SEIU-UHW Morphs into Boss at California Hospital

Workers are describing the latest details of Dave Regan’s dirty deeds with a giant California hospital chain.

At Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center -- an 830-bed hospital in Oakland, California -- workers say SEIU-UHW and the Boss have fused into one ugly Frankenstein-like creature.  

Here’s what’s happening.

Recently, the hospital announced layoffs of 359 workers. Several unions defended their members by filing court injunctions that successfully blocked the layoffs of their members.

But not SEIU-UHW! 

Instead, Dave Regan and Co. are working hand-in-glove with management to kick SEIU-UHW’s members out the door and onto the unemployment line.

SEIU-UHW’s members are receiving telephone calls from hospital HR officials who say their jobs have been eliminated. The HR officials then inform them they have just 15 minutes to decide whether to accept a layoff package or to try to make a bid for another position at the hospital.

When workers say "I need time to talk to my Union Rep," the HR official responds, "Your Union Rep is sitting right here." The stunned workers listen as HR hands the phone to SEIU-UHW Union Rep Pam Stevenson. 

WTF? It turns out that Stevenson is camped out in an HR conference room with the Boss, who’s speed-dialing workers to kick them to the curb.  

In one case, Stevenson and her HR pals phoned an SEIU-UHW member who's at home recuperating from an on-the-job injury. They gave her just brief moments to decide the fate of her sole means of economic support.

When workers confront SEIU-UHW officials and tell them, "We have a contract! Why are you doing this to us?," SEIU simply says “It is what it is."

Unfortunately, Regan's latest purple atrocities are just par for the course.

In 2012, "Wall Street" Dave cut a deal with Sutter that allowed the hospital to subcontract the jobs of nearly 10% of the union's members even though workers’ contract strictly prohibited the hospital from subcontracting their jobs.

During bargaining, Regan signaled his willingness to roll over for the Boss by stating: “We can work with employers like Sutter Health.” Observers speculate that Regan is working overtime to help his buddy, Sutter’s CEO Pat Fry, because Fry plays a top role at the California Hospital Association.

As for SEIU-UHW Union Rep Pam "The Terminator" Stevenson, she's apparently chosen the same career path as Dominic Mitchell, the former SEIU-UHW Union Rep at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center who’s now one of Sutter’s HR officials.

Like Tasty said... SEIU-UHW and the Boss have become one ugly, purple Frankenstein.

SEIU's Dave Regan Inks Deal to Subcontract SEIU-UHW Members' Jobs

Tasty hears that the workers at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, CA have become the latest victims of Dave Regan’s concessionary caravan. Soon, 10 percent of SEIU-UHW's members at the hospital will lose their jobs as the result of a subcontracting deal penned by Regan.

Here’s what’s happening.

The hospital -- which is owned by Sutter Health, the largest hospital company in Northern California -- pocketed more than $200 million in profits over the past two years.

Last Friday, SEIU-UHW and Sutter reached a tentative deal for a new labor contract covering the hospital’s 1,100 workers. The deal was reached after Regan “fast-tracked” the negotiations even though workers’ current labor contract doesn’t expire until December 31.

What’s in the tentative contract? Regan’s biggest concession is a deal to eliminate the jobs of nearly 100 SEIU-UHW members by allowing Sutter to subcontract their work to Utah. The soon-to-be-jobless union members are currently employed in the hospital’s business office.

Workers say it’s a massive concession. Why? Because workers’ current union contract strictly prohibits the hospital from subcontracting their jobs. Section 12 of the contract reads:

No further bargaining unit work will be subcontracted, except by the parties' mutual agreement.

Crystal clear, right? In fact, NUHW’s leaders were the ones who negotiated this language in the years before SEIU’s trustreeship. Workers say that over the years, Sutter tried to subcontract workers’ jobs but was unsuccessful because workers’ old union actually enforced the agreement.

Sutter's Pat Fry and SEIU's Dave Regan

Not anymore. Last month, Regan attended the first bargaining session with Sutter executives and signaled his willingness to roll over for the Boss by stating: “We can work with employers like Sutter Health.” Observers speculate that Regan has a special relationship with Sutter’s CEO Pat Fry, who plays a top role at the California Hospital Association.

What did Regan get for his massive concession? Annual pay increases of just 2% for the still-employed workers, an even bigger “wellness” program, and additional cuts to workers’ health insurance.

