Sources: Dave Regan Injured a California Lawmaker during Barroom Fight

SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan sent a California legislator to the hospital after knocking him down during Regan’s allegedly drunken attack on an unidentified patron of Sacramento restaurant and bar, according to sources.

SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan

The legislator, Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-West Los Angeles), is considering taking legal action against Regan, say sources. He was at the restaurant to attend an event organized by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus when he was inadvertently injured by Regan.

Here’s what happened, say Tasty’s sources:

Earlier this month, Regan attended an event sponsored by “California Forward” at Lucca Restaurant and Bar, just two blocks from the state capitol.

Regan serves on the board of “California Forward,” which describes itself as a “bipartisan leadership council” that articulates “a vision for governance reforms to break the partisan gridlock and fortify fiscal management.” Other board members include Duf Sundheim (the former Chairman of the California Republican Party) and Wade Rose (Vice President of Government Relations at Dignity Health).

During the event, Regan reportedly got drunk and began arguing with an unknown patron. (Apparently, this was Dave’s method of ‘bridging the partisan divide.’) While attempting to punch the patron, Regan instead knocked Assemblymember Bloom to the floor, who was injured and reportedly transported to a local hospital.

Assemblymember Bloom happened to be at the restaurant attending a separate event sponsored by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He’s one of 16 legislators who comprise the caucus.

According to Tasty’s sources, California’s capital is now abuzz with reports about Regan’s reportedly drunken attack at Lucca and the injuries sustained by Bloom. 

As readers know, Regan is shadowed by a long trail of allegations, arrests, restraining orders and lawsuits related to physical assault, threats and violence.

In the most recent incident known to Tasty, in 2016 Regan allegedly attacked a process server attempting to deliver legal documents from the California Hospital Association to Regan’s home in Kensington, Calif. The process server later documented Regan’s assault in court records and in photographs of his injuries. He wrote a description of the assault submitted to the court, which reads in part:

"Mr. Regan kept hitting me in the head with his fist… I thought I was going to die."

During a police investigation, Regan attempted to intimidate an investigating police officer, according to CBS News. The incident resulted in a criminal complaint against Regan that was referred to the District Attorney. Ragin’ Dave Regan was also subject to a court-ordered restraining order.

In 2008, Regan led busloads of SEIU staffers and supporters in an attack against a national conference held by "Labor Notes," a network of union activists seeking to democratize and reform US labor unions.

Regan's 2008 assaults on Labor Notes Conference

Regan's troops violently forced their way into the conference in Dearborn, Michigan, where they reportedly punched, kicked and knocked participants to the floor. One female conference attendee was sent to the hospital with injuries to her head and one of the members of Regan's union at the time, SEIU 1199 West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, died during Regan's assault from a heart attack.

John Sweeney (then President of the AFL-CIO) denounced Regan's attack on the conference, stating: "There is no justification -- none -- for the violent attack orchestrated by SEIU," according to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

In 2011, Regan was sued for allegedly violating two civil rights laws by carrying out a plan of assault, battery, intimidation, threat and coercion in an effort to silence SEIU-UHW’s critics. Later, Regan reportedly settled the lawsuit out of court.

During a 2009 election among homecare workers in Fresno County, SEIU staffers reportedly threatened immigrant home care workers with deportation unless they voted for SEIU-UHW, according to TV news coverage and video-taped testimonials of workers and SEIU staff.

During NLRB elections at Kaiser Permanente in 2010, SEIU-UHW employed a "World War III" strategy designed to intimidate its members by employing, for example, violent "shout downs" and intimidation tactics against union members.

In one infamous incident inside a hospital cafeteria, SEIU-UHW staffer Tiffany Ford issued death threats against Kaiser employees… for which a Los Angeles Superior Court judge imposed a restraining order against her.

Another SEIU-UHW staffer, Liz Castillo, became a YouTube sensation (90,000 views) for her violent assault in a hospital cafeteria captured on videotape.

