As SEIU's scandal at Kaiser Vallejo Medical Center continues to unfold, Dave Regan's storm troopers have now been caught bullying and threatening more workers at Kaiser Permanente. This time it happened at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, where SEIU-UHW's thugs were nabbed by the NLRB, according to an official legal settlement posted below.
According to the settlement, SEIU-UHW interrogated, surveilled and threatened its own union members. Here's what the document says under the section entitled "Scope of the Agreement:"
- SEIU-UHW-W engaged in surveillance and/or the impression of surveillance by photographing bargaining unit members engaged in protected activity on behalf of NUHW.
- SEIU-UHW-W threatened a bargaining unit member with discharge from employment because of the member's protected activities on behalf of NUHW
- SEIU-UHW-W coercively interrogated a bargaining unit member regarding his or her support and protected activities on behalf of NUHW.
So what are details?
One day during shift change at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, a number Kaiser workers were passing out NUHW leaflets to their co-workers outside the hospital. This, of course, is their right. After all, the NLRB will hold a new election at Kaiser and -- as in any election -- workers have the right to talk, debate and advocate for their choice on the ballot.
As workers handed out the leaflets to their co-workers, SEIU-UHW Field Rep. Arturo Castellanos showed up with Sandra Jimenez (another SEIU-UHW Field Rep.) and an SEIU-UHW Shop Steward named Yvonne Gurski. Apparently, Gurski is a well-known bully at the hospital.
Castellanos (also known as "super-scab") interrogated the workers who were leafleting, asking: "Where do you work?" and "Who's your supervisor?" Castellanos then threatened to use SEIU's chummy relationship with Kaiser to get one of the workers fired from her job. Next, Castellanos took out his iPhone and began videotaping and photographing the workers in an effort to intimidate them.
Of course, this is totally illegal. Federal labor law protects the rights of workers to engage in leafletting, advocacy and free speech. And it strictly prohibits thugs like Castellanos, Jimenez and Gurski from surveilling, interrogating and threatening workers' jobs.
Following the incident, workers filed a complaint with the NLRB. The federal agency conducted a lengthy investigation and recently announced that it had affirmed the workers' complaint and was preparing to put Castellanos, Jimenez, Gurski on trial in front of a judge. At this point, SEIU's Dave Regan instructed his attorneys to seek an out-of-court settlement with the NLRB rather than face a trial. The settlement (see below) was signed by SEIU-UHW's attorney, Bruce Harland.
The settlement requires SEIU-UHW to send a formal email notice to all of its members at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center about the settlement -- and to post notices on the hospital's bulletin boards and SEIU-UHW's website. In the notices, SEIU-UHW's officials commit that they will not threaten, interrogate or surveil the union's members. Tasty has pasted the exact notice below, along with the legal settlement.
So what about Castellanos, Jimenez and Gurski? Well... if SEIU and Dave Regan have any integrity whatsoever, they would immediately fire/remove these thugs from their union positions. It's simply outrageous that SEIU's Field Reps and Shop Stewards -- who're paid by the union's members to ensure that workers get fair treatment on the job -- are instead teaming up with the Boss to threaten workers' jobs.
SEIU's violence, threats and bullying are a perversion of everything a union is supposed to stand for! And it's an embarrassment to the labor movement. So... if SEIU wants to try to rescue its dirty reputation from the gutter, Regan and SEIU President Mary Kay Henry need to fire these bullies!
Here's the NLRB posting and out-of-court settlement:
SEIU-UHW's out-of-court settlement with the NLRB regarding threats, interrogation and surveillance of SEIU ...
