Federal judge on Kaiser & SEIU: “a sweetheart cozy arrangement”
“A sweetheart cozy arrangement between the incumbent union boss and the company.” That’s how a federal judge described the relationship between Kaiser and SEIU as alleged in NUHW’s lawsuit against Kaiser.
We couldn’t agree more.
NUHW is suing Kaiser for paying workers to campaign for its company union, SEIU. In Judge William Alsup’s words, “Kaiser knowingly released lost-timers to SEIU-UHW to campaign against NUHW and paid them benefits and other things of value to campaign against NUHW” — an arrangement, the judge explained, “tantamount to making cash campaign contributions to SEIU-UHW to assist SEIU-UHW in fending off the upstart rival NUHW.”
How illegal is such an arrangement? As Judge Alsup explains, “No court has ever held that employers can pay employees under a collective bargaining agreement to campaign under the control of the incumbent union against a rival union.”
This week, Judge Alsup rejected Kaiser’s motion to dismiss and ruled that NUHW’s suit may proceed. This is a huge step forward in holding Kaiser accountable to the law.
We’re so glad the government is finally beginning to see SEIU for what it is: an illegal company union controlled by management. We can’t wait to see justice done in our lawsuit against Kaiser.
Sincerely,
Angela Glasper, Optical Sales Receptionist, Kaiser Antioch
National Union of Healthcare Workers – California Nurses Association