Kaiser Gilroy to Zombie: Step Off.

News from the field:

Kaiser Gilroy workers found out SEIU had 3 people at their facility today. Workers canceled their organizing committee meeting and decided to walk the floors and show SEIU that Gilroy is red. They broke off into 3 different groups and confronted SEIU each time they stopped (see pic left.)

SEIU ultra scab Doug Jones has been tasked with organizing duty at Gilroy. Dougie was a former lost timer political organizer from Eden Hospital in Castro Valley. The workers HATE him there and in the last month workers have kicked Dougie out of their facility 3 times!

Looks like you're gonna have to try harder, Dougie.

SEIU should buy the Zombies Sneakers--So They Can Run Away From Workers Faster!

As readers know, at Kaiser facilities, workers have asked SEIU to debate NUHW--but SEIU has refused.

At a Kaiser facility in Tracy, an SEIU staffer agreed to a debate, but at the scheduled hour of the debate - with workers gathered to ask questions of both unions - SEIU was simply a no call/no show!

See this video of a Kaiser worker asking an SEIU staffer and former Kaiser member, Alex Martinez, to debate...and watch the SEIU staffer quickly head for the elevator to get the hell outta Dodge.

Oh, the Screw Up at Piedmont Gardens that Got 38 People Fired? Yeah, SEIU Informs Us: It's NUHW's Fault!

A worker from Piedmont Gardens in a purple Zombie attire was at Kaiser San Jose on Friday, passing around this leaflet (left). They're trying to blame SEIU's careless Piedmont strike execution on NUHW!

According to reports, an NUHW supporter asked the SEIU staffer why 38 workers were permanently replaced, he again blamed it on NUHW! He was then asked if workers had problems like this before the trusteeship. The Kaiser member said they never had these issues a few years ago and said the last time they struck (a few years ago) they quickly won. We then asked the Zombie "What changed between then and now?" All the Zombie could do was say we weren't worth his time, and walk away mumbling about Sal Rosselli.

Tasty expects it's easier for him to believe that his union couldn't have been so careless with his future.

Here is an excerpt from the leaflet:

...At the same time that Piedmont Gardens' Executive Director Gayle Reynolds was trying to scare workers and prevent them from striking, NUHW organizers and leaders were telling us that if we participated in strike we would be fired. (Tasty's note: If someone told the workers that, well, it's true! The workers got fired!)

During the strike, Piedmont Gardens bragged on how they were able to sustain their operation through replacements and "staff members who chose to provide services to our residents during the srike." When we tried to return to work, management decided to once again break the law and permanently replace 38 of us.

It seems that Piedmont Gardens and NUHW have the same agenda. They want to break our spirit and our contract, but we won't let them in...

Just so we're all clear: The 38 workers were permanently replaced because SEIU-UHW staff failed to file the necessary Unfair Labor Practice charges that would have protected the workers. As the employer said to the newspaper: "It's been the law since 1938..."

That isn't the bosses' fault, and it sure as hell isn't another union's fault. The fault only lays with SEIU-- and their inability to fess up for this huge error is a true reflection of their character, and how stupid they think their own members are.

Caleb the Creepy Bathroom Monitor

Looks like zombie staffer Caleb Jennings, who lists his job as "Assistant Director Hospital Division at SEIU UHW" has been demoted to a bathroom monitor for the Kaiser campaign. You might remember another zombie staffer, Scott Silber, who took on the job of "hall monitor" at Kaiser West Los Angeles Medical Center in advance of SEIU's massive loss at Kaiser in January.

Well, looks like Caleb is following right in Scotty's footsteps. On Friday, two Kaiser employees were sitting at a table that NUHW supporters set up on the sidewalk in front of Kaiser Oakland to reach out to their co-workers. When the two women needed to use the bathroom, Caleb followed closely behind them all the way to the door of the women's bathroom. Sketchy much? And when they came out of the bathroom, they found "creepy Caleb the bathroom monitor" leaning against the wall right outside the bathroom door. Creepy Caleb then followed closely behind the two women as they went back outside to the table.