SEIU-UHW -- including staffer Angela Hewett -- even threatened and intimidated 80-year-old labor legend Dolores Huerta, who co-founded of the United Farm Workers Union with Cesar Chavez. In one incident, SEIU-UHW representatives shamefully screamed at Ms. Huerta to "go back to the fields."

In 1995, Regan was arrested by police in Ohio for disorderly conduct, according to CBS News.

Regan, in addition to serving as the President of SEIU-UHW, is also a Vice President of SEIU and serves on its DC-based International Executive Board headed by SEIU President Mary Kay Henry.

Here's the 2016 CBS news clip reporting on Regan's assault on a process server at his home.

Workers Battle SEIU over Chicago Trusteeship

May Kay Henry and Eliseo Medina

Members of SEIU Local 73 in Chicago are making headway in ending SEIU’s nearly two-year-long trusteeship of their local union, according to inside sources and federal court documents.

In fact, one source says SEIU may be forced to hold internal officer elections sometime during the summer or fall. They say SEIU officials have already picked out an SEIU staffer to serve as their candidate for president of the local.

Here’s the latest:

On February 7, 2018, several members of Local 73 filed another lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to end SEIU’s trusteeship and to order SEIU to hold democratic elections so union members can choose a board and officers to run their local union. The lawsuit – which names SEIU, Mary Kay Henry and Eliseo Medina as defendants -- is based on a federal law that says a trusteeship “shall be presumed invalid...” after 18 months. (See below for a copy of the lawsuit: Hunter et al v. Service Employees International Union et al.)

Even though the trusteeship is now more than 20 months old, SEIU hasn’t taken any steps to end it. In fact, says the lawsuit, SEIU officials have tried to suppress members’ efforts to restore local control. Here’s an excerpt from the lawsuit:

At the last general membership meeting on September 23, 2017, a nomination from a member on the floor was made to commence elections, it was properly seconded by another member, yet then Trustee Denise Poloyac unilaterally rejected the Motion and declared, contrary to previous representations, that the meeting was not a “general membership meeting.”

…The Plaintiffs and the general membership of the Local 73 will suffer harm if the current Trusteeship is not discontinued because it would deprive the general membership of the officers and executive board members of their choosing, from inside their membership, rather than the leadership and direction improperly imposed upon them from the International Union when the same is invalid as a matter of law.

Next, things got worse.

According to the lawsuit, union members created a slate of candidates called “Members Leading Members,” established a website, and collected signatures from more than 2,000 members in support of the slate.

Just four days after the website went live on January 4, 2018, “seven of the officer candidates listed on the slate posted on the “Members for Members” website were unilaterally suspended, without notice and without due process or hearing,” according to the lawsuit. Two days later, all seven of the candidates were fired by the SEIU trustees. (These candidates were members of SEIU Local 73’s staff.)

Yesterday, a federal judge held a preliminary hearing on the latest lawsuit during which she rejected a motion by SEIU’s attorneys and “encouraged [SEIU and the members who are suing it] to negotiate conditions for reasonably prompt resumption of local control, and free and fair elections.” Another hearing will happen in three weeks.

So which SEIU International staffer has been fingered to run as SEIU International’s candidate for president of Local 73?

According to Tasty’s sources, it’s Jeffrey Howard. 

SEIU assigned Howard, an “Assistant Area Director” for SEIU International, to work at Local 73 just four months ago. Under SEIU's rules, a person must be a member in good standing of the local union for at least two years in order to qualify as a candidate for office. So how can Jeff Howard actually run to become president of Local 73?

“Jeff was asked about the fact that he has only been a member of Local 73 for four months,” says a source, “and his reply was Mary Kay [Henry] has waived the two-year membership requirement!”

For more information about SEIU’s trusteeship and a look back at Dave Regan’s violent attack on a nationwide meeting of union reformers some nine years ago (during which one SEIU member died), check out an article by labor journalist Steve Early:  “Purple bullying, ten years later: SEIU trustees trample membership rights,” Monthly Review, April 1, 2018.

