SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan Sparks Split between Partnership Unions Just Hours before Kaiser Permanente’s National Bargaining Set to Begin

SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan

Last night, eight of the 11 international unions in the labor-management partnership announced they’re leaving the “Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions” (CKPU) and will not take part in National Bargaining, which was scheduled to begin this morning in Oakland, Calif. 

Instead, the unions plan to form a new coalition to work in partnership with Kaiser.

What’s causing the split?

It's Dave Regan, say the unions’ leaders.

In an e-mail sent last night to their members, Denise Duncan and Bill Rouse (the President and Executive Director of AFSCME’s United Nurses Associations of California) explain it this way:

Why are we departing CKPU and forming a new Coalition?

…To ensure our members’ interests do not get derailed by a local union in California, SEIU-UHW, whose leadership has continuously demonstrated its desire is to take control of the Coalition. We will not cede control to SEIU-UHW… we cannot be derailed by the leader of a single local.

In a separate document, the unions give more details about their problems with Regan… including his efforts to “control” the CKPU, his “subverting” of agreements between the partnership unions, and Regan’s “deceptive tactics.”

Just how angry are the departing unions at SEIU-UHW? 

“Our alliance of like-minded unions will no longer be held captive by SEIU-UHW.”

Here’s an excerpt (full document below):

Over the past 30 months, we have worked diligently to try to keep the CKPU together and strong heading into 2018 national bargaining. Regrettably, SEIU-UHW’s attempts to control the Coalition have made this impossible. Almost immediately after signing the Portland Agreement in August of 2017, SEIU-UHW subverted this agreement, which outlined a framework for how the unions would work together in national bargaining. Subsequently, UHW filed, then withdrew, a ballot initiative aimed at crippling Kaiser Permanente, and signed a Code of Conduct along with other partner unions with KP, which we hoped would resolve our differences so that we could enter national bargaining as a unified coalition. However, on Monday, March 19, 2018, at a labor caucus, UHW once again engaged in deceptive tactics designed to assert UHW leadership’s control over the Coalition, making it clear to us that this behavior will never stop. Ceding control of the Coalition to UHW is not an option and so, instead, we are exercising our right to leave the CKPU.

Our alliance of like-minded unions will no longer be held captive by SEIU-UHW. The behavior of SEIU-UHW continually fractured our unity and our ability to focus on bargaining. This is why we believe we serve you, our members, best by taking strong action.

Which unions are leaving the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions?

22 local unions that represent more than 45,000 Kaiser workers:  UNAC/UHCP and HGEA (AFSCME); UFCW Locals 1167, 135, 1428, 1442, 324, 770, 555, 7, 1996, 27, 400, and 21; USW Local 7600; IBT Local 166; KPNAA; IUOE Local 501 and Local 1; OFNHP (AFT Local 5017); and ILWU Local 28.

So which unions remain in the Coalition?

Three international union’s (SEIU, OPEIU and the IFPTE) with approximately 76,000 Kaiser workers, most of whom are members of SEIU-UHW.

What are Kaiser execs saying?

Last night, Dennis Dabney (Senior VP of Labor Relations) and Jim Pruitt (VP of Labor Relations for The Permanente Federation) circulated an e-mail with the following text:

We have been notified this evening by 21 of the unions which comprise a significant portion of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, that they have decided to leave the Coalition, effective immediately, and will not take part in National Bargaining. These unions state that the reason for their action is a conflict between various member unions of the existing Coalition.

We are considering what today’s development means. In the meantime, without the participation of all the unions in the Labor Management Partnership, the scheduled kick-off meetings this week cannot proceed.

We will engage with the various unions’ leadership over the next several days to ensure we understand the implications of this announcement. We will keep all parties informed as we decide the appropriate next steps. 

Stay tuned.

   A New Coalition at Kaiser Permanente -- March 26, 2018 by tastysternburger on Scribd

   Kaiser Executives' E-mail on Split among Labor-Management Partnership Unions: 3-26-18 by tastysternburger on Scribd

Internal Recording: California Hospital Association's CEO Says SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan Has Failed to Unionize Workers under Sweetheart Deal

A source sent a recording from an internal conference call held recently by the California Hospital Association about its secret deal with SEIU-UHW.

