Fishman to Take Over Eliseo Medina's Office at SEIU Purple Palace

As Tasty predicted weeks ago, SEIU’s Mike Fishman was formally named to replace Eliseo Medina, who’s stepping down on Tuesday as SEIU’s Secretary-Treasurer -- the second highest position inside the Purple Palace. 

Fishman’s selection was reported in this article in The Hill, which says he was “elected” last week by SEIU’s International Executive Board.

Medina’s rapid exit has fueled speculation that his departure is connected with SEIU’s massive corruption scandal in California. On October 7, SEIU’s Tyrone Freeman will be sentenced in a federal courthouse following his conviction on multiple criminal counts including embezzlement, theft of union assets, and mail fraud.

Where's Eliseo?

At the same exact time that Freeman was robbing millions from low-wage healthcare workers in California, Medina’s office was responsible for reviewing and co-signing the checks prepared by Freeman -- including the checks that Freeman used to carry out his embezzlement schemes.

Meanwhile, SEIU continues to low-ball Medina's “retirement,” prompting further suspicion that he's departing under fire. On SEIU’s website, there’s scarcely a peep about Medina's departure. And even though he doesn’t formally leave his job until October 1, his name has already been removed from SEIU's website (see excerpt from SEIU's homepage). 

It looks like Mary Kay Henry is rushing Medina out the door... and rapidly  eliminating evidence of Medina's connection to SEIU. 

Hmm... wonder if she's already revoked his parking permit and stripped the nameplate from his top-floor office.

Amid Allegations of Vote-Rigging, SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan Declares Victory

Here’s a shocker.

On the heels of multiple reports of purple vote-rigging, SEIU-UHW officials recently announced that their “Unity Plan” has been “overwhelmingly” approved by SEIU-UHW’s members.

Under the plan, SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan will implement a new dues system that’ll boost workers’ maximum monthly dues to $124 a month -- a $40 increase from the current top rate of $84 per month. And that’s not all. Regan now has the authority to continue boosting the top dues rate by $10 a year… forever! That means that in eight years, the top rate will by $204 per month.

Here’s how SEIU-UHW announced the election results on its website:

SEIU-UHW Members Overwhelmingly Vote for Unity Plan, Setting Bold Path for 2014

SEIU-UHW members have a bold vision to work together to improve the lives of millions of Californians in 2014. That’s why 73.4% of voters chose to strengthen our union by adopting the Unity Plan…

In an action that speaks volumes, SEIU-UHW failed to release the actual numbers of votes that were supposedly cast for each option on the ballot.

Soon after the election results were "boldly" announced, the union’s members began flooding SEIU-UHW’s FaceBook page with angry comments. Here’s a sampling…

Dislike dislike dislike dislike. I get to give them $40 more a month for them to do NOTHING!!!!!!!!!

Now I get to pay more dues than my charge nurse, who makes $70 an hour. Yeah, thanks SEIU.

I don't believe in any of this stuff anymore, I know more people who voted against the unity plan and now it's approved! Seiu does nothing for me!

What do you mean by a fair playing field Michelle Cesar? Their is nothing fair about this vote! It was rigged just like every other vote with SEIU!!

This is union is a joke and we became the punch line...

This union is a joke...wish we didn't have one! We pay them to do nothing!

Troy, since the current leadership has been in control my previous position has been eliminated, we have been shuffled around from unit to unit without any real say about the matter, we have little and mostly no support with grievances, any issues we have we have to defend ourselves. I direct those with issues to people who will really help them, nearly all of the people former stewards of the current leaders of NUHW. And now many face increases in dues from a group that really doesn't care about us. Another issue I have with their "Unity Plan" is that if we choose to work extra as many do not only do we make more money but the purple also makes more money. They are garbage.

Powerful comments, right? 

And get this: even though workers supposedly voted "overwhelmingly" for Regan's plan, virtually all of the comments on SEIU-UHW's own FaceBook page are angry attacks against Regan's visionary plan.

New Contract Confirms It. Dave Regan Sold Out SEIU-UHW's Members at Dignity Health

Recent developments at Dignity Health have thousands of SEIU-UHW's members screaming, "WE GOT SOLD OUT!"

Here’s what's happening.

One year ago, Dave Regan and Hal Ruddick negotiated a pay freeze and massive benefit cuts for SEIU-UHW’s 14,000 members at Dignity Health.

During the negotiations, Regan allowed Dignity’s execs to:

• Freeze SEIU-UHW members’ pay
• Make additional cuts to workers’ stripped-down retirement benefits
• Cut healthcare coverage for workers’ dependents
• Stop making contributions to workers’ training fund
• Create a system of two-tiered retirement benefits at Dignity’s hospitals in San Francisco that’ll force newly hired workers into cheaper benefits, and
• Implement an invasive wellness program.

And get this. Regan accepted these cuts even though Dignity had just pocketed $1.4 billion in profits, For workers, it was clear as day that Duplicitous Dave had once again bedded down with their Boss.

Now, they have proof that's even more convincing than a used condom.

Earlier this month, the California Nurses Association announced it negotiated a new four-year contract covering 12,000 RNs at the same Dignity hospitals where SEIU-UHW’s members work.

No pay freeze for CNA's members! Instead, they won a 9% pay increase on top of the 2-3% increase that RNs got earlier this year.

Plus, the CNA didn’t accept any of Regan’s benefit cuts... and they even created a new benefit to cover on-the-job injuries that the CNA calls “the first in the nation for a major hospital system."

Here's an excerpt from the CNA's announcement, with an apparent dig at SEIU:

Registered nurses at one of the nation’s largest hospital systems, Dignity Health, have reached a major new tentative collective bargaining contract covering some 12,000 RNs at 28 Dignity hospitals in California and Nevada that nurses say is a sharp break from a concessionary spiral so prevalent among many employers in healthcare and other sectors.

