70, 71

Two more SEIU shop stewards resigned from SEIU and announced their support for NUHW. Check out their stinging letter to SEIU Trustee Dave Regan and Mary Kay Henry. Ouch! In just three paragraphs, their letter paints quite a vivid picture: SEIU loyalty oaths, purges, collusion with Kaiser management, and evisceration of Kaiser workers' pension plan and concessions on workers' health insurance...

August 9, 2010

Dear Mr. Regan,

We are writing this letter to notify SEIU that we are resigning our positions as stewards. We have felt privileged to represent our colleagues and labor’s interests in Kaiser’s DSA and are heavy-hearted at having to resign. Despite misgivings about the trusteeship’s leadership, we attempted to remain stewards out of a sense of obligation to the cause of labor and the rights and interests of our staffs. We can no longer do so.

We are appalled at SEIU’s past and continuing use of mass firings and purges and of loyalty oaths as prerequisites for past and future participation in union activities and labor-management committees. We are outraged at SEIU’s passing along to Kasier for termination the names of IBHS workers who, out of conscience, refuse to pay SEIU dues. At the same time SEIU is using millions of dollars of those same dues for mass mailings, consultants, robocalls and polling to assure its victory in the upcoming election. We are outraged at SEIU’s cooperation with management in eviscerating our pension plan and then trumpeting the new contract as “No Take aways” while including formation of a committee in which SEIU and Kaiser “experts” will work together once again to reduce our health care and other benefits. We resent that Kaiser facilities, which were made available to SEIU for a vote on the contract, were utilized in the the most blatant way to promote its own election as the union representing us and to attack NUHW.

Labor union or company union? We have come to believe that SEIU does not represent labor’s interests at Kaiser. We cannot continue to support SEIU and are resigning to promote the election of NUHW, a union whose leadership will serve labor’s interests.

Sincerely,

Herb Klar, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
Kaiser Mental Health, Pleasanton

Sue Doster, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
Kaiser Mental Health, Martinez

Stewards, Stewards, Stewards!

On Tuesday, a Respiratory Therapist and SEIU-UHW Shop Steward
Linda Koski at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center announced her support for NUHW.

At the Kaiser clinic in the City of Tracy, Tasty hears that SEIU's main campaign strategy -- telling the "Big Lie" -- backfired in a major way. Across the state, SEIU has been trying to scare workers by telling them they'll lose their wages and benefits if they vote to join NUHW - which is simply a lie. In fact, SEIU said the EXACT OPPOSITE when it was recently trying to get workers in Los Angeles to leave the EAA union and to join SEIU.

In Tracy, Kaiser workers called the regional NLRB office and got the truth that labor law protects union members' wages and benefits when they switch unions. When workers confronted the SEIU organizer at their facility, he finally admitted he'd been misleading them all along. Workers reportedly told him: "You've been lying to us for months. How can we ever trust anything that comes out of your mouth?" (Let Tasty answer that question: YOU CAN'T!) Many workers at Tracy are now wearing red NUHW lanyards!

Tasty gives serious kudos to Steve, a worker at Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center who made this 1 1/2-minute homemade video that gives the Big Truth about SEIU's Big Lie. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TimeforsomethingNUHW#p/a

Burger Retires from SEIU.

Bye Bye, honey.

Check out the video here.

PS Don't worry--she'll still be a "consultant." But who will be the new Anna?

Mark Your Calendars! Invasion Date!

Tasty hears that all SEIU International Staff MUST BE en route to California on September 9th.

If they aren't on a plane--they will be working on a database in DC run by some dude named John Fleming.

Who needs some running socks. And maybe some sleeves.

Momentum Much?--Updated!

Yesterday, 18 more SEIU-UHW shop stewards announced they're supporting NUHW in the upcoming election!

At Kaiser San Jose Medical Center and the Kaiser clinic in Gilroy, 17 stewards released an announcement that said "we have concluded that NUHW has won the debate regarding which union would best represent our interests." The 17 stewards, about 1/2 the stewards in the hospital, have pledged to continue representing their co-workers.

