March 17th, 2010
Democracy on Trial: SEIU’s $25 million lawsuit against union reformers goes to court Monday
SAN FRANCISCO—For the last year, SEIU officials in Washington, D.C. have been suing 29 local union reformers and whistleblowers who exposed the union’s corruption and backroom deals and helped healthcare workers protect their democratic right to join a new union after a hostile takeover.
On Monday, SEIU lawyers will have to argue their case in a trial that labor journalists and historians say is an unprecedented attack on workers’ right to a democratic voice in their union.
“Are elected union leaders accountable to the workers who elected them, or must they only take orders from above, even when workers oppose it?” asked Cal Winslow, historian and author of Labor’s Civil War in California: the NUHW Healthcare Workers’ Rebellion.
“SEIU is advancing a dangerous legal theory that leaders can be personally targeted to collect damages, even when there is no allegation of personal gain, simply because of a difference of opinion.”
March 17th, 2010
The Californian: Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital workers to vote on union switch
By Mike Hornick
Caregivers at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital will have from April 22 to May 13 to vote by mail whether to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers and leave Service Employees International Union.
A majority of hospital workers petitioned last month to join NUHW. California’s Public Employment Relations Board has validated their petition and scheduled the dates for the 850 workers to vote. Votes will be counted May 17.
“We’re bargaining our contract next August, and we need a union we can count on,” Esther Nuñez, a cashier and chief steward, said in a news release. “We want to bring back democracy and integrity in our union. We’ve seen the takeaways SEIU agreed to at Kaiser and at other hospitals this year, and we’re not going to let that happen to us.”
March 16th, 2010
In These Times: In San Francisco, Union Democracy Goes on Trial
By Carl Finamore
After SEIU leaders seized control of UHW, UHW’s 100-member Executive Board voted to form a new, independent union called the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). Outraged at SEIU’s attempt to take over control of their union, more than 100,000 workers petitioned to switch to NUHW in the first 10 weeks.
SEIU has responded to this member-led rebellion by pouring massive resources into California in a frantic effort to stop the break-away union. That’s where next week’s trial comes in.
SEIU, which appears to have declining support among workers when in competition with NUHW, has used costly lawsuits and other legal interventions as its main weapon against the break-away union.
March 16th, 2010
San Jose Business Journal: workers at Silicon Valley nursing homes petition to join NUHW
Caregivers at 10 nursing homes operated by GranCare (formerly Mariner) have petitioned the labor board for an election to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers and end their membership in the SEIU.
The Silicon Valley facilities involved are Almaden Care and Rehab, 2065 Los Gatos Almeden Road in San Jose; Fremont Healthcare Center, 39022 Presidio Way in Fremont; and Skyline Healthcare Center-San Jose, 2065 Forrest Ave. in San Jose.
March 16th, 2010
Workers at 10 GranCare nursing homes file to join NUHW
Dorothy Ray, CNA, Florin Healthcare Center, Sacramento “We’re voting NUHW to take our union back. We want to stay united with Kaiser workers, and keep moving forward with the experienced negotiators who have helped us win for years.” Caregivers at ten nursing homes operated by GranCare (formerly Mariner) have petitioned the labor board for an […]