Union Member: "The bloodletting has begun..." at SEIU Local 721

Just as SEIU President Mary Kay Henry tries to control the damage from John August’s sexual harassment scandal, more information is emerging about SEIU’s scandal on the West Coast.

In an email (see below), a member of SEIU Local 721 reports that three members of the union’s “senior staff” were fired after they “discontinued their monthly, personal contributions to Bob Schoonover’s Presidential re-election campaign.”

Schoonover, who’s seeking re-election to Local 721’s top post, reportedly requires each senior staffer to make monthly “voluntary” contributions to his personal campaign fund… or else!

Sources tell Tasty that Dave Regan used the same scheme to finance his campaign for the presidency of SEIU-UHW in 2011. In fact, Regan reportedly forced each senior staffer to “donate” $5,000 to his election fund. Furthermore, he instructed staff directors to ‘shake down’ the staffers whom they supervised for additional “voluntary” contributions.

A former staffer described what happens if you resist Regan’s “election tax.” A newly hired Field Rep in SEIU-UHW’s Nursing Home Division was fired by Myriam Escamilla (Director of SEIU-UHW’s Nursing Home Division) during the Field Rep's first week on the job after he expressed some reluctance at “donating” part of his paycheck to Diamond Dave’s election fund. This incident was confirmed by a second source.

Here’s the email describing what's happening at Local 721, which Tasty has excerpted because of its length. The email was authored by a member of Local 721.

To all,

The bloodletting has begun...

Rumor, but easily verifiable, is that higher level staff members (approximately 3, so far) of our Local 721 are being fired for having discontinued their monthly, personal contributions to Bob Schoonover's Presidential re-election campaign!  I want to give all a little more time to let the contents of this last sentence to sink in.

That's right!  Bob and company have, apparently, been filling his re-election campaign coffers by pressuring staff to contribute or you're out of here!  Remember, Bob's, currently, acting as the Executive Director of Local 721.  He can and most assuredly does tell Gilda Valdez, the Local 721 Chief of Staff, whose responsibility it is to hire and fire staff, what to do, how to do it and who is told YES and who is told NO! …

Because of the level of the source of the complaint, because of to whom the complaint was filed and because Mary Kay Henry will be unable to squash this complaint without much collateral damage, rest assured this Local is about to be blown up…

Buckle up!  Keep your eyes and ears open and don't be afraid to share information with the rest of us.  The ride is about to get real bumpy.

Still here,

Arturo      

Readers may have noticed that the member's email makes reference to the filing of a "complaint." What's going on? Apparently, the fired senior staffers have filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). 

The DOL is no stranger to illegal vote-rigging schemes carried by SEIU's top officials. In 2008, the federal agency cited Dave Regan -- who was then the president of SEIU District 1199 WV, KY, OH -- for illegally funneling thousands of dollars from his Ohio reelection fund to support Andy Stern's favored candidate in internal union elections in Nevada. See the DOL's letter below.

Regan funneled the money to support Jane McAlevey and her slate of Purple Palace candidates (called "Members United to Win"), who were competing with rank-and-file members over control of SEIU Local 1107 (now called "SEIU Nevada"). According to a former member of Local 1107, Regan's illegal funding "was used to unseat officers who were on McAlevey's enemy list in the local because we questioned her pushing the Andy Stern agenda."

The DOL's letter describes SEIU's multiple violations of federal labor law, including this one involving Regan: 

The Members United to Win slate of candidates used union funds to promote certain candidates in that $5,000 in donations came from a Solidarity Fund in the name of SEIU District 1199 WV, KY, OH, in violation of Section 401 (g).

Here's the full letter from the US Department of Labor:

U.S. Department of Labor's Findings on Vote-Rigging Scandal by SEIU 1107, District 1199 Ohio, Andy Stern, D...

Internal Email Shines Light on Inner Workings of SEIU Local 721

SEIU's Bob Schoonover and Gilda Valdez

A reader sent Tasty an email that offers a revealing view of the inner workings of SEIU Local 721, which is currently gripped by its latest scandal.  

Earlier this year, Steve Matthews -- who at the time was Local 721’s Executive Director -- sent the email (see below) to the union’s Executive Board in response to the union's investigation of his extra-marital affair with a union staffer. In the end, Matthews was removed from his job and replaced by Gilda Valdez, who’s now at the center of the current scandal.