Perhaps Caleb was demoted to bathroom monitor because of his not-so-stellar performance at Prison Health Service (PHS), where workers gave him the name "faux-hawk" because...well, see the picture yourself.

In May, in a fiasco like the current one at Piedmont Gardens, Caleb filed a strike notice at PHS but forgot to put the return-to-work date on the strike notice. So the boss locked workers out when they tried to return to their jobs. SEIU, with workers locked out, then settled a concessionary contract that allows the company to slash workers health insurance coverage.

Look out, Piedmont Gardens workers. Who knows what kinda secret deals SEIU is cutting with your boss right now?

Kaiser Workers; Lied to in a mailing! While, I never!

A note from a Kasier worker:

Last Thursday, August 19th, my colleagues and I were given the opportunity to meet with, and ask questions of Sal Rosselli, who was visiting our Kaiser Santa Rosa campus that day. My friend and I wandered over to find a group, mostly supporters, gathered around. We were able to ask a few questions of our own, and were satisfied with the answers we received. Shortly thereafter, there appeared one Janet Wooten, (left) Unit Assistant, along with sidekick, who remained silent throughout, Tonya Salcido, Medical Assistant. Janet, looking angst-filled, and as though she were about to break into tears at any moment, discussed her fears and concerns about her partnership with Kaiser and the Union. I'm surmising that her intent was no doubt to monopolize Sal's limited time with us, so as to prevent others from getting a word in edgewise. Obviously, the two were SEIU plants.

Well, lo and behold, yesterday, there appeared in my mailbox, yet another almost daily, member-paid-for flier from SEIU with a picture of the two of them next to a quote, "NUHW president Sal Rosselli finally leveled with us and confirmed that if NUHW is elected, we have no guarantees. He will have to take us back to the bargaining table and hope Kaiser will not take away what we've already locked in with SEIU-UHW."

I was there, and he said no such thing. This is disgusting and reprehensible behavior on the part of the SEIU, but unfortunately, I think the worst is yet to come.

Oh, Kaiser workers...here comes the BS.

Meet Renee Sebeny, Pound for Pound the Most Expensive Zombie

Some Zombies are reluctant to come to California and fight the members here...but for some Zombies money talks.

Take, for instance, the case of one Renee Sebeny. Renee has been organizing healthcare workers in Southern California on and off for years. She has come and gone from SEIU a few times...doing such revolutionary things like 'going to business school.' But she is back to try to salvage the sinking ship that is Zombie UHW.

So why is she back? Tasty hears that she told SEIU--It's $120,000/yr or nothin.'

And she got it! Tasty salutes Renee's self-serving bargaining skillz.

No single staff member or elected official at the "old" UHW made close to that! It certainly is a new world at Zombie UHW.

It's Funny When Zombies Forget Their Orders and Tell the Truth.

Like Keisha did!

Silly Zombies, you aren't supposed to say things like this!

This the 2nd time Keisha has been "off program." Tasty bets they've got their eye on her!

SEIU Refuses to Debate NUHW--Thus We Have #75!

Yesterday, SEIU-UHW shop steward Kelly Richardson announced she's resigning her SEIU steward position so she can support NUHW in the Kaiser election. Kelly works in the call center at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, where workers asked SEIU to debate NUHW on the issues. NUHW agreed, but (you guessed it) SEIU refused.

After seeing SEIU's approach to workers (i.e., lies, shout-downs and bullying), Kelly resigned her position. "It’s time for the rhetoric to end. I personally challenged SEIU to debate NUHW to discuss facts. NUHW has been willing to discuss facts. Let’s see if SEIU can do the same, instead of shouting and yelling. We want facts.”