The two-minute recording (see below) highlights growing tensions inside SEIU-UHW about whether Dave Regan’s deal with the CHA is living up to his grandiose promises.

When Regan inked the deal in May of 2014, he triumphantly described it as a "breakthrough agreement" that would allow SEIU-UHW to unionize as many as 60,000 hospital workers across California.

The agreement allows SEIU-UHW to organize 30,000 hospital workers during “Phase 1” of the deal (from May 2014 to December 2016).

In Phase 2 (December 2016 to December 2017), SEIU-UHW can ‘purchase’ the right to unionize an additional 30,000 hospital workers if the union can successfully convince California legislators and Governor Jerry Brown to allocate an additional $6 billion a year of taxpayer funds to California hospital corporations. 

Regan famously secured SEIU-UHW’s so-called "organizing rights deal" by forfeiting workers' rights -- workers’ right to strike, workers’ right to report patient-careviolations to government oversight agencies, workers’ right to negotiate their own wages and benefits, etc.

Regan also agreed to prohibit SEIU-UHW from taking any positions on legislative, regulatory, and ballot issues that are "adverse to the interests" of the hospital industry. In addition, Regan's deal essentially converts SEIU into a lobbying arm for hospital corporations that's dedicated to boosting hospital profits. 

Immediately after signing his deal, Regan jetted to a meeting of SEIU's International Executive Board in Washington, DC and boasted that the deal would literally "save" the labor movement. Days later, Diamond Dave published an article trumpeting his backroom deal ("Live Better Together") and also got journalist Josh Israel to pen a puff piece entitled "The Audacious New Proposal to Save the Labor Movement."

So… now that 15 months have passed since Regan signed the deal, what's happened? Has SEIU-UHW successfully unionized tens of thousands of hospital workers?

Not quite.

As of today, Regan has unionized a grand total of zero workers under the deal. That's right, the big goose egg.

Check out the recording below.

During last month’s conference call with California hospital executives, CEO Duane Dauner reported that so far SEIU-UHW has attempted only two elections under the deal.

In February 2015, SEIU-UHW lost (by a landslide) an election at 552-bed Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo, Calif.) covering approximately 1,000 workers.

In December 2014, SEIU-UHW narrowly won an election for fewer than 100 workers at 158-bed Verdugo Hills Hospital (Glendale, Calif.). However, SEIU-UHW allegedly violated federal labor law by using threats and "acts of physical intimidation" against workers during the election, according to NLRB records.

Earlier this spring, a judge held a trial to investigate SEIU-UHW's alleged violations, but has not yet issued a final ruling. The allegations -- which were filed by the hospital despite its sweetheart deal with SEIU-UHW -- identify Cass Gualvez (an SEIU-UHW staffer and Executive Committee member) who apparently headed the campaign at the Southern California hospital.

So... what does a quick cost-benefit analysis say about Regan's "visionary" deal with the CHA?

So far, Regan has spent approximately $35 million of SEIU-UHW members' dues money on the deal. In exchange, SEIU-UHW has unionized a total of zero workers.

Where did the $35 million go?

First, Regan flushed $10-$15 million down the toilet during two rounds of statewide ballot initiatives, which SEIU-UHW never filed. Next, the CHA agreement requires SEIU-UHW to deposit $20 million into a political fund jointly controlled by the CHA that's used to lobby politicians for billions of additional taxpayer monies for hospital corporations.

Even if you accept Regan's horribly cynical "money-for-members" approach, the current results are nothing less than an unmitigated failure.

It's no wonder, then, that voices inside SEIU-UHW are saying, "$35 million of our monthly dues money for WHAT? Dave sold us a lemon!"

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. 

Partnership Unions Cry Crocodile Tears for Laid-Off Workers at Kaiser Permanente

Check out the latest development in California. 

Workers at Kaiser Permanente are getting increasingly angry about the HMO’s plans to lay off more than 1,000 workers. NUHW is blasting the layoffs, pointing out that Kaiser has pocketed $8.2 billion in profits since 2009 and is giving massive pay increases to Kaiser's fatcat execs.

Meanwhile... Dave Regan and his partnership pals are getting nervous about the angry Kaiser workers. 

What to do? 

