Here's the
latest from SEIU-UHW's ramrod
ratification vote for approximately 2,000 workers at
the Daughters of Charity Health System in California.
Early last
week, SEIU-UHW officials held rushed votes in an effort to "ratify" a
tentative agreement for a three-year contract that’s filled with cuts to workers’ benefits.
For example,
SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan agreed to
eliminate benefits for hundreds of workers by gutting the "benefit-eligibility
standards" for part-time workers. This concession alone will save the company millions of dollars a year and will leave hundreds of workers without health insurance for themselves and their children... not to mention sick leave, vacation pay, retirement benefits, etc.
Regan also agreed to eliminate retiree
health benefits for all employees at St.
Louise Regional Hospital and O'Connor
Hospital, according to a copy of the deal.
Despite
SEIU-UHW's rush-job votes, on November 17th workers at St. Louise and O'Connor voted
by large margins to reject the tentative agreement, according to workers.
In the days after the votes, however, SEIU-UHW was mysteriously silent. Here's a
report from one worker:
Typically, the union makes an announcement almost immediately the evening after the vote finishes. There has been a deathly silence from them since the vote. But, apparently the union feels more aligned with the Boss because an email was just sent out by Julie Hatcher (head of HR at O'Connor) to all Managers announcing that the CBA has been ratified, but, employees have heard nothing from SEIU. Despite reports from all hospitals that there was an overwheming no vote, the yes votes appeared by magic in the ballot boxes and the deed was done.
Workers say
SEIU-UHW's crooked ratification vote is just one of many dirty tricks it deployed
against workers during contract negotiations.
At O'Connor Hospital,
workers report that the union's bargaining committee was hand-picked by
SEIU-UHW staffer Val
Tagawa, instead of being elected by members.
In addition, SEIU-UHW
refused to provide members with the dates and times of bargaining sessions, and it kept secret the location of negotiating sessions, say workers. A second
SEIU-UHW staffer named Jackie flat
out refused union members' request to attend the negotiations, according to
workers.
These actions kept workers in the dark about the deep cuts that SEIU-UHW was accepting at the bargaining table.
In recent days, workers reportedly filed legal charges against SEIU-UHW over its crooked ratification vote.
Stuffing the ballot boxes is not out of the question for Dave Regan. In 2012, the NLRB reversed the results of a fraudulent SEIU-UHW vote count at Chapman Medical Center after federal investigators concluded that SEIU-UHW falsified the vote count in collusion with the hospital management.
Stay tuned.