In the email, Matthews lays out details of a questionable multi-million-dollar real-estate deal, back-door deals with bosses, and power-grabs by union officials... among other items.

Matthews also reveals details of other officials' romantic affairs, and asks 'What about all them?' For example, here’s what Matthews says about two affairs that Local 721’s president, Bob Schoonover, allegedly had with staffers:

Bob Schoonover had a personal relationship with Gabriela Estrada, Business Office, and approved $8,000.00 in overtime for her even though she is an exempt employee. Bob also reportedly had a personal relationship with JJ Straight, former internal organizing director.

In addition to serving as the president of Local 721, Schoonover is a member of SEIU's International Executive Board.

Matthews also discusses Rosanna Mendez (Deputy Chief of Staff), who’s involved in the current scandal, and mentions various officials from the Purple Palace, including Mary Kay Henry, Eliseo Medina, Tom Woodruff, Eilen Kirlin and Leslie Frane. And he discusses SEIU-UHW, where Dave Regan is renowned for his own romantic liaisons. Speaking of SEIU-UHW, Matthews writes: "Why would we let UHW supervise our members and be abused by them?" (Sounds like Dave, right?)

Here's the email, which is so lengthy that Tasty pared it down. Also, Tasty added a few clarifying terms in brackets.

Dear Executive Board Member:

I am writing to ask you to consider what is at stake at the Local. In the last two Executive Board Meetings, much has been said about me when I have not been in the room. I have been afforded only a few minutes to respond to untrue statements by senior staff after a lifetime commitment to union members and building powerful unions with strong contracts for members, especially former 660 and current 721 members.

Instead of internal disputes, Local 721 should be focusing on preparation for LA County Bargaining. We need to add resources and effort to win the difficult contract battles in Riverside County and Santa Barbara County. We need to improve representation for our members.

Worksite organizers should not have to call the MRC [“Member Resource Center” or SEIU’s call center] as they were in some cases doing to interpret the MOU's [“Memorandums of Understanding” or collective-bargaining agreements]. These worksite organizers should receive appropriate training on contract interpretation. We need to rebuild a collective bargaining department that had been dismantled by the former staff leadership. At this time when we need to focus on the needs of the membership, the Executive Board and Senior staff have instead been devoting much of their time and attention to internal disputes.

It is important for the Executive Board to understand my history at 660 and then 721, the recent history of the "leadership team" here at 721, and what is motivating these internal issues...

Becoming Executive Director:

Early in 2011,  I was approached by a number of Executive Board members after John Tanner's contract was not renewed and then again after Raahi Rheddi was terminated by Bob Schoonover. These Executive Board members asked me to become the Executive Director of SEIU 721. Initially, I said no. I was concerned with returning to a situation where Bob Schoonover was not in favor of my return to LA.; Board members nonetheless convinced me that they would work things out with Bob. In fact, the Board members and Bob met and, even though Bob apparently was not happy with my return, they somehow convinced Bob that this would be in the best interest of our membership. Shortly after this meeting, Bob and I met at Taylor's [Steakhouse] in LA and he agreed to my becoming Executive Director (ED).

I started as ED on May 23, 2011. Since then I have worked diligently to improve all areas of union work, including representation and bargaining.  I have given new focus to the needs of Cities members by the establishment of the Cities Accountability Program. I have worked to build unity between California SEIU Locals that represent County and City workers.

Bob and me as ED:

Unfortunately, Bob never fully accepted the will of the Board to place me as Executive Director. Bob knows that I share information with you on the business of the Local and he is not happy with this fact even though this is my responsibility.

A. One such issue has been the New LA Office for 721. Soon after becoming ED, Bob and I met and he expressed some concerns to me about the appraisal for the new building. I then asked a number of questions, including who were members of the Local’s Finance Committee. Bob responded "why do I want to know"? I said "because I am the Executive Director and it is my responsibility to know and help deal with this problem.” Right away Bob wanted me to sign off that this transaction was handled appropriately. It was not handled correctly as the facts below indicate.

Fact 1. The Realtor for this transaction represented both the Seller and Buyer (us). This created a conflict of interest.

