Trusteeships Strain Purple Palace

Last week was a busy one for the Purple Palace.

On Wednesday, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry removed the top two officials at 9,000-member SEIU Nevada.

On Thursday, in Detroit, SEIU officials conducted a daylong trusteeship hearing to put SEIU Healthcare Michigan under a permanent trusteeship. In February, Henry removed the local union’s president, Marge Faville Robinson.

And on Friday, Henry imposed a trusteeship on SEIU Nevada.

Thursday’s hearing in Detroit was conducted by LaPhonza Butler, who served as the “Hearing Officer.” Butler is the President of California’s SEIU Local 2015, a longtime ally of Henry, and a nemesis of SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan.

According to a memo issued by SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Gerry Hudson on April 13, 2017 (see copy below), SEIU officials have now “substantiated” the “allegations of serious financial malpractice” at SEIU Healthcare Michigan.

Hudson’s memo reports:

Specifically, a review of the Local Union’s books and records uncovered evidence that Healthcare Michigan’s loan and paid time off/earned vacation payout policies had been abused, placing Healthcare Michigan members’ rights, benefits and interests at risk.

What actually happened?

SEIU officials are mum on the details. One possibility: local union officials artificially boosted their vacation balances, and then cashed them out. The removal of Marge Faville Robinson is an obvious clue.

Henry’s multiple trusteeships appear to be leaving her a bit shorthanded at the Palace.

In February, Henry appointed Inga Skippings (her “Chief of Staff”) as a trustee in Michigan, and more recently sent Deedee Fitzpatrick (her “Deputy Chief of Staff”) to Nevada to deal with SEIU’s imploding local union in Sin City.

 

Kirk Adams

Of course, Purple Palace officials -- including Tom DeBruin, Kirk Adams, Stephen Lerner and Bill Ragen -- know tons about “imploding” local unions.

Henry has not yet posted a job opening for a new “aide de camp” or Chief of Staff. But SEIU has posted one for “Director of Organizational Leadership.” The job description includes “work[ing] with officers, senior staff and local union leaders to develop innovative and impactful organizational leadership strategies…”

Hmmmm. Innovative? Impactful? How about just trying to develop a “functional” leadership strategy? 

That would be a big improvement.

  SEIU's Notice of Trusteeship Hearing for SEIU Healthcare Michigan: 4-13-17 by tastysternburger on Scribd

Will Trustees Shed Light on Andy Stern's "Golden Handshake" with Former SEIU Official in Michigan?

With SEIU Healthcare Michigan under an emergency trusteeship due to allegations of financial malpractice, Tasty took a look at the union’s recent financial disclosure reports and discovered some interesting details.

During recent years, the union has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Paul Policicchio, the union’s former president, even though Policicchio resigned his position more than 15 years ago.

According to the union’s annual reports to the US Department Labor (Form LM-2), SEIU Healthcare Michigan has been paying Policicchio $53,400 a year for many years. 

And the payments have continued through 2015, the most recent year for which records are available, even though Policicchio died in 2013.

What are the payments for?

In some years, the union says the payments were for “Consulting Services.” In other years, it describes them as “Retiree Supplement.”

In November of 2013, when Policicchio died at age 63 following a battle with cancer, SEIU Healthcare Michigan began making the $53,400-a-year payments to his wife, according to the records.

For what alleged purpose?

In 2015, SEIU Healthcare Michigan paid her $53,400 for serving as a “Retiree Consultant,” according to the records.

What’s going on?

Tasty’s sources believe these payments are part of a “buyout” engineered by SEIU President Emeritus Andy Stern.

Andy Stern

In 1988, Policicchio became the president of Detroit-based SEIU Local 79, the predecessor union of SEIU Healthcare Michigan. He also was named an SEIU International Vice President in Washington, DC.

In 1996, Stern took office as SEIU’s president and reportedly wanted to move Policicchio out of SEIU so he could fill Policicchio’s position with one of Stern’s allies. So Stern allegedly engineered a “buyout” to coax Policicchio out the door. 

In 2001, Policicchio retired from SEIU at age 51 with an SEIU pension and Stern’s fat “golden handshake” in his pocket.

Sources believe Stern’s “buyout” likely included a “gag clause” that barred Policicchio from saying anything bad about Stern, SEIU or the buyout.

So just how big was Stern’s alleged “golden handshake?”

Hard to say.

But perhaps Mary Kay Henry and her trustees -- Tom Balanoff, Inga Skippings, and Ed Burke -- can take a look at SEIU Healthcare Michigan's books and shed some light on this six-figure, purple-hued mystery. Inquiring minds want to know. 