In a list that Letterman would love, workers asked SEIU to answer these questions:

1. With so many SEIU staff here, why can't we get grievances processed or find anyone when we need representation?

2. Why are managers letting SEIU interrupt our work, while they try to stop us from talking to NUHW supporters?

3. Why is SEIU allowing management to subcontract in Dietary?

4. Why didn’t SEIU tell us their contract had a health benefits takeaway committee?

5. Why is SEIU threatening we'll lose our benefits when federal law says all our raises and benefits stay the same?

6. Why do workers at LAMC make 15% less than workers at Kaiser Fresno, and why isn't SEIU doing anything about that?

7. Why does SEIU charge us 25% more dues than NUHW just to send all the extra to Washington, D.C.?

Heads SHOULD Roll, But Probably Won't.

Check out today's Pleasanton Weekly article on the firings at Piedmont/Grand Lake Gardens. It's worth a read, but here is the key part:

"It's been the law since 1938," Durham (ABHOW company attorney David Durham) said, "that employers can hire permanent or temporary replacements."

Durham said the workers are on a preferential list to be called back to work as openings occur.

Among the 38 fired workers are a couple, Johnny Lee, who's been with ABHOW for 30 years and his wife, Linda, who's been with the company 10 years.

Tasty really feels for the fired workers, like Johnny and Linda Lee who are mentioned above. They trusted their union, and the staff totally failed them--with devastating results. Who pays that family's mortgage now?

It is really embarrassing for SEIU that the boss can genuinely say "It's been the law since 1938."

Vu Update.

No wonder this guy is an unprofessional smart ass to workers, here is his online resume:

Vu Nguyen’s Experience

• Organizer

  SEIU 5 AZ

  October 2008 — Present (1 year 11 months)

• Lead Organizer

  Houston Organization of Public Employees

  October 2006 — August 2008 (1 year 11 months)

  Kicked ass!

• Lead Oganizer

  AFSCME Local 3299

  December 2002 — September 2006 (3 years 10 months)

  Kicked ass!

• Organizer

  AFSCME International

  September 2001 — November 2002 (1 year 3 months)

  Baltimore was good. DC has good Ethioian food.

• Project Organizer

  SEIU Local 399 (UHW)

  March 2000 — August 2000 (6 months)

  Hospitals

• Organizer

  HERE Local 11

  January 1997 — March 2000 (3 years 3 months)

  Learned a lot.

If he kicked so much ass why did he leave? And check out his enthusiasm for Local 399 healthcare workers! I guess he didn't kick that much ass.

Talking Shit, Indeed.

Recently, San Francisco's CPMC eliminated positions in the kitchens at three campuses and cut certain positions down from 8 hours per day to 4 hours per day. Many of those affected primarily are long term, 20 year employees. These employees were told to bid on positions in other departments -- positions that never were posted, so people in those departments already can't bid on them.

Under SEIU's leadership nothing has been in writing and nothing has been formally explained in a meeting or anything. Its a mess.

On Tuesday, workers at the CPMC California campus confronted SEIU Zombie Vu Nguyen (pictured, in a facebook shot he titled "Talking Shit") in the cafeteria. They asked him why there wasn't a "re-bid" to deal with these changes fairly in a way that respects seniority. When they demanded details of what's happened in the secret meetings with management, Vu responded, "I don't have to tell you... I don't work for you." (Note to Vu: You do work for the members.)

The CPMC crew was not impressed.

When they asked for a copy of the contract and he said, "You don't deserve the contract." (For real. Not making that up. He actually said that to a group of members.)

Just another example of the caliber of staff SEIU is hiring--both smug, nasty and dumb. Not Tasty's favorite combo...

74

Yesterday, another SEIU-UHW shop steward resigned her position to support NUHW. Check out her letter.

After she announced her decision to support NUHW, Tasty hears that multiple SEIU officials pleaded with her to support SEIU. But no dice. Would you support SEIU after what they did to her department?

August 18, 2010

To all of my co-workers in EVS at Kaiser Walnut Creek

CC: Dave Regan, Trustee SEIU-UHW

I have been a steward for many years because I have always believed in protecting our rights in our workplace. After seeing our department be torn apart in the past several months, largely due to poor bargaining and bad agreements made by SEIU, I can no longer remain quiet. The final straw was the disrespect shown by SEIU representatives to our local EVS committee in "bargaining" over the rebalancing of EVS schedules. First, they changed our proposal without telling us and then, in front of management, told one of our committee to be quiet when she questioned the change.

