Election Brings Initial Loss for SEIU at Kaiser

SEIU may be on the brink of losing a unit of 343 Registered Nurses at Kaiser Moreno Valley Medical Center in Southern California.

Last Friday, nurses cast their votes in an NLRB election triggered by members of SEIU Local 121 who requested a formal vote so they can leave SEIU because they’re dissatisfied with the union.

On election night, a majority of the ballots supported leaving SEIU. The final vote tally won’t be finalized until three dozen “challenged” ballots are resolved. According to the NLRB, the vote tally at the end of election night was the following:

No Union:  120

SEIU Local 121:  111

Challenged Ballots:  37

SEIU Local 121 appears to be worried it’ll lose the election when the “challenged” ballots are finally counted. After the vote count, it filed a formal appeal with the NLRB in an effort to overturn the entire election.

The hospital’s nurses have been members of SEIU for more than 10 years but have been dissatisfied with SEIU for a long time, according to an RN who called the purple union “fear mongers.”

The vote couldn’t come at a worse time for SEIU. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which includes Local 121 and other SEIU locals, will go back to the bargaining table with Kaiser for the first time on April 17 to negotiate a “national agreement.”

Since 2009, SEIU unions at Kaiser have been led by SEIU-UHW president Dave Regan, who has given away massive cuts in health benefits and retirement plans at hospital chains across California. Kaiser now appears to be angling to win the same cuts for its workers. 

Regan has been a big proponent of “partnership” deals with Kaiser and even colluded with Kaiser executives to fight strikes by other Kaiser workers, including statewide walkouts by the National Union of Healthcare Workers and the California Nurses Association.

Last year, Kaiser’s partnership unions split into two after Regan reportedly attempted to seize more decision-making power inside the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The unions fed up with Regan broke away and formed a new coalition called the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which negotiated a national agreement of its own in 2018.

SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan: 'I can't get to the table with Kaiser'

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (“the Coalition”) doesn’t appear to be getting any closer to sitting down with Kaiser Permanente at the bargaining table.

Last week, the Coalition sent out an update to workers entitled, “Kaiser Permanente Continues Its Aggressive Behavior toward Coalition Unions.” Here’s how it begins:

Kaiser continues to demand a new Partnership Agreement and is requiring Coalition Unions to sign a new Partnership agreement as a condition of resuming negotiations of a new National Agreement… We have met three times with Kaiser leaders over the last few months to reach an agreement.  The Coalition has offered a counter proposal that was balanced—offering new rights and responsibilities within the Partnership for both our unions and Kaiser. We also have offered a ‘temporary cease fire’ that would get us back to the table for negotiations while addressing Kaiser’s concerns.  Both of these offers have been rejected by Kaiser.

The Coalition appears to be especially upset about Kaiser’s demand to insert a “Dave Regan rule” into a new partnership agreement. That’s the rule that would allow the Coalition unions to kick out one of its member unions for “egregious non-partnering behavior upon a vote of 70%” of the partnering unions.

Earlier this year, more than half of the partnership unions quit the Coalition after repeated problems with SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan and his attempt to snatch more and more decision-making power from the other unions. Under their partnership agreement, there was no way for the unions to kick Regan out, so they had to quit the Coalition and form an entirely new partnership group. That’s the problem that the “Dave Reagan rule” tries to solve.

In its recent message, the Coalition took some back-handed shots at the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which negotiated and signed a new “partnership agreement” with Kaiser in May and has been in bargaining since then for a new contract. (BTW, the Alliance’s agreement with Kaiser includes the so-called “Dave Regan rule.”)

Here’s what the Coalition says about the Alliance:

They have not reached an agreement as of July 11, 2018 and are not expected to resume negotiations until late August. As those negotiations have progressed, significant concerns have emerged that impact ALL union members at Kaiser. Specifically, Kaiser is demanding:

• Higher co-pays on our medical benefits
• “Market based” wages based on where people work
• Eroding RN staffing ratios

Meanwhile, other unions are also beginning their negotiations with Kaiser. Just last week, several thousand members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) began bargaining with Kaiser over three contracts that expire later this fall.

So… when will the Coalition finally get to the bargaining table?

It may take a while. So far, the Coalition’s “Plan to Win” has been downright underwhelming.

Stay tuned.

Adios, Dave: Union Quits Coalition to Join Rival Alliance of Kaiser’s “Partnership” Unions

Dave Regan’s Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (“the Coalition”) just got smaller.

Last week, UNITE HERE Local 5 -- which represents 2,000 Kaiser workers in Hawaii -- announced its decision to leave the Coalition and join the Alliance of Health Care Unions (“the Alliance”).

Formed in March 2018, the Alliance is a rival group of “partnership” unions that bolted the Coalition following Regan’s attempt to seize greater control over unions’ decision-making process.