Also, Tasty hears that an SEIU-UHW shop steward at the Kaiser medical office building in the City of Tracy resigned her steward position today and announced she's supporting NUHW!

Thus the tally comes to 68. Let's see what else you got, Kaiser stewards.

______________

Today a reader sent in this tidbit:

Today a rank-and-file NUHW leader at Kaiser San Jose reported that she overheard SEIU import/scab-staffer Carolyn Conter on the phone saying, "we have a big problem down here in San Jose".

Carolyn--I think you are right about that one.

More Stewards C'mon Over to Team NUHW.

On Thursday, two rank-and-file leaders, Rosie Martinez and Linda Zuluaga, at Kaiser Panorama City Medical Center in Southern California announced they're resigning their positions as SEIU-UHW Shop Stewards so they can support NUHW in the upcoming election!

Tasty hears that more Kaiser stewards at facilities across the state are likely to follow. What's the tally so far? Counting Monday's mass resignation at Kaiser Santa Rosa, that makes 50 SEIU-UHW stewards who've resigned to join NUHW in just the past five days.

Tasty is hoping to see more stewards standing up like these two and the Santa Rosa stewards!

Hey Zombies--you can mark all 50 of them as 6s.

SEIU to it's Zombies--Don't Delete!

From the inside of UHW, a memo about the appeal of the case against the former leadership and the suit to stop the extension of the Trusteeship. It shows shocking disregard for members and their rights to self government--not to mention a call to target the members who filed the case.

____________________________________

Dear SEIU-UHW Staff:

As most of you are aware, a federal lawsuit seeking to bring an immediate end to the trusteeship of our local was filed on July 16, 2010. As those of you recall from last year, when there is such legal action, we as local union staff must follow some specific document retention policies. Attached is a memo from our attorney with the details of that policy, as well as a copy of the complaint filed by the plaintiffs. The documents you are required to preserve are those having to do with the implementation, continuation and planning for termination of the trusteeship, as well as documents having to do with the membership (or lack thereof) and NUHW support/activities of the plaintiffs.

If you have any questions about your requirements under this policy, please refer them to Danijela Sapic in our legal department.

In Unity,

Debbie Schneider
Deputy Trustee


--

MEMORANDUM

TO: Dave Regan and Debbie Schneider

FROM: Glenn Rothner

DATE: 8/04/10

RE: Continuing Document Preservation SEIU et al. v. Rosselli et al., Document Retention for Dimenco et al. v. SEIU et al.

As you may be aware, several putative (Tasty's Note: Putative means "supposed" members. As if the members that filed the suit to free the local from DC were "supposedly" members, but UHW wasn't sure, because no "real" members would ever be interested in union democracy. Either they really have to get their dues records in order or they should treat members with a little more respect.) UHW members have filed a lawsuit seeking to bring an end to the trusteeship. A copy of the complaint is attached. In light of this lawsuit, all UHW staff members are required to retain and preserve all documents and computer records in their possession regarding implementation, continuation/maintenance, and planning for the termination of the trusteeship. In addition, UHW staff members should preserve any materials pertaining in any way to the named plaintiffs in the case, their membership or lack thereof in UHW, and their NUHW activities generally and with respect to UHW bargaining units and staff.

Also, some of the defendants in SEIU et al. v. Rosselli et al. have appealed the jury verdict which awarded UHW more than $1.5 million in damages for breaches of state and federal law. While that appeal is pending, UHW is required to continue to preserve and retain any documents or materials pertaining to the claims against the former UHW officers and staff.

Documents falling within the scope of either of these lawsuits should not be destroyed, modified, or altered. Such documents include computer files of all kinds, notes, drafts, correspondence or other documents, whether electronic or hard copy, that UHW staff members have generated or received which relate to the issues and activities described above.

We will be back in touch with you if and when it is necessary to produce any documents and materials. However, you should retain all these documents until further notice. This request to retain and preserve records is in addition to the Union’s normal document retention and confidentiality policy. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please direct them to me.