September 2nd, 2009
New York SEIU members angry at money spent to fight California healthcare workers
Above, members of Local 1199 protest during a 2007 contract dispute.
New York Daily News: New York’s lowest-paid unionized workers are up in arms over being asked to cough up cash to pay for a labor battle 3,000 miles away.
Members of the Local 1199 hospital workers union say their leadership has already spent too much on a controversial California clash that pits member against member and drains resources during fiscally tight times.
“There is significant sentiment within the union that is questioning the way the dues money is being spent,” said one 1199 leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “There are a lot of people who don’t want this war.”
August 31st, 2009
Beyond Chron: SF Labor Council Backs UNITE HERE Local 2, Rejects SEIU’s Threats
by Randy Shaw
In a further sign of SEIU’s growing estrangement from the labor movement, the San Francisco Labor Council has rejected SEIU’s threat to withdraw 40% of its Council funding unless UNITE HERE Local 2 drops its support for NUHW’s decertification campaign against SEIU’s home health care workers. At an August 21 Executive Board meeting, representatives of several unions took turns castigating SEIU-UHW Trustee Dave Regan for threatening the Council’s funding, while praising Local 2’s historic commitment to worker rights. Although Regan had threatened the “immediate withdrawal” of SEIU’s $17,000 monthly Council contribution during an August 15 meeting with Local 2 officials, he now denied that SEIU had decided to withdraw funding. Instead, he said that he had requested to meet with Local 2 to see how SEIU-UHW could help UNITE HERE in its contract fight against San Francisco’s hotels. Most striking about the meeting was the widespread criticism of SEIU’s bullying tactics, and the strong defense of Local 2’s efforts to help NUHW decertify SEIU’s local home health care workers.
August 31st, 2009
Beyond Chron: SF Labor Council Backs UNITE HERE Local 2, Rejects SEIU’s Threats
by Randy Shaw In a further sign of SEIU’s growing estrangement from the labor movement, the San Francisco Labor Council has rejected SEIU’s threat to withdraw 40% of its Council funding unless UNITE HERE Local 2 drops its support for NUHW’s decertification campaign against SEIU’s home health care workers. At an August 21 Executive Board […]
August 29th, 2009
Kaiser-SEIU Layoff Agreement Exposed
Many Kaiser workers in California have already received pink slips. But SEIU-UHW Trustee Dave Regan has promised members that there will be no layoffs. At the same time, he’s asking workers to picket Kaiser to protest the Layoff Agreement – the very agreeement that SEIU has already agreed to. Kaiser management has verified that SEIU […]
August 18th, 2009
Workers appeal SEIU actions
Last week California nursing home workers delivered a formal appeal to federal officials detailing widespread abuses committed by SEIU’s trustees as well as the failure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to defend worker’s basic rights. (Click here to view the appeal)
The workers are employed by Foresight/IQC, a for-profit company that operates seven nursing homes in Northern California. Six months ago, 75% of the company’s workers signed petitions requesting to leave SEIU and join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW).
Since then, SEIU’s trustees have used frivolous “blocking charges” to stall workers’ elections while simultaneously working with the company’s executives to retaliate against rank-and-file leaders.