Here’s the
latest.
Next week,
the Alliance of Health Care Unions
will begin bargaining with Kaiser
Permanente, according to sources. The Alliance includes the Teamsters,
Steelworkers, AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, UFCW, ILWU, Operating
Engineers and the KPNAA.
What about
the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente
Unions (SEIU, OPEIU and IFPTE)?
Coalition leaders
will meet next Tuesday to discuss their response to Kaiser’s proposal to enter
into a new partnership deal with the giant HMO, say sources.
What’s
Kaiser’s proposal?
After the
partnership unions fractured
in two over Dave Regan’s effort
to seize more decision-making power, Kaiser
gathered representatives from nearly all its unions on May 7 at the
Marriott Hotel in Oakland and told them Kaiser would like to become partners
with each of the two coalitions. Kaiser handed out a draft partnership
agreement -- basically a modified version of the original agreement signed in the
1990s.
The new
agreement has provisions that appear to be designed specifically to deal with SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan and the problems that swirl around him like stripes on a candy cane.
For example,
one new provision would bar members of the partnership from backing “harmful” ballot
initiatives or legislation. It looks like Kaiser adopted the
same language that Regan penned into his
secret deal with the California
Hospital Association in 2014. The draft agreement reads:
Members of the Partnership, including KP and all individual local unions who are members of the Partnership, shall not pursue, sponsor or support legislation or ballot initiatives, which are specifically targeted at and the primary purpose of which is to harm another member of the Partnership. A Member of the Partnership who violates this section shall be expelled from the Partnership…
Another new
provision would allow unions to expel a union from the partnership by majority
vote. We can call this the “Dave Regan rule.” The draft agreement says:
…there may come a time when a majority of Union Parties believe there is cause to expel an individual union party. Should this occur, the Union Parties may expel an individual union party by majority vote of the senior union leadership designated from the union parties (not counting the individual union to be expelled).
Meanwhile, Regan
and the Coalition have been stung by Kaiser’s announcement that it will not negotiate
a “national agreement” with the Coalition this year. The current “national
agreement” expires on September 30, 2018.
Earlier this
week, the Coalition filed an “unfair labor practice” charge with the NLRB
alleging that Kaiser’s action is illegal. (See a copy of the Coalition’s
leaflet below.) The NLRB will now conduct an investigation to determine whether
there’s any substance to the Coalition’s allegations.
Also, the
Coalition asked the leaders of some affiliated unions to send a letter to Kaiser
CEO Bernard Tyson to ask him why Kaiser
is not bargaining a national agreement with the Coalition this year. Observers
describe the letter as “pathetic.” See below.
Meanwhile, NUHW has already scheduled multiple
dates this summer to bargain with Kaiser over contracts covering 4,000 workers that
expire September 30.
In another
interesting move, Kaiser has reportedly asked NUHW to consider forming a more
collaborative relationship with the HMO. Sources say NUHW ruled out the idea of
joining either of the partnership groups. However, its rank-and-file leaders
are reportedly discussing whether they’re open to negotiating one-on-one with
Kaiser over their future relationship.
Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions: Leaflet on ULP Charges over delayed bargaining (May 2018) by tastysternburger on Scribd
Coalition Affiliates: Letter to CEO of Kaiser Permanente on Postponement of Partnership Bargaining (5-1-18)... by tastysternburger on Scribd
