More News from the Front Lines of the Kaiser Election

With ballots due in just seven days (!), Kaiser is working overtime to help its purple partners at SEIU-UHW. 

A worker at one hospital describes how Kaiser is allowing SEIU to campaign inside workers’ break rooms (also called “lounges”).

What REALLY pisses us off is the SEIU reps camping out in our lounge. When they are there its uncomfortable silence or everyone leaves. Seriously, the nerve they have hanging around in a room full of nurses, when they tried to eliminate the nurse-patient ratio? And when they secretly agreed to reduce pensions and allow low census cancellations? And they wonder where the love is? It just shows us that management supports seiu and galvanizes our support for NUHW.

At Kaiser Oakland Medical Center, SEIU-UHW staffer Fola Afariogun has reportedly been going into patient-care areas and interrupting workers who’re caring for patients. One recent day, Afariogun was so off the hook that a lower-level manager actually enforced Kaiser’s rules by removing him from the unit!

But not for long. 

Dave Regan reportedly placed a phone call to a Kaiser exec. Here’s what happened next, says a worker:

Next thing u know, the seiu reps are being brought into our mandatory staff meetings to campaign and are lurking in our break room. They even go into prohibited work areas.

Meanwhile, SEIU’s 700 staffers continue their knock-and-stalk campaign at workers’ homes. One creative worker devised this four-legged response!

She writes: “Boxer is sooooooooooooooo ready for the Pushy Purple People to come knock at his Master's door!” 

Finally, check out this strange-ass post on SEIU-UHW's Facebook page. It's supposed to be a get-out-the-vote message directed at Kaiser workers.

Super inspiring, right? Makes Tasty wanna race down to the post office and mail his ballot. 

Hmm... if Tasty were a betting man, he'd put his money on the Red bulldog over the Purple pup on Prozac!! 

Hey Kaiser workers, time to get those votes in! Only seven days left!

Kaiser Workers: "SEIU-UHW Is Like a Wounded Beast"

SEIU: Stalking and knocking 24/7

Here’s the latest news from the Kaiser election... which offers more signs of desperation from SEIU-UHW.

First, workers report that SEIU organizers have become far more aggressive during their visits to workers’ homes... including stalking workers by waiting outside their homes until they return from work; calling workers’ relatives and trying to squeeze information and telephone numbers out of them; and spewing more outrageous lies and disinformation.

Meanwhile, at Kaiser Oakland Medical Center, workers report that SEIU-UHW Field Rep Vicki Jackson is literally begging workers for their votes -- just like Fola Afariogun did in recent days. Earlier this week, Vicki Jackson reportedly visited the hospital’s housekeeping department and began crying in front of workers in an effort to win sympathy votes. 

Here’s a report from one worker:

SEIU rep at oakland was crying and telling EVS workers she will miss them. But where was she when all the EVS workers were laid off 2 yrs ago? I bet they were crying too! And there are still many per diem EVS workers working full schedules for years who are not given the benefits they are legally entitled to!

Another worker wrote:

Where were you all when we needed you. we have a Seiu rep at Oakland Kaiser. not seen him for couple years. guess what. now, day and night, he's all over the Hospital. shame on you all.

Another worker said:

I'm sooo disgusted by SEIU I have no sympathy for whatever happens to the reps...sorry just being honest

So why are Jackson and Afariogun really crying? 

Because they know that they will never find such a cushy, six-figure, no-work job ever again! Last year, Jackson pocketed $103,447 from SEIU-UHW, according to the union’s Form LM-2! (Click image to enlarge it.)

Meanwhile... in Southern California, purple organizers are pushing the same “vote-for-me-cuz-I’m-pathetic” strategy.

At Kaiser Downey Medical Center’s Orchard Clinic, an SEIU-UHW shop steward reportedly ordered a mandatory meeting in the EVS Department so that SEIU-UHW's organizers could plead for workers’ votes. Apparently, the organizers told workers:  

SEIU is losing right now, and if we lose, then all the union staff will get fired.

Cry me some tears!  

So are workers buying what SEIU’s selling? 

The Purple Beast

Doesn’t sound like it. After all, these purple MoFos have been riding the six-figure gravy train for years while SEIU-UHW let Kaiser lay off 1,000 workers, cut workers' benefits and pensions, boost workloads, fire people at will, increase union dues… and even stick workers with a f*cking Partnership Tax!

Observers say SEIU's actions are signs of desperation. As one worker put it: “SEIU is like a wounded beast.”

