Source: Steve Matthews Dumped due to Affair with SEIU Staffer

SEIU's Steve Matthews and Dave Regan

A source tells Tasty that Steve Matthews has been removed from his job as the Executive Director of SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles due to his extra-curricular activities with one of the union's staffers, who reportedly accompanied Matthews on romantic weekend get-aways.

Last December, Tasty reported about the extramarital scandal (which, by the way, Tasty had predicted several months earlier).

In January, Matthews was suspended from his job despite reportedly consulting with SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan about how to sweep the entire affair under the rug.


Officials at SEIU Local 721, according to an internal memo, requested assistance from out-of-town SEIU officials -- including SEIU's Leslie Frane and Bill Pritchett -- to head up an investigation into Matthews and to try to stabilize the local union. Ominously, the memo instructed staffers not to discuss the affair with the media.

Matthews was finally cut loose in mid-March, says Tasty's source. 

The reported firing of Matthews raises important questions about his chief adviser, Dave Regan. A top official inside SEIU, Regan has reportedly conducted illicit affairs with multiple staffers and union members while he held various leadership positions.

Most infamously, Regan reportedly had an extramarital affair with a member of SEIU 1199 Ohio's Executive Board when Regan was the local union's president. Later, Regan reportedly pressured the rank-and-file worker to abort the couple's baby, after which Regan summarily axed the woman from her seat on the union's Executive Board.

By all accounts, Regan's ethical offenses are far more serious than Matthews's. So... if Matthews is going 'bye-bye' for his secret affair, then shouldn't SEIU officials at least investigate the reports of Regan's multiple trysts, which are widely known among SEIU officials? Whadda ya say, Mary Kay Henry?

Whatsa matter...? Cat got your tongue?

SEIU Official's Love Affair Lands Him on Paid Leave

It looks like Dave Regan didn’t offer very good advice to his buddy, Steve Matthews (the top official at SEIU Local 721), who’s been waist deep in a dramatic, extra-marital affair with an SEIU staffer.

The last time we tuned into this scandal, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry had dispatched a pair of “personal representatives” to “investigate allegations against Local 721’s executive director.” And Dave Regan was overheard offering advice to Matthews about how to manage the deepening crisis.

Meanwhile, staffers at Local 721 described how Steve’s wife was repeatedly phoning the union’s office in a desperate attempt to track down Steve’s girlfriend, who’d conveniently disappeared on extended sick leave from her job as an SEIU organizer. Union staffers busily exchanged text messages about the latest lurid details while the union’s rank-and-file members wondered how their union hall had become a set for a particularly trashy episode of “Entertainment Tonight” or “the Jerry Springer Show.”

So what’s the latest? Well, it looks like Matthews has been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Union officials recently circulated the following notice announcing they’ve placed Matthews on paid administrative leave. Meanwhile, Matthews’s girlfriend is apparently still on paid sick leave… so it's possible that the two of them are enjoying a "love" vacation funded by SEIU’s members. 

Here’s the announcement:

From the desk of Bob Schoonover

Following the Executive Board meeting held yesterday January 11, 2012, the Executive Director was placed on paid administrative leave. Please direct any questions regarding this matter to me. All media inquiries should be referred to the Director of Communications Marie Lemelle.

At this time, staff who reported directly to the Executive Director should now report to the Chief of Staff, Gilda Valdez.

It is more important than ever that we stay focused and remain committed to improving the lives of our members and their families. Let’s continue to work together to preserve and maintain the strength and integrity of our union.

In solidarity,

Bob Schoonover

So what’s next? Well, Tasty will report on the next scenes of this sordid drama. Meanwhile, Tasty wonders how long it will take before Regan’s multiple extra-marital flings finally catch up to him… especially his trysts with SEIU staffers and members. Hmmm… Tasty thinks this whole web of SEIU love scandals would make a particularly interesting episode for the Jerry Springer Show: Steve, Dave and all their ex’s on one stage... and dressed in various shades of purple!

SEIU Official in Hot Seat over Affair with Staffer

Steve Matthews & Dave Regan

Looks like Steve Matthews, the Executive Director of SEIU Local 721, is facing growing problems for his extra-marital romance with a union staffer. Check out the message below, where Bob Schoonover (Local 721's president) announces that an “independent investigator” will be appointed to examine “allegations against our Executive Director.”

Meanwhile, sources tell Tasty that things are kinda crazy at the union’s offices in Los Angeles. Matthews’s mistress has reportedly gone missing for the past week, and staffers speculate that Matthews placed her on medical leave in an effort to quiet the controversy. On the other hand, it's possible he's just trying to protect her health. Matthews’s wife is apparently none too pleased about the extra-curricular activities, and she’s reportedly been calling the union’s offices to try to track down Steve’s mistress.

Up north, a staffer at SEIU-UHW reportedly overhead a phone call in which Dave Regan gave advice to Matthews about how to manage the mess. Dave, who’s reportedly had multiple affairs with union staffers, has become an expert in extricating himself from these kinds of sticky messes. Looks like Regan can add “crisis consulting” to his list of special contributions to SEIU, along with his role as "Chief Advocate for the Voting Rights of Workers."

As far as Tasty can tell, it looks like things are gonna get even messier at Local 721. In fact, Schoonover has asked SEIU President Mary Kay Henry to appoint “a personal representative” to help stabilize the union. Fortunately, Mary Kay Henry had the incredible foresight to appoint SEIU’s “Director of Organizational Equity” to help Local 721. (WTF!!) For those who’re wondering how SEIU officials spend your hard-earned dues money, SEIU's "Director of Organizational Equity" earns $152,584 a year... presumably to extricate hormonally charged SEIU officials from their self-made scandals.

Tasty suggests that Mary Kay also appoint an independent investigator to examine Dave Regan’s messy affair with an Executive Board member at SEIU 1199 Ohio. Along with the other affairs.  Oh... and by the way, perhaps Mary Kay might actually investigate why, for the past three years, Regan has refused to implement SEIU’s order to transfer 65,000 homecare and nursing home workers to Local 6434... which, of course, was the supposed reason for SEIU's trusteeship in the first place.

Well, it’s been a tough week at SEIU. Here's Schoonover's memo:

From the desk of Bob Schoonover and Linda Dent

Dear Local 721 Board Members and Staff:

This has been a tough week at Local 721.  Because of the challenges facing our local, Linda and I have asked SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry to appoint a personal representative to help us assess our current situation and to assist us in putting together a plan to build the unity and stability of our leadership team and to strengthen our union.

President Henry has appointed Public Division Director Leslie Frane to serve in this role.  Leslie, along with SEIU Organizational Equity Director Bill Pritchett, will be in Los Angeles this week to speak with Local 721 Board members and staff members. They want to hear our thoughts about the challenges we face and the best path to greater unity within our local.            

                                                                                        

Leslie and Bill’s conversations will NOT include any questions that relate to pending allegations against our executive director.   Consistent with the SEIU Ethics Code, those allegations will be investigated by an independent investigator, whom we expect to be named shortly, in a completely separate process.

One characteristic of good leaders is a willingness to ask for assistance and advice in the face of serious challenges.  That’s why we asked President Henry to appoint a personal representative, and that’s why we are asking you to be completely candid with Leslie and Bill if you are asked (through Christina Rodriguez) to meet with them. 

Thank you for your cooperation with this process, for your patience in this difficult situation, and for the hard work you do on behalf of our members every day of the year.

In unity,

Bob Schoonover