Worker Sues Dignity Health over $1.2 Billion after SEIU-UHW Fails to Protect Workers' Retirement Benefits

Here’s an interesting story. At Dignity Health in California, SEIU-UHW continues to fail to protect workers’ retirement benefits. So... a worker decided to take matters into her own hands and filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of herself and her co-workers!

The lawsuit, filed last month in federal court, seeks to force Dignity to fix the massive underfunding of workers’ retirement benefits. The plan is underfunded by $1.2 billion(!). And the suit asks the judge to force Dignity to comply with a federal law that’s designed to safeguard workers’ benefits. Below, Tasty posted a copy of the lawsuit.

There’s another interesting detail to this story. The lawsuit was filed by Starla Rollins, who worked at a Dignity hospital in Southern California for 26 years until recently… when she and hundreds of other Dignity workers lost their jobs due to a layoff deal negotiated by SEIU-UHW’s Hal Ruddick. 

Ruddick’s deal conveniently gave away workers’ rights to file grievances over the company’s layoffs. That’s how Starla Rollins, an employee with 26 years on the job, lost her job.

So why haven’t Dave Regan and Hal Ruddick been protecting the retirement benefits of SEIU-UHW’s 15,000 members at Dignity? No shocker here. Dave and Hal are the purple pocket puppets of the company’s top execs.

Back in 2009, Regan and Ruddick eliminated workers’ defined-benefit pension plan and replaced it with a cheap “cash-balance” plan, which allowed Dignity to save $217 million in just one year, according to its financial statements.

Last June, Regan and Ruddick negotiated more benefit cuts and a wage freeze for workers. Since then, Dignity spent an estimated $500 million to buy another company and the company has pocketed $626 million in profits, according to recently released financial reports.

Here’s the class-action lawsuit against Dignity for under-funding workers’ retirement plan:

   Starla Rollins v. Dignity Health -- class-action lawsuit over Dignity workers' retirement plan. Filed April...

Kaiser Coalition's John August is Ousted

It's official.

John August has been axed from his job as the Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The move comes after August reportedly faced months of investigations regarding sexual harassment and abusive behavior against staffers... a story that Tasty first detailed on this blog.

Of course, August is telling the world he's simply "retiring." Tasty hears that SEIU President Mary Kay Henry stalled August's removal until the conclusion of the recent Kaiser election in California.

Here's August's goodbye email.

From: John August

Date: May 9, 2013, 4:30:02 PM PDT

Subject: Important update from John August

May 9, 2013

It's been my great honor to serve as the executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for the past seven years. Through the dedicated efforts of thousands of workers and union leaders, we've demonstrated the strength of a knowledgeable and empowered workforce - the ability to constantly improve, to create the best jobs, to build the best unions, and to provide the best possible patient care. We have accomplished a great deal together and our 100,000 union members are working  towards the transformation of health care so necessary as our nation extends care to millions of our people who for too long have not had the opportunity to have care. Our Coalition has never been bigger, stronger, or more effective than we are today.

With a strong three-year agreement in hand, and the annual Union Delegates Conference successfully completed, I've concluded that now is the right time for me to announce my retirement and allow for an orderly search and transition to new Coalition leadership. I have made personal calls to our Coalition national leadership to let them know of my plans.

The Coalition Executive Board is meeting next week to discuss the transition and succession process.  A notice to that effect will be out tomorrow.  As my predecessor did during the 2006 transition, I will of course remain available to assist the leadership in whatever way I may be called upon.

I salute every one of our 100,000 Coalition union members, and thank you sincerely for the chance to learn and serve alongside you.  It's been the most challenging and greatest opportunity I have had as a culmination to my forty years of service to the labor movement.  I am extremely confident in the ability of the Coalition's elected leadership to guide our organization to an even more successful future.

In Unity,

John

Of course, August's farewell email leaves out a few minor details about his tenure atop Kaiser's "partnership unions." Since 2009, John August has teamed up with SEIU's Dave Regan to cut workers' lump-sum pension benefits, slash retiree health coverage by $1.8 billion, lay off more than 1,000 workers, impose a multi-million-dollar Partnership Tax on workers, and implement an intrusive "wellness program"... all at a time when Kaiser pocketed $9.5 billion in profits.

In one famous episode, a worker secretly recorded speeches by August and Regan in which the duplicitous duo urged workers to accept concessions from Kaiser Permanente. August attempted to sell the concessions by labeling them "modern," "innovative," "transformational" and "21st Century." And he urged workers to reject "traditional" unions. After all, why would a so-called union leader ever want workers to use their collective power to challenge fatcat bosses for a piece of the pie? According to August, that is sooo 20th Century.

Even though August's speech featured more bullsh*t than a Texas feedlot, it nonetheless contained this perceptive observation: "History is harsh."

So, on behalf of all the sold-out workers and harassed women, it's time for history to deliver her judgment to August. As they say... payback is a bitch!

Did John August Get the Axe at Kaiser Coalition?

A source reports that John August, the Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, is being ousted from his job after an investigation into his abusive behavior against staff members. 

Tasty hasn’t had a chance to independently verify this report, but here’s what Tasty’s source says:

Former Coalition staff members reportedly filed complaints against August for sexually harassing and abusing staff members. Tasty hears that the staffers’ complaints reached the AFL-CIO, which interviewed staff and is now reportedly orchestrating August’s imminent departure.