So... will workers succeed in vanquishing the Purple Beast? 

It all depends on whether they get their ballots in the mail (ballots will not be counted unless the worker signs the back of the return envelope). And ballots must be in the hands of the NLRB by April 29 -- just twelve days away!

SEIU Reports $42 Million in Red Ink to U.S. Department of Labor

SEIU is facing serious financial problems, according to an annual report it just submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor.

First, SEIU reports that it lost 45,000 members last year -- apparently one of the biggest losses of any union in the country. SEIU is expected to report additional membership losses in 2013, which could reduce its membership by an additional 100,000 workers.  

What about SEIU-UHW? Its membership has dropped by more than 3,000 since 2008.

Secondly, SEIU reports it’s bleeding money like a pig in a wood chipper. How much red ink? Last year, SEIU lost $41.9 million.  

And that’s not all. SEIU has slashed the amount of money it's spending on “representation” by $12.6 million -- a 15 percent cut.

But don’t worry. Even though workers are getting less representation, SEIU’s staffers are pocketing massive pay increases.   

At SEIU-UHW, Stan Lyles saw his paycheck increase from $105,758 in 2011 to $145,600 in 2012 -- a 37% pay increase! Meanwhile, Steve Trossman -- who’s linked to the Tyrone Freeman corruption scandal -- got a $10,000 pay increase that boosted his 2012 annual pay to $166,098.

And here’s a story that speaks volumes about the priorities of SEIU’s staffers. Workers at Kaiser Oakland Medical Center report that SEIU-UHW organizer Fola Afariogun is begging Kaiser workers to vote for SEIU-UHW so he won’t lose his cushy job. Like other SEIU staffers, Afariogun is apparently super nervous about the giant election.

How much does Fola earn? During the past two years, SEIU-UHW paid him more than $205,000, according to records from the Department of Labor.

Last week, Fola even paraded his teenage son through the hospital and told workers that if SEIU-UHW loses the election, he’ll have a hard time sending his son to college. Pathetic, right?

So what is Fola doing with the $200,000 he pocketed during the past two years? Well, here’s a hint. Fola drives a Mercedes Benz to work every day! And he’s regularly spotted in Brooks Brothers buying all the fancy clothes and hip caps that he wears to work every day.

Looks like SEIU has more than a financial deficit! 

Here’s an excerpt from the DOL report that details SEIU’s $41.9 million in red ink. (Click on image to enlarge.)

SEIU's Dave Regan Inks Deal to Subcontract SEIU-UHW Members' Jobs

Tasty hears that the workers at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, CA have become the latest victims of Dave Regan’s concessionary caravan. Soon, 10 percent of SEIU-UHW's members at the hospital will lose their jobs as the result of a subcontracting deal penned by Regan.

Here’s what’s happening.

The hospital -- which is owned by Sutter Health, the largest hospital company in Northern California -- pocketed more than $200 million in profits over the past two years.

Last Friday, SEIU-UHW and Sutter reached a tentative deal for a new labor contract covering the hospital’s 1,100 workers. The deal was reached after Regan “fast-tracked” the negotiations even though workers’ current labor contract doesn’t expire until December 31.

What’s in the tentative contract? Regan’s biggest concession is a deal to eliminate the jobs of nearly 100 SEIU-UHW members by allowing Sutter to subcontract their work to Utah. The soon-to-be-jobless union members are currently employed in the hospital’s business office.

Workers say it’s a massive concession. Why? Because workers’ current union contract strictly prohibits the hospital from subcontracting their jobs. Section 12 of the contract reads:

No further bargaining unit work will be subcontracted, except by the parties' mutual agreement.

Crystal clear, right? In fact, NUHW’s leaders were the ones who negotiated this language in the years before SEIU’s trustreeship. Workers say that over the years, Sutter tried to subcontract workers’ jobs but was unsuccessful because workers’ old union actually enforced the agreement.

Sutter's Pat Fry and SEIU's Dave Regan

Not anymore. Last month, Regan attended the first bargaining session with Sutter executives and signaled his willingness to roll over for the Boss by stating: “We can work with employers like Sutter Health.” Observers speculate that Regan has a special relationship with Sutter’s CEO Pat Fry, who plays a top role at the California Hospital Association.

What did Regan get for his massive concession? Annual pay increases of just 2% for the still-employed workers, an even bigger “wellness” program, and additional cuts to workers’ health insurance.

