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| SEIU-UHW's Leadership Assembly featured a "giant custom flame bob" |
A union member
who attended SEIU-UHW's recent "Leadership Assembly" in Fresno, California
sent along the following report, including news that Dave Regan used the event as a platform to
trash SEIU International and President Mary Kay Henry.
The report begins
this way:
I have just finished a few days at the leadership conference, and do I feel dirty. Not because of the members, they were the saving grace, but because of the SEIU-UHW staff leadership that are also on the executive board. These people are not members, they have no concept of the struggle that working people face, they don't know us or the work of the members.
As far as Regan
trashing SEIU International...
The other part that I found so completely strange was the mention of the Home-care members being put in their own union. Regan was blasting the International, and their wrong decision to create SEIU 2015. Reagan and others have said several time that the International "stole" their members. I may be naive, but aren't they still in a union? Actually, they are still with SEIU. We are fighting for the same things and the same political agenda's, but they act like these members are their property to be stole. Really, I am sure Dave is just sad about the lack of dues and Cope. I was shocked about how much crap Dave was spreading about the international. I can't imagine that the International will just sit back and take this. I am actually more than fine with Dave and his minions get kicked out by the international.
(FYI, the
term "COPE" refers to voluntary political contributions that SEIU-UHW
collects from some of its members and uses to fund political campaigns.)
Tasty's
source says Regan also referred to his collapsing deal with the California Hospital Association, apparently
confirming details disclosed in last
week's post penned by California
Watchdog President Jamie Court.
Regan said that if the hospital CEO's would not support the medi-cal measure then maybe they would start going after their high pays and bonuses. … Why would hospitals NOT support this measure. This will be more money for them. It was clear that we are spending members dues to push Reagan and his buddies agenda.
And here's a
final excerpt. Btw, check out this union member's dead-on description of
Regan and SEIU-UHW’s fatcat staff leaders: "a greedy man and a few sycophants who are more boss than working people."
Of course, the biggest message was around Cope. Pretty much, UHW has become a lobbying group. They are pushing that all executive board members must collect ten $10 dollar COPE cards every three months. The staff are the ones pushing these goals, and if they are not met staff is disciplined. We are constantly losing good staff and member leaders. … The problem is the people making the decisions on behalf of UHW members is a greedy man and a few sycophants who are more boss than working people. Not only was Regan's message all about cope (And man was he a boring speaker), but about the upcoming ballot initiatives that we will be pushing.