At its center, the agreement guarantees no reduction in health coverage, expands guaranteed pensions and retiree health benefits, and establishes a dramatic new “RN Accident Prevention Program” program that NNU says is the first in the nation by a major hospital system that provides unprecedented supplemental insurance protection for nurses injured in workplace violence or by needle stick accidents...

Over the four years of the agreement, RNs will receive additional pay hikes of 9 percent, on top of a 2 or 3 percent pay increase (depending on location) earlier this year that is already in effect.

All the hospitals, including the Las Vegas St. Rose Dominican facilities, will now be a part of one master unit, with local bargaining maintained for individual facilities, with a system-wide RN bargaining council to work to further assure quality patient care and RN standards in all Dignity hospitals.

Tasty would love to be a fly on the wall when Regan makes his next visit to a Dignity hospital. Of course, don't expect that to happen any time soon. After all, Dave is soo busy dining with his buddy Duane Dauner at the California Hospital Association... how could he possibly find time to visit 14,000 Dignity workers who pay a fat portion of Dave's $300,000-a-year salary!

Early Defeats for Regan's Dues Hike Spark More Reports of Dirty Tricks at SEIU-UHW Dues Vote

In California, workers report that Dave Regan’s effort to boost SEIU-UHW members’ top dues rate to $124 a month has already suffered a defeat at a number of hospitals where voting took place earlier this week.

At one Kaiser Permanente hospital in Northern California, Regan’s plan was defeated by a four-to-one margin: 155 to 42. At another Kaiser hospital in Southern California, it was defeated by a vote of 108 to 82.

However, workers are worried that Regan has more dirty tricks up his sleeves. 

On Facebook, homecare workers report that SEIU-UHW staffers are spreading misinformation in an effort to win support for the dues hike. SEIU-UHW’s staffers are reportedly phoning homecare workers and telling them they won’t have to pay any dues at all if they work fewer than 24 hours per month. 

But that’s a lie! 

Under Regan’s plan, every member will pay dues, even homecare workers earning just $150 in a month, who’ll be required to pay the minimum dues rate of $32 per month.

If a purple misinformation campaign doesn't work, workers fear Regan will opt for an even bigger illegal scheme. Homecare workers are casting mail-in ballots, which are being collected and stored by Regan’s staffers until they’re ultimately counted. This gives Regan a perfect opportunity to stuff the ballot box behind closed doors, say workers.

Finally... check out this “irony of ironies.”

Readers may recall that in 2009, the Purple Palace ordered the trusteeship of SEIU-UHW after the union’s board refused to transfer 60,000 homecare workers to Tyrone Freeman’s union without first letting those workers vote on whether or not they wanted to be transferred.

Nearly four years later, SEIU has never ever transferred the homecare workers.

And now, Regan is trying to use the homecare workers’ votes (both stuffed and unstuffed) to ram through a giant dues hike on the rest of the union’s membership!

Apparently, there’s no trick that’s too dirty for SEIU.

SEIU's Dave Regan Deploys Dirty Tricks to Boost Union Dues

In California, Dave Regan has deployed a hefty dose of dirty tricks in an effort to boost SEIU-UHW members' top dues rate to $124 a month, according to multiple reports. 

And that’s not all.

If Regan wins the “vote,” the union’s maximum dues rate will continue rising by $10 a year… forever! That means in eight years, the max dues rate will be $204 per month… or nearly $2,500 a year!

It looks like “Wall Street” Dave is not satisfied with the $29 million in cash that SEIU-UHW already has in its bank account.

So what kind of dirty tricks is Regan using to try to win the vote? 

Here’s what Tasty has learned so far:

First, Regan has ordered the union's staff to phone-bank members to urge them to vote "yes" on the dues hike. But Regan has instructed the staff to only phone-bank workers who are likely to vote "yes," such as homecare workers. One phonebanker contacted Tasty and described Regan's telephone script, which begins: ""We've got exciting news to share with you..."

Meanwhile, Regan has a totally different approach for those union members who will be hit by giant dues increases if Regan is successful. Those members say they weren’t even informed about the times and locations for voting. (Homecare workers are voting by mail!) One SEIU-UHW member reports she's already filed a complaint with the NLRB and U.S. Department of Labor.

That’s not all.

Ten days ago, Regan imposed turnout quotas on SEIU-UHW's union reps and other staffers... but only for turning out targeted voters who are likely to vote "yes." On September 6, Regan announced these “get out the vote” quotas during an all-staff meeting, which prompted a formal complaint from SEIU-UHW's staff unions, which Tasty posted below.

Here’s the beginning of an email written by the presidents of the staff unions to their co-workers:

Brothers and sisters,

I wanted to make sure you all saw the letter below.

Last Friday, SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan made numerous comments that were inappropriate and outright disrespectful. Below is a joint statement from the current leadership in both unions that denounces.

In response to the complaint, Regan penned an email to his "Chief of Staff," Greg Pullman. But apparently Dave ain’t so adept with email. He ended up sending his email message to the wrong people, who eventually forwarded it to Tasty! 

In the email, Duplicitous Dave trashes a half dozen of  SEIU-UHW’s staffers, saying:

Thanks, I appreciate it. What a drag. I could care less about Jarard, Carlyn and most others. But what is up with Jonathan, Dave Pihl and Indira? I thought they were more substantial than this.

The full emails are below. Looks like the "Dump Dave" movement is even gaining traction among SEIU-UHW's own staff!

Stay tuned for more news!

   Staff Union's Complaint to Dave Regan over Targeted Turn-Out Quotas for SEIU-UHW Membership Vote on Union D...