During Internal Conference Call, Dave Regan Admits that SEIU-UHW Can't Protect Kaiser Workers’ Pension Plan

Check out this explosive recording of an internal conference call that Dave Regan did last week with a select number of SEIU-UHW’s supporters at Kaiser Permanente. A tipster tape-recorded the call and sent excerpts to Tasty.

During the conference call, which took place on the evening of February 27,  Regan actually admitted that SEIU-UHW cannot protect Kaiser workers’ pension plan if SEIU-UHW wins the upcoming NLRB election for 45,000 workers in California.

                                       

Here’s what Regan said (check out the audio recording below to hear it with your own ears):

I’m entirely confident that if you’re, ya know, above 60, ya know, we’re gonna continue to do a great job and we’re gonna get you to retirement age with a fully funded pension plan, retiree health benefits -- everything you are counting on to have the quality of life that you’ve worked for. 

But for people who are younger, I think we all know that, ya know, the future ten years down the road is guaranteed to nobody.

Incredible, right?

Regan is apparently confirming the reports that he cut a secret deal with Kaiser’s executives to eliminate workers’ defined-benefit pension plan and replace it with a cheap 401(k) plan -- just like he did at Dignity Health and the Daughters of Charity Health System, where 20,000 members of SEIU-UHW have already lost their pensions.

And Regan's assurances that older workers will retire with full retiree health benefits is patently wrong. Last June, Regan allowed Kaiser to cap workers' retiree health insurance plan, resulting in $1.8 billion in savings for Kaiser and more money out of workers' pockets.

Regan's admission about the imminent demise of workers' pension plan helps explain why Kaiser has thrown its full support behind SEIU-UHW in the upcoming election. If  SEIU-UHW wins the election, then Regan will repay his debt to his corporate partner by eliminating workers’ pension plan and delivering billions of dollars in savings to Kaiser.

Of course, there’s absolutely no need for Kaiser to eliminate workers’ pension plan. The company is literally rolling in profits: $8.7 billion since 2009! And Kaiser’s execs are pocketing multi-million-dollar salaries... along with 8 separate pension and retirement plans for each exec!

Here’s the 1 ½ minute clip of Regan discussing the future of workers’ pension plan under SEIU-UHW. Hey Kaiser workers... you better get your Red on if you wanna keep your pension!