In a June 18th announcement on its website, the Alliance describes the development this way:

On Wednesday, June 13, the Alliance Steering Committee accepted UNITE HERE Local 5 as our newest member. Alliance Chair Kathleen Theobald hailed the move, saying “The union makes us strong – and the more unions in our Alliance, the stronger we are. Local 5 is a powerful, committed local union with experienced leadership, and we’re very happy to welcome them!” Local 5 represents approximately 2,000 KP workers in Hawaii.

“With our contract expiring in a few months, UNITE HERE Local 5 has joined the other Kaiser unions with 2018 expiration dates in bargaining,” said Secretary-Treasurer Eric Gill. “Together, we will achieve a contract settlement that meets our economic needs, builds greater solidarity among our allied unions and holds Kaiser management responsible to the highest degree of partnership with unionized Kaiser workers.  We appreciate the Alliance’s prompt acceptance of our union’s participation.”

In a post on its own website, UNITE HERE Local 5 told its members:

Aloha Kaiser Brothers and Sisters,

UNITE HERE! Local 5 was accepted into the Alliance of Health Care Unions yesterday… As a member of the Alliance, we will join 45,000 Kaiser workers from 21 other locals in attaining a National Agreement. That process has already begun. Local bargaining will also commence in the coming weeks. Please stay involved and committed to getting a good contract that benefits all.

Local 5’s departure represents a blow to the Coalition and SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan. Local 5’s President, Eric Gill, held the second highest position on the Coalition’s Board of Directors. Gill was the “Vice Chair” while Regan serves as the “Chair.”

The move leaves the Coalition with 11 local unions from three international unions (SEIU, the Office and Professional Employees International Union, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees).

Meanwhile, the Alliance has 22 local unions from nine international unions (Teamsters, Steelworkers, AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, UFCW, ILWU, Operating Engineers, UNITE HERE and the KPNAA).

Will the Coalition keep on shrinking?

Definitely possible, say sources.

Tasty hears that OPEIU Local 30 is weighing a switch to the Alliance. Such a move would be especially embarrassing for Regan since Local 30’s Executive Director Walter Allen currently serves as the Coalition’s “Interim Executive Director” following the departure of Hal Ruddick.

UNITE HERE’s exit follows the departure of a number of the Coalition’s longtime staff, some of whom quit in order to join the Alliance. Tasty hears these defections are continuing.

Alliance Unions at Bargaining Table While Kaiser and Regan at Standstill

Here’s the latest on the dueling partnership unions that split over Dave Regan’s effort to seize greater control over the partnership unions’ decision-making process.

Last month, the new partnership group -- the Alliance of Health Care Unions -- began national bargaining with Kaiser Permanente. (The Alliance includes the Teamsters, Steelworkers, AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, UFCW, ILWU, Operating Engineers and the KPNAA.)

So far, the Alliance has completed three rounds of negotiations with Kaiser, with two more rounds scheduled for June 25-26 and July 8-9, according to the Alliance’s website. During the first round of negotiations (May 17 and May 21-22), the Alliance negotiated and approved an “updated” LMP Agreement with Kaiser, which is posted on the Alliance’s website.

The agreement contains the new so-called “Dave Regan” provisions: (1) a rule allowing the Alliance unions to kick out a member union for “egregious non-partnering behavior upon a vote of 70%” of the partnering unions and (2) a rule barring Kaiser and the Alliance unions from pursuing, sponsoring or supporting legislation or ballot initiatives that “are specifically targeted at and the primary purpose of which is to harm another member of the Partnership.” The second provision is in response to Regan’s filing -- and then withdrawal -- of a statewide ballot initiative targeting Kaiser earlier this year.

After negotiating a LMP Agreement, the Alliance began contract negotiations with Kaiser. During two rounds of bargaining (May 22-24 and May 30-June 2), the discussions reportedly focused on economics (wages, benefits, outsourcing, job security), “Operational Effectiveness” (staffing, budgeting, backfill and attendance), and “Partnership” (partnership expectations and LMP training).

What about the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions?

The Coalition appears to be hunting for a strategy.

The Coalition was supposed to have finished national bargaining with Kaiser by this time, but those negotiations were canceled when the Coalition unions split in two over Regan’s demand for more decision-making power. (The Coalition’s “national agreement” will expire on September 30, 2018).

Kaiser says it will not conduct national bargaining with the Coalition this year, but instead will negotiate individually with the Coalition unions before each union’s local contract expires next year. Kaiser has reportedly asked the Coalition to sign a new LMP Agreement containing the same language recently adopted by the Alliance, which includes the so-called “Dave Regan” rules. Tasty hears that Regan rejected that proposal earlier this week. It’s unclear what, if anything, will happen next.

