Check this out.
A source leaked an internal document that details
Dave Regan’s secret plan to slash the number of SEIU-UHW's Union Reps (the staffers who help workers with day-to-day worksite problems, grievances,
arbitrations, contract enforcement problems, etc.) so Regan can divert more of
the union's resources to politicians, election campaigns, and other “external” projects.
According to the leaked document, Regan launched a
"pilot project" in Stockton, California where he implemented
"major changes to staff roles" by cutting the union’s support for
workers’ representational needs by 85%.
The memo states: "Ultimately, we would use what we
learned from the pilot to… test a different way to structure staff
resources."
In a section titled "Stockton Pilot Project Goals,” the
memo says the following (see document below):
Our desired internal results from this [project] are to… temporarily redesign our organizational infrastructure so it aligns with our strategic theory of building power for workers by focusing externally… In order to reach our strategic external reorientation goal it's clear, after much discussion, that there is no easy way to test major changes to staff roles. That said, redefinition of staff work roles is critical to achieving our mission and any half-measures will not help us get there so therefore we must test dramatic change… We will see if we can accomplish what we need to on the representational side with fewer staff resources devoted to it.
How deeply is Regan cutting the union’s representational support
for its members?
Check out the numbers on the second page of the document. It says the
"Stockton Pilot Project" is staffed by 8 full-time union staffers. But
get this: only ONE of these EIGHT staffers is helping workers with grievances,
arbitrations, impact bargaining, steward council meetings, etc. The other SEVEN staffers are assigned to "external" campaigns such as signing up
residents for Obamacare.
What else are the seven "external organizers" supposed to do?
According to the leaked document, they’re also responsible
for training union members to serve "as the Union Vision narrators for
members and our community.”
Wow, that sounds super helpful… especially for all
of the rank-and-file members who are getting unjustly terminated by their boss.
Like this 33-year
employee at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center. Or this SEIU-UHW member who was
fired by her meth-snorting
supervisor. Or the 239
SEIU-UHW members who were wrongfully terminated by Kaiser Permanente during
just a nine-month period.
Oh, before Tasty forgets... WTF is a "Union Vision narrator"?
From every indication, it appears that “Wall Street Dave” has hired a high-priced PhD in BullShitology to write useless internal memos about Regan’s
“strategic vision.” It's kind of like trying to cover a steaming pile of cow dung in fancy wrapping paper in hopes that no one will notice the pungent odor of bullsh*t that permeates the room.
Notably, Regan’s secret plan to slash the union’s
representation staff comes on the heels of another leaked SEIU-UHW document -- which detailed the
results of a survey of SEIU-UHW staffers who described the miserable levels
of representational support that SEIU-UHW is currently giving its membership.
The secret plan also comes on the heels of Regan’s multi-million dollar raid on workers'
paychecks… by boosting
workers' monthly union dues by as much as $40 a month and imposing a
9 cents-an-hour "partnership tax" on 45,000 workers at Kaiser
Permanente.
Can’t wait 'til Regan rolls out his “pilot project” on the
rest of SEIU-UHW’s members!
