November 17th, 2009
Beyond Chron: SEIU Wages War on Progressives
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) held a boisterous picket line in San Francisco last night, but their chants targeted a surprising adversary: labor leaders and their political allies. While California Democratic Party Chair John Burton (labor’s greatest California ally), State Senator Mark Leno and leaders of UNITE HERE, the Sailors, Plumbers, Building Trades, and Police and Fire unions, were inside the Plumbers Union Hall honoring the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), SEIU was outside denouncing NUHW – and by implication its supporters – as corrupt. Last week, SEIU informed Burton that it would end its $1 million annual donation to the state Party unless he withdrew his support for NUHW, which he refused to do.
SEIU’s threat to labor hero Burton, and its reported statement to the United Teachers of Los Angeles (sponsor of tonight’s NUHW fundraiser) that it would seek to organize charter school teachers in retaliation for UTLA’s pro-NUHW stance, reflects a union increasingly at odds with the labor movement.
November 16th, 2009
Count the votes! Tarzana workers march on SEIU to free the ballots and win their union
On Thursday, Providence Tarzana environmental services workers marched on the SEIU/SWU office in Los Angeles to demand SEIU officials let their votes be counted. Tarzana EVS workers voted Oct. 14 to join NUHW, but SEIU filed charges the day before the vote to try to stop the election. The labor board refused to stop the […]
November 16th, 2009
Modern Healthcare: Laboring to unite
After years of feuding and raiding each other’s ranks, more healthcare unions are joining hands so they can work together on a common pro-labor agenda
By Joe Carlson
Imagine a time when healthcare unions were endlessly fractured, when labor leaders spent as much time launching public relations attacks and raiding parties against one another as they did trying to organize new workers.
November 15th, 2009
Sacramento Bee: Rival union accuses SEIU of ballot manipulation
FRESNO—A competing union has accused the Service Employees International Union of changing ballots and threatening to report workers to immigration officials in a contentious battle to represent more than 10,000 home health care workers in Fresno County.
The National Union of Healthcare Workers filed charges Nov. 6 with the California Public Employment Relations Board.
SEIU’s United Health Care Workers-West narrowly defeated NUHW in a June election, winning the right to represent workers in the county’s In-Home Supportive Services program. NUHW wants the board to throw out the victory.
“SEIU not only tolerated but encouraged people to break the law, intimidate people and harass people,” said Sal Roselli, NUHW president.
November 14th, 2009
In These Times: California healthcare battle gets uglier
By Kari Lydersen
The battle between SEIU and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) over organzing home health care workers in northern California got even uglier recently with charges filed alleging SEIU organizers intimidated and threatened workers and even told Latino workers they would be deported if they didn’t vote for SEIU in a June election between the two unions.
SEIU won the election to represent 10,000 home healthcare workers in Fresno, but NUHW is challenging the result in charges filed Nov. 6 with the California Public Employment Relations Board.
The charges cite a former SEIU organizer alleging he was pressured to change ballots from the June election between the two unions, and did change a ballot himself.