The hotly contested Local 888 election came to a close April 3 — with the votes counted, in keeping with pandemic times, via Zoom.
The newly elected officers are: Tom McKeever (Take our Union Back slate), president; Shaylin Walsh Hogan (Strength in Unity slate), secretary-treasurer; and Anita Christon, (Strength in Unity slate), re-elected as recording secretary.
“I’m extremely honored by the election results,” said McKeever, an active Local 888 member and former secretary-treasurer. “I am excited by the opportunity and look forward to working together with our members to do better.”
“I’m really humbled to gain the members’ approval,” said Walsh Hogan. She said that under the leadership of outgoing President Brenda Rodrigues and Secretary-Treasurer Kevin Nascimento, the union “has been in a good place financially. I hope to keep us on such fiscally sound course.”
In the race for president, McKeever received 514 votes, Strength in Unity’s Emmanuel Marsh had 378, while a Stronger Union for Economic Security’s Jorge Vargas had 347. In the race for secretary-treasurer, Walsh Hogan received 563, while Take our Union Back’s Marcellus Parker had 542. In the race for recording secretary, Christon received 579, while Take our Union Back’s Keturah Trusty had 512.
The votes were tabulated through a mix of online and paper ballots, with members overwhelmingly choosing to vote online. About 17 percent of the Local 888 membership voted.
McKeever is a member from the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, while Walsh Hogan is from Emerson College and Christon is from Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development.
The balloting and vote count was supervised by MK Election Services, the same firm that Local 888 used in 2018, the union’s last election. Also elected were 18 executive board members and three trustees.
The Local 888 Executive Board approved four impartial members to serve on the Election Committee, which oversaw the process: James Harrington, Lottery Commission; Kathleen Porrazzo, Quincy Housing Authority (professionals); William Bonnetti, town of Yarmouth, Unit A; and Marcelina Johnson, Boston Centers for Youth & Families.
“We tried to put on a fair and open election — and under the circumstances, given the pandemic, we were able to do that,” Harrington said before the ballots were counted. “There is no more of a time, than now, that we need a good strong union.”
Members in good standing can visit the Local 888 Member Portal to see the complete results, seiu888portal.membership.winmill.net/Election-Results.
