Hiding layoffs? It’s NOT okay.
SEIU and Kaiser have known about planned layoffs affecting more than 1,000 healthcare workers for months.
They just didn’t tell us about it.
The head of UNAC, a nurses’s union in Southern California and part of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions hinted at Kaiser’s plans in a letter to UNAC members: “Kaiser approached the Coalition of KP Unions in August to discuss ‘affordability’ issues.”
And Kaiser’s Southern California President Ben Chu spelled out those discussions more clearly in early November announcing that Kaiser’s “plans called for some elimination of positions.”
Now NUHW has exposed an email between Kaiser HR Director Rhonda Tribble and SEIU rep Elma Maynard in which they discuss cooperating to try to keep these layoffs secret. We’ve made a leaflet about this SEIU email to share with your co-workers.
With Kaiser making $8.2 billion in profits since January of 2009, there’s no reason for layoffs.
With Kaiser’s partner SEIU cooperating to keep Kaiser’s layoff plans secret, there’s every reason for healthcare workers to vote to leave SEIU.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Navarrete, Pharmacy Tech, Kaiser Modesto
National Union of Healthcare Workers
PS. Don’t believe that SEIU is Kaiser’s preferred union? Check out this article from the Sacramento Business Journal where California Hospital Association President and CEO Duane Dauner attacks NUHW and CNA for drawing a line in the sand with employers and praises SEIU and Dave Regan for “working with us.”