   Hunter el al v. SEIU: Lawsuit on SEIU Local 73 Trusteeship (02-07-2018) by tastysternburger on Scribd

"Mr. Regan kept hitting me in the head with his fist… I thought I was going to die," says Process Server

A chest bruise caused by Regan, according to restraining order

A source has provided Tasty with court filings that offer a stunning first-hand account of the attack by SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan on a process server who attempted to deliver legal documents from the California Hospital Association to Regan's home in Kensington, Calif.

The victim's one-page account is contained in a restraining order against Regan issued by Contra Costa County Superior Court on February 29, 2016. 

According to the victim's written description as well as photos of his bruised body, Regan's assault on the evening of February 1, 2016 was highly aggressive and brutal.

The victim's account is contained in Attachment 7a(3)of the Restraining Order. A full copy is below.

Note: Tasty has whited out the victim's first name, address, and contact information in order to protect his privacy. Tasty also whited out a portion of Regan's street address and license plate number for the same reasons. 

Here's the victim's description of what happened on the evening of February 1st at Regan's home:

On February 01, 2016 at approximately 4:00pm, I ______ Adams, Private Investigator for AMO Investigations began stationary surveillance at ___ Beloit Avenue, Kensington, Ca 94708. The reason for this surveillance was to serve legal papers to David Regan, the resident of the above listed address. Upon my arrival there was a green SUV with California license plate 6HIT___ parked in the driveway closest to the entry of the residence.

At approximately 6:32pm I saw a silver SUV drive into the driveway of ___ Beloit Ave. and park to the right of the green SUV. I exited my vehicle and approached the driveway. I started to approach the residence on the driver's side of the green SUV; however I saw a subject exit the driver's side of the silver SUV that matched the photograph that I had of David Regan and begin to walk to the rear of his SUV. I redirected my approach and met Mr. Regan at the rear of his SUV. I identifed myself and told him I was there to serve him some paperwork. Mr. Regan asked me what the paperwork was, I told him I didn't know. Mr. Regan told me he did not want the paperwork and walked away. Mr. Regan walked towards the passenger side of his SUV. I told Mr. Regan I would place the paper work on his car. I placed the paper work on the hood of Mr. Regans SUV and took video of the paper work on his SUV. I turned the video off and as I did I was pushed extremely hard from the left knocking me to the ground in front of the green SUV that was parked in the driveway. While I was on the ground I kept trying to get up; however Mr. Regan kept pushing me to the ground and hitting me in the head with his fist. I told Mr. Regan to stop, that I was leaving; however he continued to hit me and push me to the ground everytime I tried to get up. Fearing for my safety, I told Mr. Regan I was calling 911 with my cell phone. As I attempted to call 911 Mr. Regan kicked me on the right side of my chest knocking the wind out of me and causing an extreme amount of pain and making it very difficult to breath. As Mr. Regan continued to kick me in the chest I was able to use my right arm to block an additional kick. Mr. Regan kick me in the right arm with an extreme amount of force that made it very hard to use my right hand or arm. I though that he had broken my arm. I agin told Mr. Regan to stop and tried to call 911. I had my phone in my left hand trying to call 911 and Mr. Regan continued to kick me as he attempted to take my phone away from me. I was certain that if Mr. Regan was able to get my cell phone away from me he would have beaten me unconscious. At one point Mr. Regan was able to get his hand on my cell phone and attempt to pry it out of my hand. I rolled over, breaking his grip and placing my left hand under my body to prevent him from taking my cell phone.

At this point Mr. Regan left and I was able to get up and get to my vehicle where I called 911. The extreme amount of violence and force Mr. Regan used against me was so sever that I continue to have pain and nightmares. I've had to start counseling and I am not able to continue my job where I'm able to serve legal paper work. I thought I was going to die that

(Note: It appears that the statement's final words were inadvertently missed when the records were photocopied.)

Regan’s attack has already made headline CBS news in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to police officials, the District Attorney is currently reviewing the incident to determine whether it will file criminal charges against Regan.

