Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Josie Mooney Joins Skunks at Whitehurst/Mosher

Ever wonder what happened to SEIU’s Josie Mooney after she was dumped by the California School Employees Association? Well, just like a slow-flushing toilet, Josie appears to be swirling around with the same set of unsavory characters.

In her latest adventure, Josie landed a gig as a "Special Counselor" for “Whitehurst/Mosher,” the San Francisco lobbying and P.R. company that played an infamous role in Andy Stern’s attempted ‘character assassination’ campaign during SEIU’s California trusteeship. In fact, Josie was thigh-deep in the scandal when a conscientious insider outed the conspiracy in a tell-all article published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

The article revealed how Josie, SEIU Executive Vice President Tom DeBruin and Andy Stern hired hatchet-men John Whitehurst and Mark Mosher to try to smear California union leaders after they criticized SEIU officials for selling out frontline workers in secret deals with healthcare corporations. (Sound familiar?) Josie and DeBruin even worked hand-in-hand with Sutter Health, California’s biggest anti-union hospital company, to wage their so-called “Skunk Team” attack against union reformers.

So what kind of work is Josie doing now? Well, it turns out that Josie is still sucking dues from SEIU members’ pockets. Check out these meeting minutes from SEIU Local 221’s Executive Board. They show how Josie was present when union officials steered a $50,000 consulting contract to Whitehurst/Mosher earlier this year:


In the end, it sounds like Josie’s consulting firm didn't do such a good job for county workers. In fact, SEIU Local 221’s members ended up with a contract that’s inferior to the one negotiated by workers who recently decertified Local 221 and joined an independent union.

So, union members, if you happen to see Josie Mooney lurking around your union hall, look out! She’s probably trying to score a fat consulting gig funded by your union dues!