Sources: Turmoil Grips SEIU-UHW as $1.5M Goes Missing

Sources describe a chaotic scene inside SEIU UHW’s education and training fund amid reports that “$1.5 million has gone missing.”   

According to Tasty's sources, recent weeks have seen the firing of staffers, the freezing of various accounts, and an influx of outsiders who are busily reviewing the organization's books. Last week, the fund’s Director of Finance, Victor Madamba, was suddenly removed from his job.

The SEIU-UHW Education and Training Fund is a nonprofit organization with an annual budget of more than $10 million. Its revenues come from government agencies and healthcare corporations like Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health and Sutter Health.

The fund is supposed to train workers to take jobs in the healthcare industry. But since taking control of the fund, SEIU’s Dave Regan has tried to use the fund to advance his personal interests.

In recent years, Regan and SEIU-UHW staffer Triana Silton directed the fund's staff to campaign on behalf of SEIU-UHW during the giant NLRB elections at Kaiser Permanente, which is a blatant violation of the nonprofit organization's independent status and federal law.

Two of Kaiser's execs sit on the fund's Board of Directors: Arlene Peasnall (VP of Human Resources) and Jim Simpson (Senior VP of Business Units outside of California). SEIU-UHW’s Triana Silton also sits on the board, where she's been joined by a “who’s who” of Regan’s best buddies, including Joe Simoes, Hal Ruddick and Myriam Escamilla.

The missing $1.5 million is just the latest scandal to mark Regan’s tenure at SEIU-UHW. Stay tuned for more news!

Sources: "Partnership Unions" Inked Secret Layoff Deal with Kaiser Permanente in California

Sources report that SEIU-UHW and the “partnership unions" have secretly inked a deal with Kaiser Permanente to lay off more than 1,000 workers in California. 

Tasty's sources provided a copy of an internal email that was sent last week by Kaiser's top executives to managers. The email announces plans for 550 layoffs in Southern California and apparently will be followed by a similar email to announce layoffs in Northern California.

The email -- dated October 23 and authored by Arlene Peasnall (Senior VP of Human Resources) and Judy White (Chief Operating Officer of the Southern California Permanente Medial Group) -- is entitled "Workforce Reduction Announcement and Manager Communication Tools." It gives the following information to Kaiser’s managers (the complete email is posted below):

As you are aware, Kaiser Permanente Southern California has undertaken a series of cost-reduction initiatives... Examples include operational efficiency changes and work approaches to reduce medical center and administrative operating expenses…

These reductions will be announced in two stages, with unrepresented employees being informed between October 24 and 26, and represented employees scheduled to be notified within the next few weeks… The estimated total number of affected employees is 550, of which 466 are represented employees and 84 are unrepresented staff.

Attached are talking points, FAQs and communications guidelines to help you honestly and accurately discuss our workforce reduction actions and reasons behind them…

Please contact your local Human Resource director or consultant if you have any questions or need additional support.

Sources say that during the summer, SEIU-UHW and the “partnership unions" began secretly discussing the layoffs with Kaiser execs. In addition, they report that SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan voiced no opposition to the job cuts... even though Kaiser has pocketed $7.4 billion in profits and has steadily signed up more and more members in California.

This report is corroborated by an internal email from officials at UNAC, an affiliate of AFSCME that represents many of Kaiser's registered nurses in Southern California. Ken Dietz, the president of UNAC, says that UNAC has been discussing the layoffs with Kaiser since August. 

Deitz tells UNAC’s members that he and others opposed Kaiser’s layoffs and offered alternatives to the job cuts… but that Kaiser simply ignored them. Here’s an excerpt from Deitz’s email, which is dated October 26:

To UNAC/UHCP Health Care Professionals:

…Kaiser approached the Coalition of KP Unions in August to discuss “affordability” issues. Kaiser’s definition of affordability is different than the dictionary’s. Affordability to them does not mean they are actually losing money; it does not mean they are not making money; it simply means they are not making “enough” money.

We held multiple meetings using Interest Based Problem Solving, where we generated a multitude of ideas for ways to save money. From KP’s perspective, the ideas were not enough to “close the gap.”

