More ear-splitting
implosions
are rocking Dave Regan's "groundbreaking" partnership with the California
Hospital Association… quickly transforming it into a pile of twisted, smoking
rubble.
Here's what's
happening.
In recent
weeks, the CHA has filed two counter-lawsuits against SEIU-UHW in response to Regan's
November 2015 lawsuit against the CHA.
One of the CHA's
suits -- filed last week -- says SEIU-UHW's original lawsuit should be tossed
out because Regan, in his secret deal with the CHA, signed an "arbitration
clause" that prohibits him from taking disputes to the courts. It also asserts
that Regan violated the deal's "gag clause," which SEIU-UHW famously
denied even existed.
So, in a
stroke of poetic justice, the CHA has been forced to hand over a copy of
Regan's secret deal in order to prove its case! A source snatched copies from the court and sent them to Tasty.
For nearly
two years, Regan has stubbornly refused to allow journalists and the public to
even catch a glimpse of the deal. In fact, he refused to show it to SEIU-UHW's
members and even its "Executive Board," the union's top governing body.
Last year, NUHW
filed a complaint with California Attorney General Kamala Harris over Regan's gag clause. That complaint was based on an unsigned version of the deal that was leaked to NUHW. At the time of the complaint, SEIU-UHW officials vigorously challenged the authenticity
of the unsigned version.
Now… we have
a SIGNED version of the deal with Dave's "John Henry" at the bottom! (See
a full copy below.)
The CHA
lawsuit also contains a trove of previously unseen documents… including a one-page "Side Letter" signed
by Regan and the CHA's Duane Dauner on May 5, 2014.
The
documents detail the deal's corrupt "money-for-members" quid pro quo in which Regan agreed to deliver $6 billion in public Medicaid
funds to hospital CEOs in exchange for the right to unionize 60,000 California
hospital workers without employer opposition.
Regan agreed to force the newly unionized workers into cheap, pre-negotiated labor contracts with substandard wages and benefits, a gag clause, and a ban on strikes.
Regan’s newly outed "Side
Letter" also details the creation of a $100 million political slush fund
-- using $20 million of SEIU-UHW members' dues money -- to help hospital CEOs
boost their profits at taxpayer expense.
Here are the two documents. More to follow
in the days ahead.