What's next?

 

SEIU's Dave Regan

If even half of the details of the assault are true, it's hard to imagine how Regan can remain in office as a national Vice President of SEIU as well as the President of SEIU-UHW, a union of hospital workers.

Regan already has a record of spearheading a violent 2008 assault against union reformers at a national Labor Notes conference, which ended in the death of one SEIU member and injuries sustained by conference participants. He's also a defendant in an ongoing civil suit alleging his use of threats and violence against his union's own members and his critics. 

Will SEIU President Mary Kay Henry really tolerate such violence by one of its leaders... especially against a legal delivery person who could just as easily be a member of SEIU?

  SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan's Assault as Described by Process Server: 02-01-2016

Breaking: SEIU's Dave Regan Makes CBS Headline News for Assaulting Hospital Association's Process Server and Intimidating Cop

CBS Channel 5 News Footage

Last night, CBS News kicked off its evening newscast in San Francisco with the following lead story: "Union Vice President Accused of Assaulting Process Server Outside Kensington Home, Intimidating Cop."

This morning, Politico picked up the story in its "Morning Shift" publication with a piece entitled: "SEIU VP Accused of Assault."

Regan, who is the President of SEIU-UHW, also serves as a Vice President of SEIU International, based in Washington DC. In recent weeks, he reportedly broke the arm of a process server who was attempting to deliver court documents, authored by the California Hospital Association, to Regan's home in Kensington, Calif.

Here's a print version of the CBS New story:

Union Vice President Accused of Assaulting Process Server Outside Kensington Home, Intimidating Cop

February 16, 2016 5:30 PM

By Emily Turner

KENSINGTON (CBS SF) — The vice president of a union representing two million members has been accused of assaulting a process server at his Kensington home, and intimidating a police officer investigating the incident.

Dave Regan is accused of pushing a process server down the steps of his Kensington home, refusing to be served legal documents in a dispute with the California Hospital Association.

Police say the server was injured and had to have medical treatment.

When police got to Regan’s home, they say he was aggressive and tried to intimidate the officer.

Kensington police Chief Kevin Hart says the case is now headed to the District Attorney’s office.

“There may be video that we are trying to obtain to get a better idea before we turn that all over to the DA,” Kensington Police Chief Kevin Hart said.

Regan is a union heavyweight.

He is president of the SEIU’s-United Healthcare Workers West, which represents more than 150,000 workers in California, and he’s a vice president of the larger SEIU, which has two million members.

 He is known in union circles for his sometimes combative behavior, with one union blog going so far to call him an SEIU thug.

 In 2008, Regan was at a now notorious labor meeting in Michigan that erupted into violence. In 1995, police in Ohio arrested him for disorderly conduct.

Tasty doesn't yet have video footage of the TV story, but will post it as soon as he does. 

SEIU's assault on Labor Notes

It reportedly includes an interview with the Chief of the Kensington Police Department, a statement from Regan's attorney, discussion of Regan's 2008 violent assault on the Labor Notes Conference, and Regan's 1995 arrest in Ohio for "disorderly conduct."

Intriguingly, the police are now looking for video footage of Regan's alleged assault in Kensington. Tasty's hunch is that Regan’s neighbors have security cameras on their homes, which may have recorded the incident. Kensington is a high-priced residential enclave with a median home price of $1.1 million.

The emerging details of Regan's "Kensington assault" put into sharper focus his history of intimidation, bullying and violence… as well as top SEIU officials' support of Regan's "old school ways."

This history is well-known to insiders, and is even spelled out in a lawsuit that alleges that Regan and other top SEIU officials -- including President Mary Kay Henry and President Emeritus Andy Stern -- violated two California civil rights statutes by carrying out a plan of assault, battery, intimidation, threats and coercion in an effort to silence SEIU's critics.

The suit, filed in 2011, is now heading towards a trial date in San Francisco Superior Court.

