Last week the SEIU steward at Kaiser Oakland's ER decided that he was going to vote for NUHW. He didn't wear red, he didn't stop doing his job as a steward, he just had some conversations with his co-workers and decided to vote for NUHW, not SEIU.And when SEIU found out--they had him removed as a steward. Big mistake, according to sources, Bill is well liked and well respected at work. His coworkers made this flier to share the news of SEIU's "intimidation."
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Sept. 17
ED’s BILL HENDRIX,
ELECTED STEWARD, REMOVED BY SEIU
It’s An Outrage!
SEIU just removed another elected shop steward, ED’s
Bill Hendrix. Bill is an LVN. He worked at Kaiser since 2002. His staff elected him as their representative. When Bill showed interest in NUHW, SEIU defied the ER voters. Call it voter intimidation.
Elected shop stewards are the backbone of union strength.
They serve us without pay. Stewards file grievances, negotiate with managers, and heal our differences. The removal of Bill is part of a campaign to dismantle the democratic structures that made our union strong. Without our consent, even without our input,
SEIU has already removed hundreds of elected stewards. A hundred rank-and-file e-board members were dumped. SEIU leaders spit on our elections, now they want our vote.
Bill put it this way: As a steward, “I felt I have had no backing from SEIU. Everytime that there was a disagreement with management over fair treatment of my members, I had to fight SEIU to gain support. SEIU runs the union as a dictatorship.”
Brothers and sisters, if Barbara Lee were removed from office by dictate, would we remain silent? How can we, in self-respect, vote for leaders who destroyed our tolerant,democratic union. It’s Bob Marley time: “Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights.”