I am resigning as a steward in order to actively support NUHW. This was a hard decision but I firmly believe that we will have much better representation if we all join together in NUHW.

Thanks from the bottom of my heart,

Tina Lynch
EVS Head Aide

Liz Castillo: Patient

A little birdie told me that Liz Castillo came into St. Francis Hospital yesterday with a broken leg!

Poor lady, that has to hurt. But it begs the question: How did she break that leg? Did she lose a street fight or just trip over her own bad judgment?

Liz: I wanna sign your cast!

For Reals? Eliseo?

Eliseo Medina is going to be the new Secretary Treasurer of SEIU?

At least that gets him out of California, and into DC, where the bureaucrats belong.

38 Members Lose Their Jobs Because the Zombies Don't Know Basic Labor Law. Unreal.

At the same time that SEIU's trustees are begging Kaiser workers for their votes in the upcoming NLRB election, California nursing home workers are getting a crash course in just how inexperienced and incompetent the SEIU trustees are. Tragically, it's come at a huge cost to workers as 38 UHW members have been fired from their jobs and 120 more workers now face cuts in their health insurance and other benefits. Here's what happened:

Before the trusteeship, SEIU-UHW represented about 160 workers at two assisted living facilities in Oakland called Piedmont Gardens and Grand Lake Gardens. As soon as SEIU imposed its trusteeship, SEIU officials removed the workers' elected Shop Stewards and even conspired with management to get the workers' Chief Steward, Stan Lacy, fired from his job. (Where have we heard that one before?)

When it came time for contract negotiations with the company, SEIU's trustees used loyalty oaths to exclude longtime rank-and-file leaders from the bargaining committee and instead put its own hand-picked people on the committee. The nursing home company clearly smelled blood in the water because SEIU's trustees had given up multiple concessions to other nursing home companies that sharply undercut the union's industry-wide contract standards--standards that took decades to achieve. Thus, Piedmont Gardens and Grand Lake Gardens demanded cuts in workers' health insurance and reductions in other benefits, and offered wage increases of only 0.5% per year.

With workers divided because of SEIU's removal of their stewards and rank-and-file leaders, SEIU's trustees called a five-day strike against the company. And in a huge blunder, the trustees apparently forgot to file the necessary unfair labor practices (ULPs) to assert that the employer violated the workers rights. An "unfair labor practice" strike makes it illegal for the employer to hire permanent replacements for the workers--thus, when the workers return to work their jobs are there waiting for them, no matter if the boss hired scabs. Striking without a "ULP" designation means that the employer can hire people to take your place at work, and when the strike is over, they don't have to give you your job back! The scab who took it, can keep it, if the boss wants!

When the strike began, fewer than half of the workers honored the strike line. And, don't let Tasty shock you, but the boss saw his opportunity and took it-- permanently replacing 38 workers who are now out on the street.

All because some idiot at UHW didn't file the necessary ULP to protect members. (We're talking a couple hours worth of effort here, folks.)

And which particular idiot is Tasty referring to? Myriam Escamilla, the Director of SEIU-UHW's Nursing Home Division. Escamilla, who also happens to be the ex-wife of Greg Pullman (Dave Regan's Chief of Staff), has never led a strike before and has never successfully negotiated a nursing home contract. (Great credentials.)

Other nursing home companies are closely watching SEIU's failure at the two facilities, and UHW members at other nursing home companies will no doubt be facing similar takeaways when they go back to the bargaining table.

While SEIU's trustees try to paint themselves as some powerful purple machine, Tasty sees them more as a band of inexperienced clowns who prefer cutting backroom deals with the boss because they have no idea how to fight for members' interests.

Oh, and lest you think this is a one time mistake, don't forget about the strike this spring at Prison Health Services where SEIU sent workers out on strike, but failed to put the end date on the strike notice and the workers got locked out...Those workers voted for NUHW after the strike.