Fact 2. The Local accepted the Lease to Buy without the appraisal being done in advance. When the appraisal was later completed, the building was valued at 10.9 million dollars while the Seller’s asking price is over 21 million dollars.

Fact 3. The Local has invested up to $7 million to repair a building that we do not yet own and may decide never to purchase. (Cubicles don't increase the value of this building by 7 million dollars)

Fact 4. Bob tried to blame various people for the above but he was and still is in charge of business contracts for the Local and he is responsible for this situation.

B. Bob did not want me to have an appropriate contract from day one. Even though he promised me the same contract as Tanner, he did not mean it. You, the Board, eventually ordered Bob to meet with me to work out the contract. Bob then had Rebecca Yee write up a draft that was different than Tanner's contract (and would give himself/Bob more authority which is his real ambition to control everything concerning the decision making in 721 without checks and balances). The Executive Board in the September Board meeting dealt with the contract issue and Bob signed the contract. Yet, in the weeks after that Board meeting, Bob admittedly  met with Mary Kay Henry, Tom Woodruff, Eliseo Medina, Eileen Kirlin and Leslie Frane 

When asked why he met with all of the top officials of our International Union, Bob nervously stated that it was "about the future of the Local” and would not say anything else. However, at the Latino Caucus celebration at LA City Hall tower, a concerned Board member came to me and said that Bob had told him that "he had the green light from the International to get rid of me." It was apparent that he still wanted me gone and this was all before these current allegations. I told another Board member of what I had been told at this party. It's time to be fair. Both of these Board members know what I am saying is true.

C. Bob covets the Executive Director authority over staff. He has insisted that I let him supervise Rebecca Yee, Cathleen Garcia, Christina Rodriguez and Marc Azzudidin. Even now, he wants and is moving to change the Bylaws to give him that authority. The Bylaws that the members voted on are a check and balance with the Executive Board having true authority. I fully agree with the wisdom of these Bylaws. There is a need for caution in the face of someone who wants to take away checks and balances to give themselves more power.

Gilda Valdez:

So what is Gilda's role in all of this? Yes, I brought Gilda into 721 but she did not tell me that she had been fired from SEIU 1021. The fact is that last summer Executive Board Members told me they wanted accountability as to why only UHW friends that Gilda hired were getting supervisor positions in External and I promised I would find out. I directed Gilda to provide a written survey of all External Staff regarding their skill levels. This would first be a self-evaluation and then a review between her and me. I told her to meet with the Staff Union regarding this matter. To date I have not been able to get her to produce this work that I needed for the Executive Board. Perhaps you can get her to produce this for you and to prove that favoritism was not the motivating factor for these promotions.

You may recall that Gilda and Rosanna [Mendez] also wanted employment contracts. (Bob didn’t support this idea at first but now does, at least for Gilda). I initially raised this with you and was ordered to see what other locals have done. (No current CA local that I could find has such employment contracts). I asked Gilda why she wanted a contract and she stated "so I can protect the people I brought to 721 from UHW." This certainly shows favoritism and is not an acceptable reason. It does show where she put these relationships over the Local's interest and over her working relationship with me. Furthermore, at least (6) six members of the external staff who Gilda brought to 721 have yet to produce any successfully completed organizing campaigns. Ask staff including external staff that have been in 721 before Gilda's arrival if they have been treated fairly. Their comments will be an eye opener; if they are now not too intimidated to speak up.

Regarding the Ethics Investigation

As Michael Holland, the Ethics Investigator, has emphasized the confidentiality of the pending ethics investigation against me, I will not get into a discussion of the details.  I have been denied the opportunity to present a full and fair defense in part because I did not receive written notice of the specific allegations against me and in part because I have been denied access to my own email account and other Union records. The Executive Board should, however, know that Gilda Valdez decided to give LaShawn Howard both her initial promotion as acting lead in the clinics and her later promotion to lead in the clinics. I did sign off on the promotion as I did on most other personnel changes in the Local.  I understand that in the future I should not participate in any personnel decisions involving LaShawn, even approving recommendations by others, because of my personal relationship with her.

