Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Kaiser Unions: “Adios, Dave!”


Pete diCicco

Just days after ditching the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions because of SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan, 21 Kaiser unions indicated their departure isn’t mere bluster or a negotiating tactic. They’re already taking steps to build a new coalition of partnership unions for the long haul.

The unions -- the Teamsters, Steelworkers, AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, UFCW, ILWU, Operating Engineers and the KPNAA -- hired Pete diCicco as the Executive Director of their new coalition, according to a press release issued on March 30.

Why is this important?

diCicco was one of the founders of the Kaiser labor-management partnership in 1997 and served as the Executive Director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for its first decade. diCicco -- whose bio is described in the press release below – has deep relationships with Kaiser executives as well as Kaiser’s unions. He knows how Kaiser and the partnership work.

By hiring diCicco, the new coalition of unions -- called the Alliance of Health Care Unions -- showed they have a plan, are quickly executing it, and are here to stay.

Meanwhile, Regan can’t seem to stop himself from lapsing into his volatile, “old school” ways. In addition to trash-talking his former union allies as sell-outs and “the small unions,” he reportedly demanded this week that Kaiser executives refuse to deal with the new coalition of unions, which happens to represent more than 45,000 workers.

Great move, Dave!

According to Tasty’s sources, the local dog catcher carries more weight inside Kaiser’s HQ than Regan, especially given Dave’s most recent ballot initiative blunder.

In other drama, Regan is reportedly feuding with his coalition’s Executive Director, Hal “Purple Lies” Ruddick. This should be interesting now that Dave has named himself as the “Chairman of the Board” at the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

Based on Regan’s past behavior, the members of Regan’s coalition are in for a rough ride. 

Fasten your seatbelts!