Yesterday, Regan and Co. reportedly began conducting membership votes to ratify the tentative agreement. Tasty hears that SEIU is experiencing serious opposition from workers, so Regan dispatched dozens of staffers to the hospital including Vicki Jackson, Fola Afariogun, Julie Kwiek, Vu Nguyen, Gabrielle Zwain and Leon Chow. Chow -- who suddenly has lots of free time on his hands -- apparently has been tasked with applying his special skills in voting fraud.

According to workers, as many as 15-18 SEIU staffers are stationed inside a single conference room where workers are supposed to cast their votes. Workers are already reporting a variety of SEIU’s ballot-rigging tricks, including missing ballot boxes, intimidation, and workers denied the right to vote.

Stay tuned for more reports.

Next Stop for SEIU-UHW's Concessionary Caravan?

Sutter Health CEO Pat Fry & Dave Regan

Tasty hears that Dave Regan’s concessionary caravan is making its next stop at Sutter Health, the largest hospital chain in Northern California. 

And guess what? An SEIU-UHW staffer -- who’s now working as one of Sutter’s “Human Resources Partners” -- is actually helping to implement the company’s cuts.

Here’s what’s happening.

Soon, union contracts covering thousands of SEIU-UHW members will be expiring at nearly a dozen of Sutter’s hospitals. In recent months, Sutter’s executives have drooled in sheer delight as Dave Regan gave away hundreds of millions of dollars of concessions to Catholic Healthcare West/Dignity Health, the Daughters of Charity Health System, Kaiser Permanente and other companies. Regan's concessions include wage freezes, health insurance cuts, elimination of pension plans, and cuts to workers’ retiree health benefits.

Now... Regan plans to give up the same concessions to Sutter Health even though the company has pocketed $1.6 billion in profits during the past two years, according to the company’s audited financial statements.

At one of Sutter’s largest hospitals -- Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland and Berkeley -- the CEO recently announced plans to “restructure” the hospital’s operations by slashing workers’ wages and benefits, and axing 10 percent of the hospital’s staff. Here’s what CEO Chuck Prosper said in a June 26th letter to 1,100 SEIU-UHW members at the hospital:

We must ask our labor partners to recognize this situation and cooperate with us as we ask for significant, but realistic, changes in our wage and benefit structure... After taking a hard look at the future, the administrative team has concluded we must restructure and reduce our staffing by approximately 10 percent... This reduction will affect employees and departments throughout our organization.

And in another letter, Sutter executives told workers that their former SEIU-UHW Field Representative -- Dominic Mitchell -- will be one of the company's “Human Resources Partners” who will implement the cuts and layoffs. Here’s the letter:

 Letter from Sutter Health's Alta Bates Summit Medical Center to SEIU-UHW Members regarding Layoffs facilita...

So is Alta Bates Summit Medical Center losing money? 

Not by a long shot. In fact, the hospital made more than $200 million in profits during the past two years, according to reports filed by the company.

So what's going on?

Sources tell Tasty that Dave Regan has become best buddies with Patrick Fry, the CEO of Sutter Health. Fry happens to sit on the Board of Directors of the California Hospital Association, which recently signed a secret “partnership” deal with Regan.

Last week, when Sutter delivered layoff letters to workers, SEIU-UHW didn’t even mount a protest against the job cuts… and instead held a barbeque for employees!  Incredible. SEIU literally threw bones to workers while their fat-cat employer announced the destruction of their livelihoods.

And to add insult to injury, Regan sent an SEIU-UHW Field Representative named Fola Afariogun to try to sweet-talk the angry and soon-to-be-jobless workers. Afariogun, who last year took home $109,091 in pay from SEIU-UHW's members, displayed Regan’s keen sensitivity towards "the 99%" by driving up to the “layoff BBQ” in his shiny Mercedes sports coup. Here’s Afariogun’s pay from 2011 (click on the image to enlarge it):

Source: U.S. Dep't of Labor Form LM-2 for SEIU-UHW, 2011

Finally, sources report that Regan’s backroom deal with Sutter has left the California Nurses Association in a difficult spot. Sutter is trying to force SEIU’s concessions down the throats of the hospitals' Registered Nurses, which has caused the nurses to respond with strikes. Regan, however, has worked hand-in-hand with Sutter to oppose the strikes, even instructing SEIU-UHW’s members to scab against their fellow nurses. Sound familiar, Kaiser workers?

 Stay tuned for more reports from Sutter's hospitals.