Judge Dumps SEIU-UHW’s Dirty Trick in Kaiser Election

As Tasty predicted, SEIU-UHW is employing more dirty tricks in the election at Kaiser Permanente. Today, one of SEIU's tricks was unceremoniously tossed onto the garbage by a judge in Northern California. 

Here’s what happened.

At Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center, SEIU-UHW apparently realized it was rapidly losing workers’ support. So SEIU hatched a scheme to try to lock out NUHW’s and CNA’s organizers from the hospital during the entire voting period.

How?

It’s a trick that many workers have seen before. An SEIU-UHW person instigates an aggressive confrontation with you… and then suddenly starts screaming, “Assault! Assault! Did you see that? S/he touched me… Assault, assault!”

It’s ridiculous and pathetic, but hey… it’s SEIU.

In this particular case, Linda Hunter -- an apparently well-known bully at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center -- was the purple fabricator. Hunter is an SEIU-UHW shop steward and a member of SEIU-UHW’s Executive Board. And she’s reportedly super skilled at cutting secret deals with Kaiser’s managers -- like she did when she was recently SEIU-UHW’s Contract Specialist.   

Just before the ballots were mailed out, Hunter went up to a CNA organizer, ripped leaflets out of his hand, tore them up… and then claimed she’d been “assaulted!”

Hunter quickly filed complaints with Kaiser’s H.R. and the police, and even requested a temporary restraining order at the local courthouse. She then asked her partners in Kaiser’s H.R. Department to stop the CNA organizer from stepping foot inside the hospital during the voting period.

Kaiser’s H.R. Department tried to do its best to help Hunter. But there was one fatal flaw to SEIU’s plot -- Hunter’s claims were totally and completely fabricated. The police, the court and even Kaiser’s H.R. dismissed all of her bullsh*t claims.

This morning, a judge hurled Hunter’s bogus request for a restraining order into the judicial garbage can. Sources say Hunter scurried from the courthouse with her tail between her legs.

Hunter could now face trouble for perjuring herself and abusing the court’s limited resources, say sources. And... if she ever actually needs the court to do something for her, she’s gonna have a hard time getting a judge to believe her. All of Hunter’s perjured claims are now part of the public record.

Tasty wonders which of the geniuses over at SEIU-UHW instructed Hunter to put a match to her reputation. It could have been Carolyn Conter, an organizer who’s also part of the $100,000-a-year club at SEIU-UHW. Conter has been camped out at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center for months, say sources.

Or it might’ve been Octavio Velarde, who was recently spotted slithering around on the floor inside the hospital. Here’s a pic. (That's Octavio hiding between the couch and the planter.)

What about SEIU-UHW’s ex-cop Elvis fraudster?  Unlikely, say Tasty’s sources. Apparently, Dave Regan has transferred him to a new assignment... perhaps he's now responsible for revamping SEIU’s Department of Fraud and Dirty Tricks!  

Reader: "The Little Sycophant Must Have Been Desperate"

Here are some comments from readers about two of Tasty’s recent posts.

A worker at Dignity Health’s Methodist Hospital in Sacramento, California comments about the news that Dignity Health pocketed $377 million in profits at the exact same time that SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan let the company freeze 14,000 workers’ wages, slash their benefits, and lay off hundreds of SEIU-UHW members: 

We are seeing the fruits of Regan's generosity to his California Hospital Association partners. At Methodist we have layoffs, department restructuring to eliminate part-time benefited positions, classifications being eliminated outright, workload re-assignments without added FTE's, etc. Management is moving full steam ahead in implementing what they want, when they want, and how they want, with no regard for our CBA. Now, we can clearly see why.

Another Dignity worker writes this about his hospital:

Nutrition department is next for restructuring and rebidding.

And a third Dignity worker says this about SEIU-UHW’s Hal Ruddick:

Hal selling out the members... What's new about this????

And here are some comments about Tasty’s post on Octavio “Hall Monitor” Velarde. It appears that Velarde is one of those people who’ll sell just about anything for some cold, hard cash. Velarde worked at SEIU-UHW before the trusteeship and quit after Dave Regan and his DC pals imposed martial law on the union and fired thousands of the union’s democratically elected shop stewards. Velarde then ended up working for AFSCME Local 3299, which represents workers at the University of California’s hospitals… until he was fired… and then took a job with Dave Regan and the trustees! 

Here's what two of his former co-workers at AFSCME Local 3299 have to say:

You should have heard him trashing $EIU when he was at AFSCME. The little sycophant must be desperate.

What a joke. Looks like Octavio can’t find a job. I worked with him at AFSCME. He constantly talked sh*t about SEIU and the trustees and how f*cked up they are. And now he’s working for them? Like I said, what a joke.

Octavio Velarde Shines as SEIU's 'Hallway Monitor' at Kaiser Hospital

Octavio Velarde

Workers report that Octavio Velarde, who was recently fired by AFSCME Local 3299, has been hired by Dave Regan and is busily performing his new role as SEIU-UHW’s official “hall monitor” at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center.

Workers have sighted Velarde as he eagerly patrols the hospital’s hallways and pals around with Kaiser’s security guards. Recently, several workers walked to a nearby department so they could eat lunch with some co-workers. As they walked down a hallway, they noticed Octavio The Hallway Monitor following closely behind them while speaking in hushed tones to his iPhone -- presumably to Dave Regan or Kaiser’s security guards.

SpongeBob was a Hallway Monitor

Velarde is the latest in a long line of purple hall monitors, including Scott Silber and “Caleb the Creepy Bathroom Monitor” (aka, Caleb Jennings).  

Sources at AFSCME say they’re not surprised by Velarde’s new job. Before his firing, Velarde was widely disliked for obsessively monitoring staffers inside Local 3299’s office in Los Angeles.

They say this definition of “hall monitor” fits Velarde to a “t”:

Someone who polices the halls and rats on fellow peers for petty power, self esteem and approval from elders. Self appointed judges of anything.

Check out this recent photo of Velarde inside Kaiser Walnut Creek as he displays the tools of his trade and contemplates the heavy responsibilities of his new position. The apple? That's what Velarde hands to the Bosses to suck up to them. The tape? That's apparently associated with his spying against workers.

Octavio Velarde, SEIU Hallway Monitor at Kaiser Walnut Creek Medical Center