SEIU-UHW's Leon Chow in Media Spotlight... Soon!

Sources tell Tasty that a journalist has uncovered some revealing information about Leon Chow that promises to spark controvery in San Francisco's political world. Tasty hears an article containing the journalist's findings will be published in the next 24 hours.

Leon Chow is a top official at SEIU-UHW who's attempting to unseat John Avalos, one of the most progressive members of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. Chow's campaign -- which is being bankrolled by downtown business interests and SEIU-UHW -- is reportedly a central part of a strategy by Dave Regan and his business allies to dramatically alter the balance of power on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors by unseating progressives and replacing them with business-backed candidates.

As readers might imagine, Chow's candidacy has already sparked tons of controversy in San Francisco... and even inside SEIU. Tasty earlier reported on this internal email authored by officials at SEIU Local 1021, including former S.F. Supervisor Chris Daly. Local 1021 represents thousands of San Francisco's public employees. In the email, circulated last month, officials at Local 1021 described the harmful role that SEIU-UHW is playing in San Francisco's politics:

UHW’s political alliance with San Francisco business interests through the Alliance for Jobs has not just been an issue for Labor, it has been a problem for the entire progressive community. Since UHW’s trusteeship, victories for progressives in San Francisco have been few and far between. We don’t think that this timing is a coincidence. With Labor united, we face a very tough fight against downtown interests. With the City’s largest local on the other side, we stand hardly a chance.

Of course, Chow's business-funded campaign to unseat Sup. John Avalos is just the latest effort by the unholy alliance between SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan and his Big Business buddies. Fortunately, Tasty hears that a journalist has uncovered revealing details about Chow. Stay tuned! If Tasty's sources are right, the story should hit the streets in the next 24 hours. 

Leaked SEIU Email Offers Exposé on Dave Regan

Remember the secret deal to create “political unity” between SEIU-UHW and SEIU Local 1021 in San Francisco? Ten days ago, Tasty posted a copy of the deal, which prompted coverage in a local newspaper and reactions by union members.

So what are officials at Local 1021 saying about the deal?

A source forwarded an internal email sent by three of Local 1021’s officials -- Chris Daly (Political Director and former S.F. County Supervisor), Larry Bradshaw (3rd Vice President) and Alysabeth Alexander (PAC Chair) -- to Local 1021’s SF COPE delegates. The COPE delegates are responsible for reviewing and approving the draft deal.

The email, sent June 7, offers a revealing glimpse at Local 1021 officials’ opinions about Dave Regan. Readers are no doubt aware of all the criticism of “Wall Street Dave” for cozying up to Bosses, selling out workers, and trying to crush democracy like an insect under his boot.

But what do officials at SEIU Local 1021 actually think about Regan? Check out the following excerpts from the email (Tasty posted the complete email below). A couple of quick notes on the text: “Roxanne” refers to Roxanne Sanchez, the president of SEIU Local 1021. “The Healthy SF loophole” refers to this act of political treachery carried out by SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan and Leon Chow.

earlier this year, our President began having discussions with the President of UHW, Dave Reagan, and the President of the International, Mary Kay Henry, to talk about the differences between our Locals. In these conversations, Roxanne forcefully and repeatedly pointed out the inconsistencies of our sister local in their organizational philosophy and political program. She pressed Reagan on how UHW’s engagement was compromising 1021’s position and progressive politics in San Francisco, where we have been organizing from the bottom up to build a political movement of the 99% that has been challenging corporate power…

During the discussions, 1021 clearly laid out our issues with UHW. We challenged their leadership for their position in opposing the Healthy SF loophole closure and for supporting pro-downtown candidates that support contracting out against candidates that support all workers in public sector and private health care and IHSS. We also challenged them on their anti-SF Labor Council stance.  It’s clear that their leadership was uncomfortable being challenged on these issues in front of their members who were not aware that these things had happened.  That’s not to say we’re turning UHW into a democratic union, but we must provide some framework for internal-SEIU accountability for what UHW has done and is doing in SF…

UHW’s political alliance with San Francisco business interests through the Alliance for Jobs has not just been an issue for Labor, it has been a problem for the entire progressive community. Since UHW’s trusteeship, victories for progressives in San Francisco have been few and far between. We don’t think that this timing is a coincidence. With Labor united, we face a very tough fight against downtown interests. With the City’s largest local on the other side, we stand hardly a chance.