The Executive Board should also put in perspective the allegations against me of violations of Section 18 of the Ethics Code involving family and personal relationships. I have been told of the following:

1. Bob Schoonover had a personal relationship with Gabriela Estrada, Business Office, and  approved  $8,000.00 in overtime for her even though she is an exempt employee. Bob also reportedly had a personal relationship with JJ Straight, former internal organizing director.

2. Judy Hermosillo, External Coordinator, had a personal relationship with Gilbert Ramirez, external organizer.

3. Gilda Valdez, Chief of Staff. and Mimi Soto, LA and OC Cities Coordinator (Gilda’s God daughter and protege)

4. Rosanna Mendez, Deputy Chief of Staff, has a personal relationship with Al Chavez, Organizing Director.

Besides these people, Lorena Vellanoweth, Coordinator External, is married to Carlos Vellanoweth, External organizer.

I do not go around checking on people’s private lives so I cannot present evidence to prove these family and personal relationships among officers and employees of the Local. I also am not in a position to say that that the above is a complete list of all the family and personal relationships at the Local.

You cannot render a fair judgment on the accusations against me unless you know the overall context of whether others have been engaged in the same or similar conduct and what may be the motivations behind the complaints from others, in particular whether their actions may have racial motivations.

Three of the people who are probably my accusers are in the list above.  The Executive Board should also note that none of these other family and personal relationships involves an African American.   However, not one of these relationships have been declared to HR. I have been the only staffer to recuse myself from decisions based on possible conflict. Why is this double standard being committed against me and this local union?

The Local should be committed to the vigorous opposition to racial discrimination. Unfortunately it exists in our own organization. Linda Dent has correctly raised this issue as have members of this union. I have promoted African American staff and made adjustments to pay for African American staff who were past victims of discrimination.

In conclusion, some questions and concerns:

Why were the St Johns Clinic workers who came to speak to the Board in December threatened by their management shortly thereafter?

Who told management these workers went to the Executive Board meeting to speak to you?

What will you do about this attack on our membership?

These members have not been able to enforce their contract due to all the direct dealing that is going on behind their backs from Bob and others. Why would we let UHW supervise our members and be abused by them? Do you want to ensure proper focus on bargaining and representation? Do you believe you will be weaker or stronger in these areas with me still here as ED? Do you really believe you will have control of the board as members if you let this campaign against me succeed?

Respectfully

Steve Matthews

New Scandal Erupts at SEIU Local 721

According to various sources, a new scandal has hit SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles, which represents 70,000 public-sector workers across Southern California. The information comes from various sources as well as an email, pasted below, issued by the local's Deputy Chief of Staff earlier today.

Here's what happening in this fast-breaking story:

The local's Deputy Chief of Staff, Rosanna Mendez, reportedly uncovered evidence that "two high-ranking staff members" at Local 721are involved in serious violations, including misappropriating funds from the union's members. The violations, according to Mendez, implicate Local 721's President, Bob Schoonover and its Chief of Staff, Gilda Valdez. Mendez says that she and other staffers have contacted the U.S. Department of Labor and provided evidence that union funds were misappropriated to fund Schoonover's relection campaign. Schoonover is also a member of SEIU's International Executive Board.

After the Deputy Chief of Staff filed a complaint with SEIU's so-called "International Ethics Division," she was suspended from her job. She says other union staffers with evidence of the misdeeds have had the locks on their office doors changed in an apparent effort to silence them. Oh, and there are allegations of harassment, to boot.

Here's an excerpt from Mendez's email about the misappropriated funds (full text below):

These staff members didn't know if they should disclose this to Bob [Schoonover] or anyone else because they were concerned about how this information could potentially create a scandal "like what happened with Alejandro [Stephens]" if it got out. Gilda [Valdez] directed me not to file written complaints and said if I did, Bob would get angry and would consider me disloyal. My loyalty is to all 85,000 members who collectively pay my salary, and to the staff, not to the President of the Local or the Chief of Staff who hired me, so I filed the complaints.

The email also has info about about secret witnesses and cover-ups:

To protect the privacy of the two additional witnesses I mentioned in #4 above, I'm not sharing their names. I have tremendous respect for both of them even if they no longer speak up for fear of reprisal. I also informed Cathleen that I would disclose additional names of witnesses when/if the investigation occurs. In the beginning, I raised serious concerns and asked alot of questions, but what is happening now seems like an obvious attempt to conceal what I now believe is more serious than I had imagined. The extra security measures that are in place weren't this severe when there was a bomb threat against the Local. This must mean that Bob and Gilda are panic-stricken that certain truths may be discovered.