It was filed by multiple rank-and-file members of SEIU-UHW, two of whom faced death threats after voicing criticism of Regan and SEIU. Other plaintiffs include elected leaders of NUHW, including Sal Rosselli, who were ousted from SEIU in 2009 after criticizing SEIU leaders' backroom deals with employers and SEIU's undemocratic internal practices.

The lawsuit includes gritty details of the retaliation faced by SEIU's critics, including 25 paragraphs alleging "specific acts of assault, battery, intimidation, threat and coercion directed at plaintiffs and other NUHW supporters by persons purportedly affiliated with the SEIU."

More to follow.

Breaking: SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan Reportedly Arrested after Breaking the Arm of Hospital Association's Process Server

SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan

Sources report that SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan was arrested after breaking the arm of a process server who served legal documents, authored by the California Hospital Association (CHA), on Regan at his home in Kensington, California.

According to a reliable source, the Kensington Police Department will soon forward Regan's arrest records to the District Attorney for possible criminal prosecution.

Four sources have corroborated the incident. Here's what they say.

The process server reportedly attempted to serve the legal documents when Regan answered his front door on Beloit Avenue.

Regan, rather than accept the documents, violently pushed the process server down the stairs, breaking his arm. When the police arrived at the scene, say sources, Regan got into an altercation with the police and was arrested.

According to court records, the CHA recently served a variety of legal motions on SEIU-UHW officials in response to Regan’s November 2015 lawsuit against the CHA.

On January 25, for example, a CHA process server delivered legal motions to SEIU-UHW's attorney, Eduardo Roy of Prometheus Partners, at the firm's a law firm in San Francisco. Those documents sought the court's permission for the CHA to formally intervene in Regan's lawsuit.

On January 26, the CHA filed its own lawsuit against SEIU-UHW alleging that Regan violated a gag clause contained in his secret partnership deal with CHA officials.

For those familiar with Dave Regan’s history, the reports of his arm-breaking assault will not be surprising. Regan reportedly has a history of violent encounters, including fistfights at SEIU events, some of which were reportedly fueled by alcohol.

In 2008, Regan led busloads of SEIU staffers and supporters in an attack against a national conference held by "Labor Notes," a network of union activists seeking to democratize and reform US labor unions. Regan's troops violently forced their way into the conference in Dearborn, Michigan, where they reportedly punched, kicked and knocked participants to the floor.

Regan's troops assaulting the Labor Notes conference: 2008

One female conference attendee was sent to the hospital with cuts and other injuries to her head.

Tragically, one of the members of Regan's union at the time, SEIU 1199 West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, died during Regan's assault from a heart attack.

John Sweeney (then President of the AFL-CIO) denounced Regan's attack on the conference, stating: "There is no justification -- none -- for the violent attack orchestrated by SEIU," according to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

When Regan parachuted into California in 2009, sources say he schooled SEIU-UHW's staff in his "old school ways," including the use of threats and intimidation against the union's members and its critics.

During a 2009 election among homecare workers in Fresno County, SEIU staffers reportedly threatened immigrant home care workers with deportation unless they voted for SEIU-UHW, according to TV news coverage and video-taped testimonials of workers and SEIU staff.

During NLRB elections at Kaiser Permanente, SEIU-UHW employed a "World War III" strategy designed to intimidate its members by employing, for example, violent "shout downs" against union members.

In one infamous incident inside a hospital cafeteria, SEIU-UHW staffer Tiffany Ford issued death threats against Kaiser employees… for which a Los Angeles Superior Court judge imposed a restraining order on her.

Another SEIU-UHW staffer, Liz Castillo, became a YouTube sensation (88,000 views) for her violent assault in a hospital cafeteria captured on videotape.

SEIU-UHW -- including staffer Angela Hewett -- even threatened and intimidated 80-year-old labor legend Dolores Huerta, who co-founded of the United Farm Workers Union with Cesar Chavez. In one incident, SEIU-UHW representatives shamefully screamed at Ms. Huerta to "go back to the fields."