Regan and Co. are beating a hasty retreat from the layoff deal that THEY secretly negotiated with Kaiser, without doing anything that would actually stop the layoffs!

Today, UNAC -- an AFSCME local that represents RNs and professionals in Southern California -- sent an email to its membership announcing that UNAC is “withdrawing from partnership activities” until the problem is resolved.

Sounds dramatic, right? So what does it actually mean? 

As far as Tasty can tell, it means that UNAC's leaders will not participate (err... for the time being) in the all-expenses-paid junkets at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa. No more flashmobs! No more dance-offs!

Kaiser must be quaking in their boots at the partnership unions' carefully choreographed displays of fake outrage! And guess what? SEIU-UHW's fake protests are even more lame.

Here's the email that UNAC sent to its members today:

From: UNAC/UHCP <info@unac-ca.org>

Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:15:57 -0500 (EST)

To: 

ReplyTo: info@unac-ca.org

Subject: UNAC/UHCP Withdraws from Partnership Activities

UNAC/UHCP Withdraws from Partnership Activities Yesterday, UNAC/UHCP President Ken Deitz informed Kaiser Southern California President Ben Chu that UNAC/UHCP will be withdrawing from Labor Management Partnership activities until our dispute regarding the gross violation of our contract is resolved. Read the letter to Ben Chu here. Our relationship with Kaiser is based on our Collective Bargaining Agreement. On November 16, Kaiser violated the most sacred provision in our contract, seniority, when they eliminated 175 UNAC/UHCP positions. Moreover, Kaiser failed to comply with the spirit and intent of the Employment and Income Security Agreement within our contract. Quite simply, we need to stand up for our contract. When Kaiser gave notice to our members, they returned each member back to their “original eliminated position,” and told the member they had one year to find other employment. This is a violation of the Employment and Income Security provision in our contract. Why the reduction in force? Kaiser expects to earn $735 million in profits this year in Southern California. Kaiser’s patient membership has grown in Southern California this year by 95,000 new patients. Kaiser expects to increase patient membership in 2013 by 80,000; in 2014 by 225,000; and in 2015 by 200,000. Does this sound like a corporation that needs to be eliminating positions? Read the Sacramento Business Journal's report about Kaiser's "huge swing into solid profitability" here. We Need to Stand Up and Stand Together Here's how we can all make a difference: + Withdraw and boycott “partnership” activities until our grievance is settled + Sign up for our text alerts so you are informed + Participate in our protest actions at your facility and other facilities + Support your co-workers who are affected and remember, an injury to one, is an injury to all + Distribute this leaflet to your coworkers

Partnership Unions Push Doublespeak as Kaiser Permanente Implements Layoffs

Check out this leaflet. It’s from UNAC, one of the “partnership unions” that represents RNs and professionals at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California.

As Tasty reported, Kaiser’s execs are implementing an estimated 1,000 layoffs on members of SEIU-UHW, UNAC/AFSCME and other “partnership” unions in California -- even though the giant HMO has pocketed $2.1 billion in profits during the first nine months of 2012.

Talk about laying down for the boss!

Now, as workers voice their anger about the layoffs, the leaders of the partnership unions are pretending they’re angry too… even though they’ve been secretly meeting with Kaiser’s execs about the layoffs since last summer!

Think about it… If Dave Regan and the other bought-and-sold partnership officials are really “outraged” about the layoffs, why didn’t they say something about it when they first learned about Kaiser's plans last summer?

Here are some excerpts from the partnership unions’ suddenly outraged leaders (full copy is below):

Kaiser Permanente has taken a wrong turn. Despite our attempts to work in partnership and to protect our members’ rights under our contract, Kaiser issued notices on Friday, November 16 to 175 UNAC/UHCP members that their positions were being “eliminated.”

Our Union has been persistent in stating the obvious to top KP leadership: under our local contract, seniority is the governing factor in position elimination. At this time, Kaiser has blatantly chosen to ignore our agreement. UNAC/UHCP is filing both a grievance under the local contract and at the national level…

We will be moving forward with a comprehensive campaign to stop this madness. If you receive a notice, or are notified to meet with HR and/or your manager, please contact your staff representative immediately.