Zombie Deputy Communications Director is like: SEE YA!

Maybe making calls to the press, only to get slammed in every article finally got to her...

Or maybe it was working with over worked, under trained, probably very unhappy staff...

Or maybe it was the leadership, or lack thereof at the local...

Either way, former Unite Here Communications Director, current UHW Deputy Communications Director, Amanda Cooper has quit UHW and gone out on her own...

According to her LinkedIn profile "Amanda Cooper for hire! After 15 years of in-house strategic communications and media relations work I have branched out on my own, ready to take on new challenges. I am lucky to be collaborating with an incredible group of strategists and tacticians at LightBox Collaborative so I can take on projects big and small. "

So, from Communications Director at a major International Union (Unite Here) to Communications Director at a fledgling part of another union (Workers United) to DEPUTY Communications Director at a local in turmoil, to a contractor...

Either she gets really bad career advice or, as a reader suggests, she is a smart lady who can see the writing on the wall--and is getting out of Zombie land, while the getting is good.

Looks like Trossman is gonna be busy!

72, 73!

On Friday, two more SEIU-UHW shop stewards announced they're supporting NUHW in the upcoming elections. The two stewards are Edvin Hakopian and Mustafaa Tyehimba at Kaiser Sunset Medical Center in Los Angeles - Kaiser's largest hospital in SoCal.

This is fun, Tasty wants to see MORE stewards go Red! The SEIU staff must be freaking out!

File This Under: How Dumb Do They Think You Are?

Tasty is getting reports about SEIU's latest campaign tactic!

At Kaiser Modesto Medical Center in Northern California, SEIU has assigned 11 full-time organizers plus additional lost-time staffers to the facility. And the organizers are inviting individual undecided workers to free lunches and dinners at nearby restaurants where SEIU organizers talk to them and show SEIU campaign videos on laptop computers while workers eat freshly cooked Mexican food.

And then SEIU organizers ask them to vote for SEIU. Really? A video and a taco and the workers are supposed to forget about the contract take-aways and the mass firings of stewards? Tasty suspects that Kaiser workers are looking for a little more than enchiladas in their union...

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.

Say Cheese!

Brush your hair and put on some lipstick! Word has it that SEIU will be at Summit Medical Center in Oakland taking pics for their new "membership cards."

Tasty hears that workers are wondering what SEIU will do with their picture, other than issue the "membership card." Here's betting that those ID pics are used to "ID" the workers as SEIU supporters on SEIU literature.

TruCorps?

As Tasty reported on Tuesday, SEIU’s trouble recruiting enough Zombies—to use Mary Kay Henry’s unforgettable line—to fight its losing battle against tens of thousands of Kaiser workers has led the purple monster to once again threaten staff with firing if they refuse this god-awful assignment. Despite these threats it now appears that SEIU’s leaders have decided to outsource a large part of the job to several temporary staffing agencies, including one that calls itself “TruCorps.” Job listings for California “Field Organizers” have been posted by TruCorps on unionjobs.com and include duties such as, you guessed it,“internal member education.” In this case "education" must mean "intimidation."

But, what is TruCorps? From the looks of its website it appears to be a run of-the-mill temporary staffing agency that uses the internet to pimp out earnest job seekers to a variety of unnamed corporate employers. But take a look at the “About TruCorps” section and you’ll see that among the handful of staff the firm lists none other than Jim Philliou as a “strategic adviser.”

Tasty’s readers will recall that Philliou was SEIU’s Long Term Care Division Director for several years. In fact, people in the know say that Philliou was leading the Tenet bargaining when SEIU decided to cut a deal with the company that would have given up workers' right to strike for ten years and allowed the company to subcontract up to 12% of the workforce.

Deals like this were at the heart of the disagreement between SEIU and the leaders of NUHW during the last several years. Recently when Mary Kay Henry was asked about the proposed Tenet deal by a reporter for The Nation she responded that it was just a “temporary misunderstanding caused by a ‘rogue bargainer,’ which she quickly corrected." Harsh words Mary Kay! And as readers know, Jim Philliou is likely the "rogue bargainer" in question!

