Friday, May 10, 2013

Did John August Get the Axe at Kaiser Coalition?



A source reports that John August, the Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, is being ousted from his job after an investigation into his abusive behavior against staff members. 

Tasty hasn’t had a chance to independently verify this report, but here’s what Tasty’s source says:

Former Coalition staff members reportedly filed complaints against August for sexually harassing and abusing staff members. Tasty hears that the staffers’ complaints reached the AFL-CIO, which interviewed staff and is now reportedly orchestrating August’s imminent departure.

Union officials apparently held off on axing August until after the conclusion of the giant Kaiser election in California. Why? August has worked hand-in-hand with SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan to pave the way for takeaways affecting Kaiser workers, and he also helped implement the multi-million-dollar Partnership Tax on Kaiser workers. 

Furthermore, August is super tight with Kaiser’s top execs. In fact, Kaiser gives August a fancy, rent-free office inside Kaiser’s national headquarters. And Kaiser’s incoming CEO, Bernard Tyson, even made this video with August.

August’s reputation as a womanizing “culo-crat” is well known (me entiendes?). He’s reportedly had multiple sexual affairs with staffers, rank-and-file SEIU members, and at least one member of SEIU’s International Executive Board. 

Last summer, August was gripped by a scandal after he reportedly sexually harassed a Kaiser partnership staffer who, upon quitting, turned in her phone… which contained comprising files implicating August. 

Despite the scandal, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry -- who serves as the president of the Coalition's board of directors -- reportedly refused to axe August because she was afraid that another scandal would further wound the image of SEIU's already scandal-plagued officials.

Coalition staffers describe August’s behavior as “predatory” -- sometimes targeting his sexual advances on staffers who are single moms and who can’t afford to quit their jobs. According to others, August has an anger-management problem that’s pathological… like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”   

One female staffer described how August ordered her into a one-on-one meeting, then yelled at her so ferociously that spit was flying out of his mouth as he jabbed his finger in her face. 

In the end, it's certainly no surprise that the Kaiser partnership is run by corrupt officials like August and Regan. And it's no coincidence that Kaiser execs and union officials would hold off on axing August until after the giant Kaiser election.