That's quite a picture that union officials have painted of Dave Regan: undemocratic, pro-business, anti-SF labor council, anti-health reform, a supporter of subcontracting workers' jobs. It's no wonder that SEIU-UHW's rank-and-file members have given Regan the title of "Wall Street Dave." He's pretty much “the 1%”... and he's even got a $300,000-a-year salary to prove it! 

Here's the full text of the email: 

 Email from SEIU Local 1021 about SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan and Proposed Political Alliance 6-07-2012

Fighting for the Big Boss: Dave Regan and Leon Chow

As Andy Stern pushes for tax cuts for the Fortune 500, SEIU’s trustees in California have teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce to block important health reform efforts in San Francisco. Check this out.

In 2006, San Francisco passed a landmark universal healthcare law that requires the city’s business owners to give health coverage to their workers. What a concept!

The cutting-edge law then survived a multi-million legal assault by the Chamber of Commerce, which sued all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to block the law. After the Chamber lost its last appeal, the law was finally put into effect. Hooray!

This year, however, city officials discovered that businesses have been exploiting a giant loophole in the law. You see… even though many businesses are setting aside money in special accounts to pay for their workers’ healthcare needs, the businesses are conveniently forgetting to tell workers that the money is there for them to use! And if workers don’t use the money, then all the unspent funds go back into businesses owners’ pockets at the end of each year.

Here’s how the San Francisco Chronicle describes it:

A recent city report found that 80 percent of the $50 million San Francisco businesses paid last year into city-required health care reimbursement accounts for their uninsured workers was never used and instead went back to employers.

Fortunately, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors came to the rescue by introducing a measure to close what the SF Chronicle dubbed the “business-friendly loophole.”

So… wouldn’t you expect the city’s largest union of healthcare workers (SEIU-UHW) to back the Supervisors’ efforts? After all, SEIU supposedly supports universal health coverage, right? Well, gentle readers, welcome to another trip down SEIU’s highway of hypocrisy…

As Supervisors prepared for a vote on a measure to close the loophole, SEIU-UHW and the President of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce co-signed this letter (see below) calling on the Supervisors to suspend the vote. Who signed the letter on behalf of SEIU? None other than scab extraordinaire Leon Chow, who last year appeared on mailers backing the Chamber’s candidates in city elections.

What about the other unions on the letterhead? Well, Tasty hears that SEIU sent the letter without giving the unions a heads-up. And, as you might guess, the unions are now plenty angry at SEIU.

That’s why the San Francisco Central Labor Council, which represents dozens of unions across the city, sent this letter reaffirming labor’s support for closing the loophole. Check out the subtle dig at SEIU (aka ‘the Chamber’s ill-informed ally’) at the end of the labor council’s letter:

Please pass Supervisor Campos’ legislation without watered-down amendments promoted by the Chamber of Commerce and their ill-informed allies. Restore the promise of this watershed legislation that promotes healthcare coverage for all San Francisco workers.

So how’d it all end up? Tasty hears that SEIU-UHW’s sell-out maneuver caused the Supervisors to feel uncertain about labor’s support for the measure, so they pulled the item before it could be voted on, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Bottom line?…Thanks to SEIU, San Francisco’s business owners will continue pocketing $40 million a year that’s supposed to pay for workers’ health care. Way to go, SEIU. Integrity in action.

Wonder how SEIU’s low-wage members and frontline healthcare workers feel about their union’s top officials teaming up with big business to sabotage workers’ health coverage.

Is SEIU Fighting for a Fair Economy??? Seems more like it's Fighting for the Big Boss.

SEIU and Chamber of Commerce's Letter To San Francisco Board of Supervisor Urging Tabling of Health Ordinan...