Union officials apparently held off on axing August until after the conclusion of the giant Kaiser election in California. Why? August has worked hand-in-hand with SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan to pave the way for takeaways affecting Kaiser workers, and he also helped implement the multi-million-dollar Partnership Tax on Kaiser workers. 

Furthermore, August is super tight with Kaiser’s top execs. In fact, Kaiser gives August a fancy, rent-free office inside Kaiser’s national headquarters. And Kaiser’s incoming CEO, Bernard Tyson, even made this video with August.

August’s reputation as a womanizing “culo-crat” is well known (me entiendes?). He’s reportedly had multiple sexual affairs with staffers, rank-and-file SEIU members, and at least one member of SEIU’s International Executive Board. 

Last summer, August was gripped by a scandal after he reportedly sexually harassed a Kaiser partnership staffer who, upon quitting, turned in her phone… which contained comprising files implicating August. 

Despite the scandal, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry -- who serves as the president of the Coalition's board of directors -- reportedly refused to axe August because she was afraid that another scandal would further wound the image of SEIU's already scandal-plagued officials.

Coalition staffers describe August’s behavior as “predatory” -- sometimes targeting his sexual advances on staffers who are single moms and who can’t afford to quit their jobs. According to others, August has an anger-management problem that’s pathological… like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”   

One female staffer described how August ordered her into a one-on-one meeting, then yelled at her so ferociously that spit was flying out of his mouth as he jabbed his finger in her face. 

In the end, it's certainly no surprise that the Kaiser partnership is run by corrupt officials like August and Regan. And it's no coincidence that Kaiser execs and union officials would hold off on axing August until after the giant Kaiser election.

SEIU's Andy Stern Commits Latest Chipocrisy

Andy Stern’s newest 'bromance' with a fatcat business exec offers readers another glimpse at the immense integrity that's become the hallmark of SEIU. Here’s the latest.

Ever heard of Chipotle Mexican Grill? That’s the chain of restaurants that fired nearly 700 immigrant Latino workers without notice… and in some cases without paying back wages.

Many groups -- including SEIU -- have protested Chipotle for this despicable act, using slogans like this one: “Chipotle Chipocrisy: Selling Mexican culture and then selling out Mexican workers.”

For example, SEIU has this on its website (click on image to enlarge it):

And here’s SEIU’s Secretary-Treasurer, Eliseo Medina, protesting in front of a Chipotle restaurant. 

Which of course makes it a tiny bit awkward now that Andy Stern is palling around with one of Chipotle’s current board members and its former top exec. 

In late March, Jeffrey Kindler was appointed to the board of directors of SIGA Technologies. Like Stern, Kindler quickly pocketed 25,000 stock options in the bio-warfare phamaceutical company. Kindler formerly served as the Executive Vice President of the McDonald’s Corporation, where he was directly in charge of Chipotle Mexican Grill for a number of years, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

That's not all. Kindler also served as the Chairman and CEO of Pfizer. In 2010, Pfizer boosted Kindler’s take-home pay to $15 million a year. Why?  Because Kindler successfully lobbied the U.S. government to give the pharmaceutical industry “a largely hands-off regulatory atmosphere in drug pricing.” That means the giant pharma industry was free to charge astronomical prices to patients and then pocket giant profits.

In addition, Pfizer rewarded Kindler for buying a company called Wyeth, and then laying of nearly 20,000 workers. What a guy!

In fact, Pfizer was so pleased with Kindler that it gave him 20 hours of “personal use” flight time in Pfizer’s

corporate jet and helicopter, in addition to his company-paid personal car and driver. Here’s a photo of the interior of Pfizer’s jet.

Now that they're both on SIGA's board of directors, Andy and Kindler will spend countless hours together in corporate board rooms as they plot the future of their stock options and the pharma corporation. 

Andy Stern -- one more principled SEIU official who's fighting on behalf of U.S. workers!

CA Hospital Worker Fires Back at SEIU-UHW with Homemade Video

Check out this hilarious video from a hospital worker in California:

More News and Analysis of Kaiser Election

Here’s additional reaction to the Kaiser election in BNA’s Daily Labor Report. The article, entitled “In Rerun Election Mirroring First One, SEIU-UHW Retains Kaiser Representation” and authored by Joyce Cutler, includes comments from Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian and the director of the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy at UC Santa Barbara. Here they are:

Nelson Lichtenstein, UC Santa Barbara history professor and union watcher, told BNA May 2: “[The] original effort of SEIU to take over UHW-West, this will be SEIU's Iraq, and I think the last four years has proven to be the case.”

Lichtenstein said “the whole thing was a blunder on the part of the SEIU.”

“It's always been in SEIU's court to extend their hand to NUHW and resolve this” as SEIU has done with other unions it battled, Lichtenstein said.

“The remarkable thing about NUHW, always in labor history established unions of whatever sort never back dissident factions. It's just not done. But in this case it was done. Basically the political and union base of the Bay Area and California did back NUHW,” Lichtenstein said. “I do think that it will be wise on the part of the SEIU to extend an olive branch to the leadership and the activists of NUHW and end this thing, this internecine warfare.”

NUHW after results were announced said together with 18,000 CNA-represented Kaiser registered nurses and 5,000 NUHW-represented Kaiser employees, “13,000 workers belong to a majority of Kaiser workers in California who stand united and ready to fight the downward spiral of cuts that SEIU-UHW and employers like Kaiser are forcing on healthcare workers everywhere.”