Corruption Allegations Prompt Mary Kay Henry to Put SEIU Healthcare Michigan in Trusteeship

Notice of trusteeship posted on door of union's office

Last month, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry placed SEIU Healthcare Michigan under an “emergency trusteeship” amid allegations of financial malpractice, according to a statement from SEIU that’s posted on the local union’s website. A copy of the trusteeship order, signed by Henry, is available below.

Henry removed Marge Faville Robinson, the union’s president, who is also a member of SEIU’s International Executive Board.

Later this month, an SEIU-appointed “Hearing Officer” is scheduled to conduct a hearing where evidence will be presented about alleged corruption and improprieties.

Here’s how SEIU described the rationale behind the trusteeship in a post on SEIU Healthcare Michigan’s website. Apparently, an unknown whistleblower reported the alleged corruption. (“SEIU Healthcare Michigan Placed into Emergency Trusteeship”)

After someone with knowledge of the local reported potential financial malpractice at Healthcare Michigan, representatives of the International Union conducted a review of the local union’s books and records and found information indicating abuse of the local union’s loan and paid time off/earned vacation policy. Following this review, President Henry concluded that it was necessary to place the local into an emergency trusteeship to protect the interests of members and to allow for a full investigation to determine all the facts.

“An SEIU spokeswoman declined to comment on whether police were involved in the investigation,” according to an article published by MLive, an online news site operated by Booth Newspapers, which publishes eight newspapers in the state of Michigan. (Stephen Kloosterman, “'Financial malpractice' alleged at Michigan healthcare union,” MLive, February 22, 2017)

In comments to a Detroit TV station, Inga Skippings (Mary Kay Henry’s Chief of Staff) stated that President Marge Faville Robinson and Secretary-Treasurer Shalaya Bryant were removed from their positions while SEIU officials investigate.

"The union took steps to bring in trustees at the local and launch a pretty expansive investigation into what could have been going on here," Skippings said.

The union says a whistleblower came forward telling representatives to look at the books leading to claims of abuse of finances specifically in the union's loan and vacation policy.

"There was initial work done to suss out the credibility before we took the action we did," Skippings said.

The union won't give a dollar amount, but clearly it was enough evidence to warrant both Robinson and Bryant being removed from their position while the union looks at how long and how deep this potential fraud goes.

Henry appointed three SEIU officials to serve as trustees: Tom Balanoff (President of SEIU Local 1), Inga Skippings (Henry’s Chief of Staff) and Ed Burke (a consultant who formerly was an SEIU staff member).

Regular readers of this blog know that Faville Robinson is no stranger to controversy. In fact, allegations of nepotism and corruption have swirled about her like detritus in a toilet bowl.

For example, Faville Robinson collects an unusually fat salary from SEIU Healthcare Michigan despite the fact that the union’s membership has nose-dived from 57,239 members in 2009 to only 10,715 members in 2015. In 2015, the union paid Faville Robinson $209,889, according to the union’s annual report filed with the US Department of Labor.

The union also happens to employ Marge’s daughter and niece. In 2015, the union paid her daughter, Norma Kersting, $108,336 for being its “Director of Representation.” Meanwhile, Marge’s niece (Brenda Robinson) was paid $110,679 to be the union’s “Legal Director.” It used to employ her son, Josh, too.

In 2011, the union provided Marge with a union-paid Buick SUV. According to the union’s most recent annual report, it appears the union has continued to give her a swank car. Here’s what a note to the report states: “A vehicle provided to an Officer is used part of the time for personal transportation.”

Several years ago, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) -- an advocate of rank-and-file democracy and union transparency -- reported that SEIU Healthcare Michigan was renting a luxury apartment for Marge’s use when she traveled to Detroit.

In 2015, SEIU Healthcare Michigan received a flood of cash when it sold four buildings and properties for $2.3 million, according to reports filed with the Department of Labor.

Faville Robinson has served as the union’s president since 2008.

Andy Stern and Mary Kay Henry

In October 2008, SEIU President Emeritus Andy Stern appointed her to the union’s presidency after her predecessor, Rickman Jackson, was removed from office when the Los Angeles Times revealed he’d stolen more than $33,000 from low-wage homecare workers as part of the Tyrone Freeman corruption scandal.

Stern appointed Jackson and Freeman to their positions atop SEIU locals, where they served as his loyal allies while stealing from SEIU’s members. Jackson, despite his corruption, continues on the payroll of SEIU International, where he collected $138,000 as a “Campaign Organizing Director” during 2015.

In addition to her roles at the local union and SEIU’s International Executive Board, Faville Robinson also served as the President of the “Cassie Stern Healthcare Workers Education and Training Center.” Rickman Jackson named the center for Andy Stern’s deceased daughter.

In 2010, the Cassie Stern Training Center was dissolved by state officials while Faville Robinson served as its president, according to IRS records.

