Well, isn't this Raynor stuff fun? To recap: Bruce Raynor merges "his" union UNITE with HERE in 2004, it's a disaster. He drags "his" members to SEIU, who it turns out really only wants him for "his" money. Lawsuits and de-certifications follow. The drama seems to calm down and settlements are made, mostly in the favor of HERE. Then Andy Stern leaves SEIU, Raynor makes an error and supports Anna Berger for President. She loses. Mary Kay Henry wins. Anna leaves. And now Mary Kay is making it her job to get rid of the most significant SEIU leaders who supported Anna. Like Stephen Lerner (note: current Stephen status is that he is still on SEIU payroll, and he is NOT doing any work for them. Good work if you can get it. He is, however, still making waves.) So, now Mary Kay has decided to get rid of Bruce Raynor, who is now an EVP at SEIU and "President" of Workers United (the current name for ILWGU/ACTWU/UNITE). So, how does MK try to get rid of Raynor? Tasty imagines she has a serious talk with him about "his" role. And he told her to shove it, he wasn't going anywhere. So, she decides to take him out the old fashioned way: character assassination. So, boom, the E-board starts investigating Raynor's expenses and rumor has it that MK hires a private investigator. And wouldn't you know it but he expensed some dinners that he should not have! What's a union president to do except issue a press release and mention that he had these dinners with a "female" staff member? (Cuz' see, Raynor said they were with a male colleague, but they weren't. Cuz' he was having an affair with this female colleague. See her pictured, above.) Shit Raynor, you screw over your members, your union colleagues and you cheat on your wife? Barf, dude. You suck. From the NYTs: The charges accuse Mr. Raynor of falsely stating that he had 10 meals, costing $186 to $275, with a male union lawyer instead of the person he had actually dined with: Alex Dagg, a female executive vice president of Workers United and one of its Canadian directors. The charges call for ousting him from his Workers United and S.E.I.U. posts, and state that he had falsified union records and made improper personal expenses. Mr. Raynor said he did not list Ms. Dagg’s name, as he had often done before, because S.E.I.U. officials had told her not to involve him in efforts to negotiate a settlement to the nasty turf war in Canada between Workers United and Unite Here. “By not putting her name down, I was simply protecting her from political retaliation,” he said. But I know what you readers are thinking-- Raynor is only accused of misspending about $2000! Bruce's total compensation last year was $335,044. He could have just paid back the money if they didn't like the expenses, which were worth about $200 each--he just said the dinners were with someone they were not with. "I mean, Tasty," you say, "TYRONE FREEMAN STOLE A MILLION DOLLARS!" And to you readers Tasty says: This is SEIU. It ain't ever about real corruption or real standards for leaders. It's about power and politics. And a number of readers say that this affair was well known, making Raynor pretty vulnerable. Drama! Tasty has the most job security of any blogger in the whole wide world. And today a tipster says: "WORKERS UNITED to vote on this Wednesday to leave SEIU! Raynor has the votes to leave!!!!!!!!"
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Raynor's Game: Changing the Union's name so many times to keep his members working?
Well, isn't this Raynor stuff fun? To recap: Bruce Raynor merges "his" union UNITE with HERE in 2004, it's a disaster. He drags "his" members to SEIU, who it turns out really only wants him for "his" money. Lawsuits and de-certifications follow. The drama seems to calm down and settlements are made, mostly in the favor of HERE. Then Andy Stern leaves SEIU, Raynor makes an error and supports Anna Berger for President. She loses. Mary Kay Henry wins. Anna leaves. And now Mary Kay is making it her job to get rid of the most significant SEIU leaders who supported Anna. Like Stephen Lerner (note: current Stephen status is that he is still on SEIU payroll, and he is NOT doing any work for them. Good work if you can get it. He is, however, still making waves.) So, now Mary Kay has decided to get rid of Bruce Raynor, who is now an EVP at SEIU and "President" of Workers United (the current name for ILWGU/ACTWU/UNITE). So, how does MK try to get rid of Raynor? Tasty imagines she has a serious talk with him about "his" role. And he told her to shove it, he wasn't going anywhere. So, she decides to take him out the old fashioned way: character assassination. So, boom, the E-board starts investigating Raynor's expenses and rumor has it that MK hires a private investigator. And wouldn't you know it but he expensed some dinners that he should not have! What's a union president to do except issue a press release and mention that he had these dinners with a "female" staff member? (Cuz' see, Raynor said they were with a male colleague, but they weren't. Cuz' he was having an affair with this female colleague. See her pictured, above.) Shit Raynor, you screw over your members, your union colleagues and you cheat on your wife? Barf, dude. You suck. From the NYTs: The charges accuse Mr. Raynor of falsely stating that he had 10 meals, costing $186 to $275, with a male union lawyer instead of the person he had actually dined with: Alex Dagg, a female executive vice president of Workers United and one of its Canadian directors. The charges call for ousting him from his Workers United and S.E.I.U. posts, and state that he had falsified union records and made improper personal expenses. Mr. Raynor said he did not list Ms. Dagg’s name, as he had often done before, because S.E.I.U. officials had told her not to involve him in efforts to negotiate a settlement to the nasty turf war in Canada between Workers United and Unite Here. “By not putting her name down, I was simply protecting her from political retaliation,” he said. But I know what you readers are thinking-- Raynor is only accused of misspending about $2000! Bruce's total compensation last year was $335,044. He could have just paid back the money if they didn't like the expenses, which were worth about $200 each--he just said the dinners were with someone they were not with. "I mean, Tasty," you say, "TYRONE FREEMAN STOLE A MILLION DOLLARS!" And to you readers Tasty says: This is SEIU. It ain't ever about real corruption or real standards for leaders. It's about power and politics. And a number of readers say that this affair was well known, making Raynor pretty vulnerable. Drama! Tasty has the most job security of any blogger in the whole wide world. And today a tipster says: "WORKERS UNITED to vote on this Wednesday to leave SEIU! Raynor has the votes to leave!!!!!!!!"
