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| SEIU's Mary Kay Henry is attempting to trustee Local 50. |
SEIU is up to its same old dirty tricks.
Last week, the Purple Palace tried to impose a trusteeship on
Local 50, which represents 5,400 food service workers at Disneyland.
The [Local 50] Executive Board says that it has voted to disaffiliate from Workers United and SEIU, and that a majority of members have signed a petition to do the same.
Local 50’s website discusses its fight for democracy and worker-run
unionism.
Last week, SEIU parachuted Edgar Romney (a Vice President of SEIU and the Secretary-Treasurer
of Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU) into Anaheim, CA where he tried to
seize control of Local 50 and its bank account.
When Romney, a locksmith and a crew of SEIU staffers attempted to break into Local 50’s union hall, they were met by
Local 50’s Executive Board, who promptly called the cops. The cops sent the purple perps away empty-handed.
Romney then reportedly raced over to Disneyland, where he told Labor Relations officials that he now represents Local 50's workers. Tasty bets dollar to donuts that Romney promised the Disney execs that he'll accept cuts to workers' benefits in exchange
for Disney’s support of SEIU, as his buddy Dave Regan has done at SEIU-UHW.
Check out this YouTube video of Romney, Local 50’s President Sandi Ecklund, and the Anaheim PD in
front of Local 50’s offices. B/t/w, Ecklund
earned $70,477 last year, while Romney pocketed $222,306, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Here's what a Local 50 supporter wrote about the episode:
SEIU’s quest for money and power form the backdrop for this story. As Tasty earlier reported, SEIU is losing membership nationally. And SEIU’s “Workers United” is bleeding its members even faster. Since 2009, Workers United has lost 35% of its members, plunging from 128,319 members in 2009 to 83,796 in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.This is the second time an official of Workers United/SEIU has ever been to Local 50 and he and his goons brought a locksmith to break in. Sandi called the Anaheim PD and they were stopped. The first time an official from Workers Unite/SEIU came to Local 50 was to persuade Local 50 to merge with a failing Local of SEIU, 1877. Local 50 has operated independently since it's formation in 2004.
Meanwhile, Workers United owes more than $20 million to
SEIU, according to its financial reports.
It looks like SEIU officials are using the same worn pages from the Purple Palace's trusteeship how-to manual. Here’s what SEIU posted on a special website it set up for its latest trusteeship attempt.
The former officers of WU Local 50 have denied democratic rights to members, misspent your dues money and violated the Workers United constitution and WU Local 50 bylaws. In response, the Workers United Conference has placed WU Local 50 into trusteeship. In the coming days, the Trustees will be reaching out to each of you to listen to any concerns you may have…
Sound familiar?
Here’s Local 50’s website, b/t/w.
What’s next? Local 50 has filed a lawsuit against SEIU to
stop their power grab. More news to follow.