SEIU Healthcare Michigan is the third SEIU local union to be placed in trusteeship or under "monitorship" in recent months. 

In August of 2016, SEIU imposed an emergency trusteeship on SEIU Local 73 in Chicago. In December of 2016, Mary Kay Henry remove the president of Los Angeles-based SEIU Local 99 and placed the union under the control of an SEIU-appointed monitor, Eliseo Medina. In October of 2016, SEIU's International Executive Board held two days of hearings in Las Vegas, Nevada to investigate charges filed against the top officials of SEIU Healthcare Nevada.

More news to follow.

  SEIU's order imposing an emergency trusteeship on SEIU Healthcare Michigan: February 14, 2017 by tastysternburger on Scribd

SEIU Fatcats Sue Each Other in Michigan

Two factions inside SEIU Healthcare Michigan are brawling in federal court over upcoming union elections, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court (see copy below). The SEIU officials are apparently battling over who gets to stay on the union’s payroll after the union loses 45,000 of its members.

Here’s what’s going on:

Next year, SEIU Healthcare Michigan will hold internal elections for its officers, including president, secretary-treasurer, etc. In advance of the upcoming election, one faction of the union's officials -- headed by current President Marge Faville -- is trying to amend the union's constitution so as to change the rules by which candidates can be nominated for the election.

That's how the court brawl erupted.  Faville's faction wants to conduct a mail-in vote to approve the re-written constitution. A second faction -- headed by Secretary-Treasurer Johnnie Jolliffi and Recording Secretary Sheila Guinn -- says a mail-in ballot would violate the union's constitution. According to them, the constitution strictly requires an in-person membership meeting and a two-thirds majority vote before the constitution can be altered.

Last month, the Jolliffi/Guinn faction sued Faville and SEIU Healthcare Michigan in federal court. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block SEIU Healthcare Michigan from conducting an illegal mail-in vote. Various Purple Palace officials are named in the court action, including SEIU President Mary Kay Henry and Executive VP Kirk Adams.

Here’s an excerpt from “Jolliffi el al (Plaintiffs) vs. SEIU Healthcare Michigan (Defendants).”

The Local Union, SEIU Healthcare Michigan, is trying to amend its Constitution without following the provisions of its Constitution and Bylaws. The main purpose is to change the procedures for nominating officers to be elected to the Local... Plaintiffs have complained to both the Local Union and the International Union about this action, but have received no satisfactory response. This matter is very urgent...

Defendant is violating the Local Constitution... Defendant's actions are illegal... Defendant is violating the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959... In total disregard of the provisions of its constitution, Defendant is preventing its members from discussing at a union meeting the important matter of an amendment to the union constitution… Defendant is violating Section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947… Defendant is liable for a breach of contract under state law.   

In order to bring this matter before the membership in the manner required by the local Constitution and Bylaws, Plaintiffs request a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.

So what’s fueling the bitter courtroom brawl? Apparently, the lawsuit is simply the public face of a much deeper battle for control over the rapidly dwindling membership of SEIU Healthcare Michigan. Tasty hears that the leaders of both factions -- Marge Faville, Johnnie Jolliffi and Sheila Guinn -- are all ineffective fatcats.

Faville, for example, pockets $172,000 a year from union members who mostly earn minimum wage. Do you remember SEIU’s famous slogan of “Fight for a Fair Economy?” Well, apparently the Purple Palace forgot to look in the mirror -- especially at the fact that SEIU officials are “living large” off the paychecks of impoverished workers, including the 45,000 members of SEIU Healthcare Michigan who earn only $8 an hour.

Jolliffi and Guinn are no better. Here’s what this trio of purple officials earned in 2011, according to the union’s filing with the U.S. Department of Labor. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

SEIU Healthcare Michigan's Form LM-2 for 2011

Finally, here’s a full copy of the lawsuit:

JolliffiVsSeiuMichigan10-11-12

 

Election Aftermath: SEIU to Lose 45,000 Members in Michigan

The New York Times reports that SEIU suffered a massive defeat in Michigan during last week’s elections.

On Tuesday, voters in the Wolverine State soundly rejected SEIU's statewide ballot initiative, called “Proposal 4,” by a margin of 57% to 43%. The ballot measure -- backed by at least $15 million of SEIU’s campaign spending -- sought to re-write Michigan's state constitution in order to allow SEIU to continue representing the state’s 45,000 publicly funded in-home care workers. With the ballot measure voted down by a wide margin, SEIU Healthcare Michigan will now lose the 45,000 members -- or more than 80% of the union's statewide membership of 55,0000 members.