UNAC Leaflet on Kaiser Permanente's Layoffs of Healthcare Workers in California 11-16-12

Sources: "Partnership Unions" Inked Secret Layoff Deal with Kaiser Permanente in California

Sources report that SEIU-UHW and the “partnership unions" have secretly inked a deal with Kaiser Permanente to lay off more than 1,000 workers in California. 

Tasty's sources provided a copy of an internal email that was sent last week by Kaiser's top executives to managers. The email announces plans for 550 layoffs in Southern California and apparently will be followed by a similar email to announce layoffs in Northern California.

The email -- dated October 23 and authored by Arlene Peasnall (Senior VP of Human Resources) and Judy White (Chief Operating Officer of the Southern California Permanente Medial Group) -- is entitled "Workforce Reduction Announcement and Manager Communication Tools." It gives the following information to Kaiser’s managers (the complete email is posted below):

As you are aware, Kaiser Permanente Southern California has undertaken a series of cost-reduction initiatives... Examples include operational efficiency changes and work approaches to reduce medical center and administrative operating expenses…

These reductions will be announced in two stages, with unrepresented employees being informed between October 24 and 26, and represented employees scheduled to be notified within the next few weeks… The estimated total number of affected employees is 550, of which 466 are represented employees and 84 are unrepresented staff.

Attached are talking points, FAQs and communications guidelines to help you honestly and accurately discuss our workforce reduction actions and reasons behind them…

Please contact your local Human Resource director or consultant if you have any questions or need additional support.

Sources say that during the summer, SEIU-UHW and the “partnership unions" began secretly discussing the layoffs with Kaiser execs. In addition, they report that SEIU-UHW's Dave Regan voiced no opposition to the job cuts... even though Kaiser has pocketed $7.4 billion in profits and has steadily signed up more and more members in California.

This report is corroborated by an internal email from officials at UNAC, an affiliate of AFSCME that represents many of Kaiser's registered nurses in Southern California. Ken Dietz, the president of UNAC, says that UNAC has been discussing the layoffs with Kaiser since August. 

Deitz tells UNAC’s members that he and others opposed Kaiser’s layoffs and offered alternatives to the job cuts… but that Kaiser simply ignored them. Here’s an excerpt from Deitz’s email, which is dated October 26:

To UNAC/UHCP Health Care Professionals:

…Kaiser approached the Coalition of KP Unions in August to discuss “affordability” issues. Kaiser’s definition of affordability is different than the dictionary’s. Affordability to them does not mean they are actually losing money; it does not mean they are not making money; it simply means they are not making “enough” money.

We held multiple meetings using Interest Based Problem Solving, where we generated a multitude of ideas for ways to save money. From KP’s perspective, the ideas were not enough to “close the gap.”

Here’s the full email from UNAC. The email from Kaiser’s execs is below:

Subject: Important Information from UNAC/UHCP President Ken Deitz

To UNAC/UHCP Health Care Professionals: Upon my return from our 40th Anniversary Convention, I was shocked at the number of calls and emails waiting for me regarding “layoffs” at Kaiser. Let me take a moment to address some of the rumors. Kaiser approached the Coalition of KP Unions in August to discuss “affordability” issues. Kaiser’s definition of affordability is different than the dictionary’s. Affordability to them does not mean they are actually losing money; it does not mean they are not making money; it simply means they are not making “enough” money. We held multiple meetings using Interest Based Problem Solving, where we generated a multitude of ideas for  ways to save money. From KP’s perspective, the ideas were not enough to “close the gap.” An amazing statement given the fact that Bill Rouse developed a plan for them to save hundreds of millions of dollars over a 3-5 year period. Since it was our plan, KP did what most employers do: they tried to pick it apart. It became quite clear why they believed the plan would not work: 1.    The plan was our idea 2.    The plan required critical thinking 3.    The plan required work 4.    The plan required a level of competency that management is not capable of As of today, our union, UNAC/UHCP, has received no formal notice of layoffs affecting our members. Nevertheless, due to email communication directed at managers, we have filed charges at the National Labor Relations Board for Kaiser’s direct dealing with the members and failure to bargain to impasse any changes. I will keep you posted, Ken Deitz President, UNAC/UHCP

KPSoCal-ReductionInForceMemo10-23-12