How are the Coalition and Alliance getting along?

Not well.

The Coalition seems to be seesawing between trashing the Alliance and begging them to re-join the Coalition. After initially panning the Alliance as “the little unions,” the Coalition issued a “message” to the Alliance unions in March saying:

“We hope that the unions who left last-minute will re-join the Coalition -- and join us at the table with management. We are stronger together!” 

More recently, SEIU-UHW posted the following message on its website. It accuses the Alliance unions of plotting to sell out their members and, in Trumpian fashion, offers ‘alternative facts’ about why the Alliance unions quit the Coalition:

A group of small unions representing about one-third of the Coalition decided to break away and form their own group. The leaders of the breakaway unions wanted the right to cut a cheap deal with Kaiser over the objections of the majority of unions. We refused to go along, so those small unions left the Coalition to go it on their own. Some leaders of those unions have voiced a willingness to accept an Agreement with higher healthcare co-pays and lower wage rates for certain regions.

Likewise, the Coalition’s approach towards Kaiser is all over the map.

On the one hand, Regan -- who’s the “Chairman” of the Coalition -- has called Kaiser a “dictator” that “walked away from the partnership.” Meanwhile, Walter Allen (the interim director of the Coalition) has struck a very different tone in public statements posted on the Coalition’s website:

“The unions of the Coalition are completely committed to Partnership and the great work we’ve done together, but any changes to the Partnership need to be discussed in national bargaining,” said Walter Allen, executive director of OPEIU Local 30.

It sounds like Regan and Allen need to get their talking points straight, right?

Of course, the big question is whether the Coalition unions will even be able to conduct another round of national bargaining with Kaiser. At this point, it appears that Kaiser is refusing to conduct national bargaining until the Coalition negotiates a new LMP Agreement that includes the “Dave Regan” provisions – which Regan is rejecting. This leaves any prospects of national contract talks at a standstill.

Stay tuned.

Kaiser Coalition scrambles as Alliance unions begin bargaining

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

Kaiser: "We won't bargain with Coalition unions or SEIU-UHW in 2018"

This week, Kaiser Permanente finally revealed how it’s going to deal with its now fractured “partnership” unions.

On Monday, Kaiser’s executives gathered about 100 representatives from nearly all of its unions in a ballroom at the downtown Marriott Hotel in Oakland, Calif. In attendance were leaders from both of the partnership groups including SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan, AFSCME’s Denise Duncan, Pete diCicco, Walter Allen, and Hal Ruddick.

Kaiser’s executives -- including Greg Adams, Dennis Dabney, Jim Pruitt and Chuck Columbus -- announced they will not bargain with either the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions or SEIU-UHW this year.

Kaiser, however, will begin negotiating in the weeks ahead with the newly formed Alliance of Health Care Unions for contracts covering most of the Alliance’s members. Kaiser says it’ll negotiate with the Alliance unions at a single bargaining table, although it plans to sign separate labor contracts with each Alliance union rather than a single “national agreement.”

When will Kaiser bargain with SEIU-UHW?

Not until next year, when SEIU-UHW’s local union contract expires.

So why is Kaiser bargaining first with the Alliance unions?

According to Kaiser, it’s scheduling bargaining according to the expiration dates of each union’s so-called “local agreement.” (Note: In addition to a single “national agreement,” each partnership union also bargains a “local agreement” that covers issues specific to that particular part of Kaiser’s workforce.)

It turns out that most of the Alliance unions’ “local agreements” expire in 2018. Meanwhile, virtually all of the Coalition unions’ local agreements don’t expire until 2019.

 

Dave Regan

Kaiser’s announcement on Monday represents a big setback for Regan, who attended the Marriott meeting with Greg Pullman (Regan's Chief of Staff), Bruce Harland (Regan’s hack attorney), and several others.

Why?

The Alliance unions will go to the bargaining table first… before Regan and the other Coalition unions. This will allow the Alliance to set a pattern as far as wages, benefits and working conditions that Kaiser will undoubtedly ask SEIU-UHW to follow.

That’s precisely the opposite outcome from what Regan has been trying to achieve.

Since at least 2017, he made multiple attempts to seize control of the Coalition so he’d have greater power over this year’s national bargaining.

Now, as a result of overplaying his hand and expertly exploding the partnership unions into pieces, national bargaining has been canceled and Regan -- along with SEIU-UHW’s members -- have been relegated to the back seat.

In addition, Regan has successfully destroyed the unity among Kaiser’s 29 partnership unions. This will likely allow Kaiser to drive further wedges between them.

How did Reagan react to Kaiser’s announcement on Monday?

