Here’s a breaking news story that offers another glimpse at Dave
Regan’s apparently undying allegiance to the CEOs who run California’s hospital corporations.
Today, California’s legislature began debating a bill that
would finally require the state’s nonprofit hospital corporations to provide a
minimum level of "charity care" to uninsured patients in exchange for the billions of
dollars of tax breaks they get each year from California’s
taxpayers.
Here’s a short CBS news story about the bill. By the way,
check out the nice slap to Kaiser CEO George Halvorson for his fat-cat salary!
The bill -- Assembly Bill 975 -- would require “nonprofit”
hospitals to spend just 5% of their profits on giving care to low-income, uninsured patients. Not much,
right?
That’s why the bill has gotten wide support from groups including the California Labor
Federation AFL-CIO, California Tax Reform Association, California Professional
Firefighters, UNITE-HERE, United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council,
California Conference of Machinists, Teamsters, Engineers and Scientists of
California, Utility Workers Union of America, Professional and Technical
Engineers and the Amalgamated Transit Union California Conference Board. The
bill is sponsored by the California Nurses Association.
So who’s opposed to the bill?
 |
| CHA's Duane Dauner |
As you might have guessed, the hospital industry’s Chamber
of Commerce -- called the California Hospital Association (CHA) -- is leading
the attack against AB 975. Today, the CHA came out with both barrels blazing and
even launched a video featuring CEO Duane
Dauner attacking the bill.
So here’s the next question. Who’s working hand-in-hand with
the Chamber of Commerce to oppose the bill?
You got it… Dave Regan and SEIU-UHW!
Today, SEIU-UHW issued a
formal statement (see below) opposing the bill. The statement was penned by
none other than Dave
Kieffer, who recently sought refuge alongside Regan after getting axed
from his last job.
So… SEIU-UHW now has the disgraceful distinction of being the only union
in California to back the state’s multi-billion-dollar hospital corporations
over California’s uninsured patients, consumer organizations and workers. Quite a story, right?
Here's SEIU-UHW's letter opposing the charity-care bill.