Here’s the full email from UNAC. The email from Kaiser’s execs is below:

Subject: Important Information from UNAC/UHCP President Ken Deitz

To UNAC/UHCP Health Care Professionals: Upon my return from our 40th Anniversary Convention, I was shocked at the number of calls and emails waiting for me regarding “layoffs” at Kaiser. Let me take a moment to address some of the rumors. Kaiser approached the Coalition of KP Unions in August to discuss “affordability” issues. Kaiser’s definition of affordability is different than the dictionary’s. Affordability to them does not mean they are actually losing money; it does not mean they are not making money; it simply means they are not making “enough” money. We held multiple meetings using Interest Based Problem Solving, where we generated a multitude of ideas for  ways to save money. From KP’s perspective, the ideas were not enough to “close the gap.” An amazing statement given the fact that Bill Rouse developed a plan for them to save hundreds of millions of dollars over a 3-5 year period. Since it was our plan, KP did what most employers do: they tried to pick it apart. It became quite clear why they believed the plan would not work: 1.    The plan was our idea 2.    The plan required critical thinking 3.    The plan required work 4.    The plan required a level of competency that management is not capable of As of today, our union, UNAC/UHCP, has received no formal notice of layoffs affecting our members. Nevertheless, due to email communication directed at managers, we have filed charges at the National Labor Relations Board for Kaiser’s direct dealing with the members and failure to bargain to impasse any changes. I will keep you posted, Ken Deitz President, UNAC/UHCP

KPSoCal-ReductionInForceMemo10-23-12

Source: Kaiser & SEIU Plotting Illegal Attacks on New Alliance

A source tells Tasty that top officials at both Kaiser Permanente and SEIU-UHW-- including Dave Regan -- are violating federal law by using Kaiser’s money to launch attacks against a new alliance of “non-partnership” unions at Kaiser.

Here’s what’s happening:

Last week, the California Nurses Association and NUHW announced a new alliance among non-partnership unions to “raise standards for caregivers and protect Kaiser patients.” Also present at the founding meeting were leaders from UniteHere (which represents Kaiser workers in Hawaii), the Stationary Engineers, and the Pharmacists Guild. The meeting -- which included approximately 60 rank-and-file and staff leaders -- was held at the CNA’s offices in Oakland, CA.

After the meeting, the alliance issued a statement that slams the partnership for “increas[ing] the corporation’s profitability at the expense of their own members and patients.” Here’s an excerpt from the statement:

Under Dave Regan and SEIU-UHW, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions is simply a vehicle for Kaiser to reduce standards for workers and patients; it is beyond reform.

The statement describes how Regan has teamed up with multiple hospital companies to eliminate workers’ defined-benefit pension plans, cut their health insurance, and undermine staffing standards for tens of thousands of healthcare workers.

It also slams Regan’s sell-out deal with the industry’s Chamber of Commerce:

SEIU-UHW has even partnered with the Chamber of Commerce of the hospital industry -- the California Hospital Association -- in an unsuccessful effort to roll-back the provisions of California’s landmark nurse-to-patient ratio law.

It continues:

Kaiser caregivers deserve a true worker alliance that is united in raising standards for Kaiser caregivers and protecting Kaiser patients. And that’s why the 18,000 registered nurses represented by the CNA, 4,000 healthcare professionals represented by NUHW, and thousands of Kaiser service and technical workers currently represented by SEIU-UHW who are in the process of leaving SEIU are uniting with other Kaiser unions and Kaiser caregivers to create an alliance based on principles of trade union solidarity and patient advocacy.

So how are SEIU and Kaiser reacting to the new Alliance? Tasty hears they’re sweating bullets. According to sources, officials at SEIU and Kaiser are even using a Taft-Hartley “education fund” -- which is directly financed by Kaiser and whose Board of Directors includes Kaiser executives Arlene Peasnall, Connie Wilson and Jim Simpson -- to prepare attacks against the new Alliance. The fund has reportedly directed its staff to prepare "attack" materials and is also using its mailing lists and contact info to carry out the attacks.

These actions are strictly illegal. Federal law prohibits Kaiser from funneling money to its favored union in order to help it fend off workers’ efforts to decertify SEIU and join an independent union. That’s called “company unionism.”

Furthermore, Tasty’s sources say the fund’s Board of Directors -- which also includes SEIU’s Joe Simoes, Hal Ruddick and Triana Silton -- are breaching their “fiduciary responsibility” by misappropriating the fund’s resources, which are supposed to be used for job training for healthcare workers

Here’s the full statement from the new Alliance of non-partnership unions:  

Alliance of Kaiser Unions: Founding Statement August 9, 2012