All of which raises important questions:

Why did SEIU officials -- including Andy Stern and Mary Kay Henry -- install a man with a history of violence to head a union of healthcare workers in California?

And why have Henry and SEIU's International Executive Board allowed Regan to remain in his seat atop one of SEIU's largest local unions in the nation despite his repeated acts of intimidation and violence -- including his latest assault against a processor, who good just as easily be a union member?

Are SEIU presidents and officers permitted to break the arms of court workers without being held accountable?

Stay tuned.

Last Session of Kaiser's Partnership Bargaining Begins amidst Whispers of Cuts

Today, the partnership unions began their fourth and final bargaining session with Kaiser Permanente (June 3 to 5). 

On Friday June 5th, Kaiser and its partnering unions will announce a tentative agreement and will promptly begin issuing gobs of pre-prepared press releases, e-mails, website posts, videos, etc. detailed in a secret internal plan written last December by Kaiser's Office of Labor Management Partnership.

Then, ten days later (June 16-17), the partnership unions will complete their highly choreographed charade of bargaining by holding a "contract ratification conference" at the Sheraton Gateway LAX Hotel, where the rooms were reserved and paid for months ago.

Earlier this week, "Labor Notes" published the following article about the negotiations: "Will Kaiser's Labor Partnership Crack?"  The article's title may be a bit exaggerated, but the article accurately describes the basic situation:  Kaiser -- which has pocketed $15.5 billion in profits since 2009 -- is now seeking even more cuts from the partnership unions, and the partnership unions aren’t lifting a finger to fight their rich HMO boss.

SEIU-UHW -- the largest union in the partnership -- didn’t even conduct a bare-bones “contract campaign” among its membership.  An SEIU-UHW member who's quoted in the "Labor Notes" article says most union members don't even know that contract negotiations are taking place this year:

“If you were to walk into any Kaiser right now and say, ‘Are you guys bargaining?’” she says, “the majority would say ‘I don’t even know what you’re taking about’ or ‘I don’t know.’ That’s the truth.”

And SEIU-UHW's president, Dave Regan, and the partnership unions' Chief Negotiator, Hal Ruddick, apparently don't even believe in bargaining. Here's what Regan told members of the partnership unions' bargaining committee... and what Ruddick proudly re-tweeted:

Regan: "Negotiations are not a debate."

Meanwhile, several hints about Kaiser's proposed cuts are finally emerging from the tight-lipped partnership unions.

AFSCME’s United Nurses Associations of California (UNAC) -- which represents thousands of RNs in California -- recently posted an announcement on its website calling on nurses to attend a rally today in order "to protect our wages and benefits." (See below.) The website offers no details about the threatened cuts besides saying, “We need to create a sea of blue on June 3 and send a message to management that we are united to protect our wages, and active and retiree medical benefits!”

A day late and a dollar short.

UNAC’s rally appears to be a cynical ass-covering exercise orchestrated by union leaders. Later on, when workers complain about benefit cuts, the union leaders will say: “We asked you to attend a rally to fight the cuts. But not enough people showed up… so we had to accept them.”

Of course, history points us to the truth:  that the partnership union leaders secretly accepted the cuts months ago in backroom talks with Kaiser's execs, then deliberately kept workers in the dark until the 11th hour and 59th minute, and did absolutely nothing -- aside from a purple "walkathon," photo-ops with Contract Buddy, and yesterday’s lobbying fieldtrip for the California Hospital Association -- to engage workers in any sort of fight against their greedy, multi-billion-dollar boss. 

Dave Regan's Secret Deal Brings More Cuts to SEIU Workers in Ohio

What's in store for workers under Dave Regan's secret partnership deal with the California Hospital Association?

Well, workers in California might wanna chat with their Ohio counterparts who’ve been reaping the bitter fruits of Regan's earlier sellout "partnership" with Catholic Health Partners (CHP), a $6 billion hospital chain in Ohio.

In 2008, Regan inked an infamous back-room deal with CHP’s execs. At the time, Regan was president of SEIU 1199 Ohio. 