One hint comes from the red-hot rhetoric that SEIU-UHW used in an update to its members after the meeting. Here’s an excerpt:

Kaiser said they will refuse to negotiate a new National Agreement, leaving each union to bargain their own local agreement… The level of arrogance and contempt from Kaiser leadership in the meeting was palpable. There is no Partnership in Kaiser’s mind… Kaiser’s idea of “Partnership” is more like a Dictatorship. SEIU-UHW and our Coalition allies will not stand for this.

Source: Kaiser Coalition Staffers Are “jumping ship”

Staffers at the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are “jumping ship” following the decision by eight international unions to quit the coalition and form a new alliance of “partnership” unions, say sources.

Who’s leaving?

Maureen Anderson, a “Program Coordinator” and one of the Coalition’s top staffers for more than a decade, is one of them. And 4 to 5 other staffers also quit, say Tasty’s sources.

Why are they jumping ship?

Apparently, they’re leaving for the same reason that the eight international union recently quit the Coalition:

“They want out because no one can stand Dave [Regan],” says a source.

After the exodus of the unions in March, SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan became the “Chairman” of the now-smaller Coalition and has been playing a bigger role in its daily operations.

Here’s another interesting development.

Hal Ruddick, the Coalition’s Executive Director who was recently fired by Regan, has reportedly taken a job at the newly formed rival alliance of partnership unions. Tasty doesn’t yet know what role he’ll be playing there.

The new alliance of unions -- called the “Alliance of Health Care Unions” -- hired Pete diCicco as its Executive Director, according to a March 30 press release.

In other news, the Coalition confirmed Tasty’s earlier report about Ruddick’s exit and the appointment of Walter Allen as the Coalition’s interim Executive Director.

Two days after Tasty’s April 17 post about Ruddick’s firing, the Coalition publicly confirmed his departure -- calling it instead a resignation. Here’s a link to the post: “Leadership Changes in Union Coalition.” It begins:

Hal Ruddick, who has served as executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions for four years, is stepping down, and Walter Allen, OPEIU Local 30 executive director, will be serving as the coalition’s acting executive director.

With Regan at the helm, it sounds like there’ll be more rough sledding in the days ahead for the Coalition.

Stay tuned.

SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan Fires Kaiser Coalition's Executive Director

Dave Regan

According to internal sources, Dave Regan -- the newly named Chairman of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (CKPU) -- has fired its Executive Director, Hal Ruddick. Ruddick’s last day will be Friday, April 20.

Ruddick will be replaced by an “interim” executive director, Walter Allen, say Tasty’s sources. Allen is the Executive Director and CFO of OPEIU Local 30, which represents 6,500 office and clerical workers in Southern California.

As reported earlier, Regan has been feuding with Ruddick for some time despite the fact that Ruddick was one of Regan’s loyal lieutenants at SEIU-UHW. In fact, in 2013 Regan put Ruddick into his job atop the CKPU after its prior Executive Director, John August, was ousted following wide-ranging allegations of sexual harassment and abuse.

In 2012, August became the center of a spiraling scandal after he reportedly sexually harassed a Kaiser partnership staffer who, upon quitting, turned in her phone… which contained comprising files and e-mails implicating August.

According to Tasty’s sources, Walter Allen plans to show up tomorrow at Kaiser’s national headquarters in the Ordway Building on the shores of Oakland’s Lake Merritt, where the Executive Director of the CKPU maintains a fancy, rent-free office courtesy of Kaiser’s executives. Perhaps Allen will do some remodeling.

Today’s developments are the latest in a series of dizzying events that have seen Kaiser’s so-called “partnership unions” split in two like a rotten peach.

Three weeks ago, eight of the 11 international unions in the labor-management partnership announced they were quitting the CKPU because they couldn’t work with Dave Regan, whom they accused of trying to orchestrate a power grab.

Days later, the eight international unions -- the Teamsters, Steelworkers, AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers, UFCW, ILWU, Operating Engineers and the KPNAA -- announced they had hired Pete diCicco as the Executive Director of their newly formed coalition, the Alliance of Health Care Unions.

Kaiser's HQ in Oakland

Meanwhile, Regan quickly ascended to the position of the Chairman of the Board of the CKPU, which has only three international unions as its remaining members (SEIU, OPEIU and IFPTE). Apparently, it’s from his position as Chairman inside the CKPU’s increasingly empty board room that Regan fired Ruddick.

Ruddick’s firing and his replacement by a presumably temporary “interim executive director” signals even more instability inside the CKPU. Tasty hears there's great nervousness among the CKPU’s staff about layoffs now that a substantial portion of its sponsoring unions have quit.

Stay tuned.

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!

   AHCU Press Release: "New Alliance of Kaiser Unions Hires an Executive Director" -- 03-30-2018 by tastysternburger on Scribd