Yesterday, Regan and Co. reportedly began conducting membership votes to ratify the tentative agreement. Tasty hears that SEIU is experiencing serious opposition from workers, so Regan dispatched dozens of staffers to the hospital including Vicki Jackson, Fola Afariogun, Julie Kwiek, Vu Nguyen, Gabrielle Zwain and Leon Chow. Chow -- who suddenly has lots of free time on his hands -- apparently has been tasked with applying his special skills in voting fraud.

According to workers, as many as 15-18 SEIU staffers are stationed inside a single conference room where workers are supposed to cast their votes. Workers are already reporting a variety of SEIU’s ballot-rigging tricks, including missing ballot boxes, intimidation, and workers denied the right to vote.

Stay tuned for more reports.

Next Stop for SEIU-UHW's Concessionary Caravan?

Sutter Health CEO Pat Fry & Dave Regan

Tasty hears that Dave Regan’s concessionary caravan is making its next stop at Sutter Health, the largest hospital chain in Northern California. 

And guess what? An SEIU-UHW staffer -- who’s now working as one of Sutter’s “Human Resources Partners” -- is actually helping to implement the company’s cuts.

Here’s what’s happening.

Soon, union contracts covering thousands of SEIU-UHW members will be expiring at nearly a dozen of Sutter’s hospitals. In recent months, Sutter’s executives have drooled in sheer delight as Dave Regan gave away hundreds of millions of dollars of concessions to Catholic Healthcare West/Dignity Health, the Daughters of Charity Health System, Kaiser Permanente and other companies. Regan's concessions include wage freezes, health insurance cuts, elimination of pension plans, and cuts to workers’ retiree health benefits.

Now... Regan plans to give up the same concessions to Sutter Health even though the company has pocketed $1.6 billion in profits during the past two years, according to the company’s audited financial statements.

At one of Sutter’s largest hospitals -- Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland and Berkeley -- the CEO recently announced plans to “restructure” the hospital’s operations by slashing workers’ wages and benefits, and axing 10 percent of the hospital’s staff. Here’s what CEO Chuck Prosper said in a June 26th letter to 1,100 SEIU-UHW members at the hospital:

We must ask our labor partners to recognize this situation and cooperate with us as we ask for significant, but realistic, changes in our wage and benefit structure... After taking a hard look at the future, the administrative team has concluded we must restructure and reduce our staffing by approximately 10 percent... This reduction will affect employees and departments throughout our organization.

And in another letter, Sutter executives told workers that their former SEIU-UHW Field Representative -- Dominic Mitchell -- will be one of the company's “Human Resources Partners” who will implement the cuts and layoffs. Here’s the letter:

 Letter from Sutter Health's Alta Bates Summit Medical Center to SEIU-UHW Members regarding Layoffs facilita...

So is Alta Bates Summit Medical Center losing money? 

Not by a long shot. In fact, the hospital made more than $200 million in profits during the past two years, according to reports filed by the company.

So what's going on?

Sources tell Tasty that Dave Regan has become best buddies with Patrick Fry, the CEO of Sutter Health. Fry happens to sit on the Board of Directors of the California Hospital Association, which recently signed a secret “partnership” deal with Regan.

Last week, when Sutter delivered layoff letters to workers, SEIU-UHW didn’t even mount a protest against the job cuts… and instead held a barbeque for employees!  Incredible. SEIU literally threw bones to workers while their fat-cat employer announced the destruction of their livelihoods.

And to add insult to injury, Regan sent an SEIU-UHW Field Representative named Fola Afariogun to try to sweet-talk the angry and soon-to-be-jobless workers. Afariogun, who last year took home $109,091 in pay from SEIU-UHW's members, displayed Regan’s keen sensitivity towards "the 99%" by driving up to the “layoff BBQ” in his shiny Mercedes sports coup. Here’s Afariogun’s pay from 2011 (click on the image to enlarge it):

Source: U.S. Dep't of Labor Form LM-2 for SEIU-UHW, 2011

Finally, sources report that Regan’s backroom deal with Sutter has left the California Nurses Association in a difficult spot. Sutter is trying to force SEIU’s concessions down the throats of the hospitals' Registered Nurses, which has caused the nurses to respond with strikes. Regan, however, has worked hand-in-hand with Sutter to oppose the strikes, even instructing SEIU-UHW’s members to scab against their fellow nurses. Sound familiar, Kaiser workers?

 Stay tuned for more reports from Sutter's hospitals.