Under the deal, the company’s execs -- not the workers -- asked the NLRB to hold unionization elections for 8,000 workers. And get this: the Boss asked for only one union to be on the ballot: SEIU!

The backroom deal -- negotiated by SEIU’s Dave Regan, Scott Courtney and Mary Kay Henry -- ultimately led to SEIU's violent attack on a Labor Notes conference in 2008 that sent some conference-goers to the emergency room and left David Smith, an SEIU homecare worker, dead of a heart attack.

So why was CHP willing to ink a secret unionization deal with SEIU? Here's a clue.

In the first contract, SEIU negotiated ZERO improvements to workers’ wages, benefits and working conditions. A company official described it this way:

There are no separate standards giving Union employees more money or rights and privileges than non-union employees have in the workplace.

Then, in 2012, SEIU let the company eliminate workers’ seniority rights and their defined-benefit pension plan.

Fast-forward to 2014. 

Last week, The Morning Journal (Lorain, Ohio) reported that CHP is now demanding even more cuts from SEIU’s members at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain, OH, including:

• the elimination of step increases in the wage scale.
• the elimination of paid sick time.
• the elimination of overtime pay.
• cuts to workers' health insurance that would force them to pay $5,000 more in out-of-pocket expenses per year.

Damn.

So… is CHP going bankrupt? Hardly! Profits are up over last year -- $113 million in profits during the first six months of 2014, according to the financial statements on CHP’s website.

The moral of the story? 

You can trust Regan and his Purple Palace pals as far as you can throw them. They're happy to toss workers under the bus to keep their business buddies happy and the union dues flowing.

Former-SEIU-president-turned-hedge-fund-insider Andy Stern: “Don’t criticize my pals!”

Stern with Honeywell CEO David Cote

In case you're wondering what SEIU President Emeritus Andy Stern is up to these days, he’s super busy defending all his plutocratic pals at hedge funds and corporate penthouses -- like billionaire Ron Perelman, Honeywell CEO David Cote, and pension-slashing-venture-capitalist Gina Raimondo.

Here's the latest.

Stern, in yet another eloquent performance, recently told the Washington Post that he ain’t concerned at all that the United States now has the worst income inequality since 1928… and even trails countries like Poland, Hungary, South Korea and Estonia in terms of income distribution… as U.S. CEOs pocket billions while slashing workers’ pay, health insurance and pensions.

Check out this “Quote of the Month” featured in the latest edition of Labor Notes:

Quote of the Month: The Washington Post asked former-SEIU-president-turned-hedge-fund-insider Andy Stern his advice for the Democratic Party. Stern spoke out: "I think it's really not helpful for the Democrats to turn this into an attack on the 1 percent. I don't think it's the American spirit, or at least the Democratic Party's future spirit. As Republicans attack immigration, we attack rich people? If you've learned anything from the president, selling hope is better than selling hate."

News Coverage of Kaiser Election

Here's an article from Steve Early, a labor journalist who's written extensively about the labor struggles in California's healthcare industry. The following is an excerpt from the full article, published by Labor Notes.

“We were hopeful this time would be different than last time,” said Roberto Alvarez, a 17-year Kaiser X-ray technician from southern California. “In Orange County, we tripled the support for NUHW, so it was a great leap forward for us there. We know what the future is with SEIU, so what we have to do now is keep on fighting.”

That future, according to Alvarez and others interviewed yesterday, will include further deterioration of working conditions, weak enforcement of the “best contract in the country,” and, at some point, major SEIU give-backs on pensions, job security, and medical coverage for active employees. These takeaways have already been won by Kaiser competitors like Dignity Healthcare and Daughters of Charity Health System.

“My theory is that SEIU has promised Kaiser a lot of stuff, cuts that are coming down sooner or later, now that the election is out of the way,” Alvarez said.

“We’ve got to stay organized, support each other, and remain defiant,” said George Wong, who works for Kaiser in San Francisco. “There’s going to be another day, and the fight will continue—because it has to.”