"You lie so much you believe yourself!"*

I can't believe the way the Zombies highlight their progress disasters in bargaining. Grab a seat, get a drink and get ready to laugh. Shown below is Zombie UHW Trustee Dave Regan* preparing for a meeting with disgruntled members. If I spent the last year selling out the futures of 150,000+ members held against their will in the crumbling, former flagship local of SEIU I might huff paint thinner too! Clearly the Zombies think numbers are the only measure of success they can share with the world.

2009: A Year of Progress for SEIU-UHW Members

On December 31, 2009 6:31 PM

Oakland, CA - For the members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU-UHW), a look back at 2009 reveals a successful year of reengaging members, settling contracts, and improving jobs, wages, and healthcare in spite of the economic crisis.

"This past year demonstrated the power of 150,000 members to make a significant impact on the lives of workers and the people for whom they care. SEIU-UHW members continued to make strides on many fronts, despite a terrible economy, a hostile Governor, and the need to repair damage done by previous leadership," said Dave Regan, trustee of SEIU-UHW.

SEIU-UHW 2009 By the Numbers

Settled Contracts Covering Workers at:

21 Hospital facilities

42 Nursing homes

5 Clinics

Home Care Providers in 2 Counties

1 Strike at Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center resulting in strong, new contract

Notice the lack of information about how the contracts were settled. Back room deals? Giveaways? Secretive bargaining committees? Member intimidation? All this and more; this is just another day of work at Zombie UHW.

Protecting Wages in a Bad Economy

4.3% - Average wage increase for SEIU-UHW-represented hospital workers for the first year of a contract settled in 2009

2.3% - National average wage increase for the first year of a contract settled in 2009

2 - Home care contracts that protect providers' wages and
maintain healthcare benefits despite the economy and the attempts by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to slash wages $2 per hour

4.3%: do they have provision to keep those wages increasing once the initial contracts expire and they are stuck in Hotel California?

2.3%: Who cares about the national average wage increase, we all live in California. What I'd like to know is the average wage increase for first contracts in California. Thought I'm sure it would be made up I'd still like to know what number the Zombies pull out of the air.

As for the homecare contracts the folks in Fresno lost $1.25 an hour courtesy of the Zombies and here in Sonoma county we're looking at an almost guaranteed $2.00 an hour drop in wages when the second year of our horrible 2-year contract goes into effect. Spin that Zombies!

Reengaging SEIU-UHW Members

1,700 - Members participated in the October SEIU-UHW Leadership Assembly
300 - Member-leaders participating in the Union Wide Organizing Committee - four times the size of the old executive board and representative of all local members by occupation, geography, and division

3 - Meetings of newly formed Union Wide Organizing Committee, engaging member-leaders in planning the future of the union, including ongoing discussion of new bylaws and governance structures to bring the local out of trusteeship

More than $2 billion - Federal funds to CA hospitals as a result of the hospital fee legislation SEIU-UHW members helped pass

Oh my, Zombies are quite engaged...in breaking free of your death-grip. Remember when Zombie Trustee Dave Regan said everything would be back to normal way back in May? Look a what has been accomplished as of May 1. Since then it's only become worse.

Saving Jobs

2 Preliminary injunctions halting Governor Schwarzenegger's efforts to dismantle home care by cutting hours and reducing wages $2 an hour

21 Informational pickets at Kaiser facilities across the state
after Kaiser management proposed position eliminations

0 SEIU-UHW members who have lost a job as a result of Kaiser position elimination notices

Injunctions are temporary by nature and as for Sonoma county homecare workers the $2 an hour wage reduction is a practically a done deal. Before the Zombies messed everything up when wages were threatened we lobbied the legislators, now we have an iron clad contract that virtually precludes any chance of maintaining or increasing our wages. More than anything else this is why I am motivated to write this blog: no one else can be subjected to this kind of treachery.

Demonstrating Strength in Unity

68 Facilities with contracts settled in 2009
0 Members lost in 2009, despite attempts by management and an organization formed by former local officials to decertify SEIU-UHW members

Wow! 68 bargaining units all shackled to the Zombies. I wonder how many still believe the Zombies have their best interests in mind. 68 hollow victories is nothing to be proud of.

Finally as for the "0 members lost" we aren't willing residents of Hotel California.

(Quote in the title is from Metallica's Holier Than Thou.)

* Apologies to Mike Judge, creater of the above character, Beavis.