the county’s $6 billion budget protects fiefdoms.

But we also believe that union members can think for themselves.

Here is what union members should do: be guided by what is best for you, your family, and your community.

1) Recognize that unseating Natacha Seijas will send a signal that we will no longer accept county commissioners using our quality of life as their piñata,

2) Support the county-wide vote in late January for an executive mayor to balance the power of county commissioners who cannot be reformed.

If you have to, smile at the boss and nod, yes.

But when it is time to vote, do the right thing: vote Seijas out.

Put the unchecked power of a majority of county commissioners serving lobbyists and a political elite into the dustbin of history where it belongs.