Here’s what’s happened:

Back in 2005, SEIU engineered a top-down deal with Michigan’s then-governor in order to allow the Purple Palace to unionize the state’s in-home care workers. But in the ensuing seven years, SEIU failed to win any real improvements for the workers. In fact, today the workers earn only $8 an hour -- little more than the minimum wage. Meanwhile, the homecare workers must pay 2.75% of their monthly wages in union dues to a notoriously corrupt local of SEIU headed by Marge Faville.

Recently, the state’s top political offices were captured by Republicans, who quickly worked to reverse SEIU’s top-down deal with the former Democratic governor. SEIU officials, with their backs against the wall, dreamed up a hail-mary effort to try to keep ahold of the 45,000 homecare workers.

Their solution? Change the state’s constitution through a ballot measure. Last Tuesday, SEIU’s effort suffered a resounding defeat despite $15 million of SEIU campaign spending, according to the Detroit News. SEIU’s gamble was giant. After all, in 2008 the Purple Palace spent $60 million across the entire U.S. to back Obama’s election campaign.

Since Tuesday, Tasty hears there’s been lots of finger-pointing inside the Purple Palace. One of the SEIU fatcats who’s sure to face a reckoning is Marge Faville, the president of SEIU Healthcare Michigan. Faville has pocketed more than $170,000 a year… along with a union-paid SUV that costs $47,242 and a union-paid corporate apartment that costs $17,600… but will soon see her local's membership shrink by more than 80%.

And that’s not all. Tasty hears that SEIU has a seriously bad rep among the state's homecare workers. In fact, with homecare workers earning near minimum wages after seven years under SEIU, observers speculate that many of SEIU’s own members voted against the Purple Palace’s ballot initiative.

A Trail of SEIU Corruption in Michigan... from the Rickmaster to Policicchio

Backroom deals with employers... No-show jobs for union officials... Nepotism... Money stolen from union members... These are just some of the details of SEIU's long trail of corruption in Michigan.

And there's more... An SEIU staffer reveals that one of SEIU's most corrupt fat cats -- Paul Policicchio -- is still pocketing $54,000 a year from SEIU's members through a "no-show" consulting contract with SEIU's local union in Michigan!

Policicchio was the union's president from 1988 until 1999, at which point he was pushed out of office for corruption. At the time, he was best buddies with Mary Kay Henry, Eliseo Medina and Andy Stern, who appointed Policicchio as an "Executive Vice President" for SEIU International in 1996.

Check out these excerpts from the SEIU staffer's email.  (B/t/w, "SEIU-HC-MI" refers to "SEIU Healthcare Michigan," which is the name of SEIU's local union in Michigan.)

The corruption at SEIU-HC-MI goes back way further than Marge [Faville] and Rickman [Jackson].  Rickman took over from Willie Hampton who was actually, believe it or not, more corrupt than Rickman, going around splitting charitable deductions that the union made with himself and making sure his relatives always got the local's scholarships every year.  His daughter was on the payroll for years even after Willie was long gone and she did absolutely zip, nothing, no one ever even saw her. 

But people used to say Willie was still better than PAUL POLICICCHIO who was the president before Willie.  Policicchio was pushed out of office for corruption and he is still showing up on the local's LM2s as a "consultant" being paid 50,000 a year and he hasn't been anywhere near the union in at least fifteen years.

Tasty checked up on the facts, and our source is right on! Here's an excerpt from SEIU Healthcare Michigan's most recent filing with the U.S. Department of Labor (you can click on the image below to see it better):

According to the government records, Policicchio also pocked $53,400 in annual "consulting" fees in 2008 and 2009. That's $160,000 in just three years for a no-show job... while most of the union's members -- who're homecare workers -- make little more than the minimum wage.

So how corrupt is Policicchio? Check out this blockbuster article in Labor Notes about his backroom deals with bosses and fat-cat thievery.

What other news does Tasty's source have to offer? Well, check out this description of an incident involving Rickman "The Rickmaster" Jackson, who was appointed as the president of SEIU Healthcare Michigan by Andy Stern. The Rickmaster served as president until 2008, when he was forced from office when the Los Angeles Times revealed how he'd stolen more than $30,000 from low-wage union members. 

When Rickman Jackson turned in his blackberry for a new phone, he forgot to clear out the text messages.  The employee who got his old phone turned it on and found dozens of sex-texts from five different women, none of them his wife, including a video of one of his girlfriends pleasuring herself for him.  But when the Rickmaster was being investigated for his double dipping, Gerry Hudson gushed to the executive committee that HE KNEW Rickman was "a man of the highest personal integrity".  I will never forget hearing that because this was after the phone thing which he got in trouble with the International over.

Ewww!... It's hard to imagine what else will emerge from the fetid cesspool that's inhabited by SEIU's top-paid officials.