Here's the full text of the email that Mendez sent to her co-workers earlier this afternoon:

Dear SEIU 721 Staff,

Yesterday, you received an email from Bob and Gilda regarding the complaints I filed against two high-ranking staff members of the Local, which also implicate Bob and Gilda.

I didn't provide details to anyone because I didn't think it was appropriate to disclose the nature of the complaints or who the witnesses are. However, since Bob and Gilda have now disclosed some of the particulars and violated the confidentiality provision of the process, I'll clarify a few things.

1) In my ethics complaint, I did not assert that there is financial malfeasance (as I've told Bob and Cathleen in every email I've sent to them and to our International Ethics Division), although I believe it is happening. I filed the ethics complaint so that there could be an investigation, which is NOT currently taking place. A group of us have additionally contacted the Department of Labor related to misuse of Union funds by Bob for his re-election campaign for President, but we believe this is a DOL matter. I have notified our International as well as the Ethics Officer, but have not been informed whether this will be included in the ethics complaint or whether it is, in fact, a separate matter. We also stop contributing to Bob's re-election campaign last week, so he's not very happy right now.

2) Cathleen sent me an email on Fri., 8/10, informing me that the ethics investigation is SUSPENDED until an internal investigation related to another matter is conducted (the harassment and hostile work environment charge). Since I have not yet been interviewed and the ethics investigation is SUSPENDED, there is no reason for Bob or Gilda to expect that I would share details before being interviewed, and they're not supposed to be involved in the process either way. However, even though not required and no investigation has taken place, I sent Cathleen an email in advance of a meeting we had scheduled for today (that she canceled) with some of the details and specifics related to my complaints, including names of witnesses with direct knowledge about the concerns I raised.

3) Two of the prime witnesses, Zoltan and Al, who have information about the financial irregularities and who had previously spoken to Bob, Marc and Gilda about this, had the locks to their doors changed on Fri., 8/10. However, they were able to keep documents that will be entered as proof IF an investigation ever takes place. One of them may have been terminated, the other is rumored to be on the chopping block, and I'm on administrative leave. Judging by what Bob and Gilda stated in their email about not believing the charges have merit, I'm going to assume the other two, long-term and respected staff members have been silenced even before an investigation has occurred.

4) Zoltan and Al have direct knowledge about and are witnesses for the ethics complaint related to the finances; they are not complainants in the harassment and hostile work environment charge I filed. The other two, current staff members discovered serious concerns related to the finances and reported them to Bob and to me, which I then reported to Gilda. These staff members didn't know if they should disclose this to Bob or anyone else because they were concerned about how this information could potentially create a scandal "like what happened with Alejandro" if it got out. Gilda directed me not to file written complaints and said if I did, Bob would get angry and would consider me disloyal. My loyalty is to all 85,000 members who collectively pay my salary, and to the staff, not to the President of the Local or the Chief of Staff who hired me, so I filed the complaints.

5) To protect the privacy of the two additional witnesses I mentioned in #4 above, I'm not sharing their names. I have tremendous respect for both of them even if they no longer speak up for fear of reprisal. I also informed Cathleen that I would disclose additional names of witnesses when/if the investigation occurs. In the beginning, I raised serious concerns and asked alot of questions, but what is happening now seems like an obvious attempt to conceal what I now believe is more serious than I had imagined. The extra security measures that are in place weren't this severe when there was a bomb threat against the Local. This must mean that Bob and Gilda are panic-stricken that certain truths may be discovered.

Regardless of whether or not the ethics investigation is ever conducted, and regardless of how the truth is being spun, you should know that there are people who are still willing to stand up for what's right. This may be naive and certainly doesn't pay the bills, but I'd rather be able to look my kids in the eye and show them what I stand for rather than give grand speeches without substance. We ask workers to take a stand for what they believe in and to face their fears in spite of attacks and obstacles, so others and I who have taken a stand will do no less than what we ask of workers.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy". - Marting Luther King, Jr.

All my best,

Rosanna