How about that!?! First, Mary Kay throws Philliou under the bus, even though everyone knows that the Tenet deal was signed off on by Stern and Mary Kay, and would have been implemented if the pre-trusteeship UHW hadn’t stood in the way. Then Mary Kay hires the so-called rogue to help her staff the attack on Kaiser members! All’s well that ends well--for the SEIU bosses, anyway.

Maybe Philliou’s temp agency can help find jobs for the Kaiser members who were laid off last April, in violation of the contract UHW had negotiated under its former leadership!

What's YOUR number?

Kaiser workers--as things continue to heat up, Tasty bets you will hear SEIU's parade of Zombies talking about their "assessments" of you.

A helpful reader shared SEIU's assessment system--Find yourself on this list!

1=leader for SEIU
2=supporter of SEIU
3=undecided
4= no union
5= supporter of NUHW
6= leader for NUHW

Tasty, just in case you wondered, is a 6.

What if you threw a party at Kaiser Walnut Creek and no one came? Means you're probably gonna lose the election!

A note from a tipster:

Yesterday, SEIU held a "member informational forum" at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center so they could try to convince workers to vote for SEIU. Kaiser management even gave SEIU a conference room for the meeting. (Check out the "welcome" sign outside the meeting room in the attached photo). (Tasty Note: Does the sign actually say "Purple" on the bottom?)

On the day of the forum, SEIU organizers were running through the facility trying to pressure workers to go to the meeting, which went from 11:30 am until 1:30pm at the Park Shadelands Yosemite Building. So how many Kaiser workers actually attended SEIU's meeting? Well, besides the four NUHW activists who went to observe the meeting, there were... ZERO! That's right... the big goose egg. Nada.

SEIU's Contract Specialist Alicia Blinks, who stood up in front of the empty meeting room, spent her time answering questions from the four NUHW activists while SEIU organizers scampered throughout the facility trying (so unsuccessfully) to beg just one worker to attend...

But nothing. Pretty pathetic that even with Kaiser management providing illegal support to SEIU so SEIU could conduct thinly disguised SEIU campaign meetings inside Kaiser facilities, SEIU still failed.

The UUR Can't Save You Now!

Remember how the NLRB recently cited SEIU for threatening to have California healthcare workers fired from their jobs if they supported NUHW?

Or this time?

Well, it appears that SEIU is now threatening its own staff with firings. Just like when the trusteeship started--SEIU supervisors and managers have begun telling all SEIU International staff that they're gonna be shipped out to Californiraq to work on the Kaiser campaign, and if they refuse to go, they'll be fired. (Awesome morale booster!)

Hey SEIU staffers, if you're not too thrilled with being threatened, check out this site.

Run, Forest, Run! Kaiser Stewards Take Their Union Back! SEIU Staff Flees.

SEIU got quite a wake-up call at Kaiser Santa Rosa Medical Center, where more than 1,200 SEIU-UHW members will be voting in the election that begins Sep. 13th. Today, UHW's ENTIRE steward council held a rally in front of the hospital and announced they were resigning their positions as SEIU-UHW stewards so they can support NUHW! The 48 stewards issued this letter as they took off their purple gear and put on red NUHW t-shirts. Inside the hospital, hundreds of workers put on red lanyards to show their support for NUHW.

How did SEIU react? One person says they saw SEIU's organizer, named Marne, run from the facility as workers stripped off their purple lanyards and drop them in a garbage can. Tasty guesses she's probably doing some serious wine "tasting" right about now, just like Oriana Saportas [LINK] did during SEIU's disastrous campaign at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital -- where, by the way, SEIU lost by a vote of 283 (NUHW) to 13 (SEIU).

What's next? Keep your eye out for more "defections" as workers break their purple chains and announce their support for NUHW!

Topic to watch...

UHW Staff union negotiations...seems that being a soldier in the purple army isn't really appreciated by the Zombie Powers that be.

More to come--and if you have something to share on the issue--tastysternburger@gmail.com.