"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana

Do you remember when SEIU threatened to pull out of the San Francisco Labor Council and take their financial support (40% of the Council's budget) in retaliation for UNITE/HERE Local 2's support of NUHW's decertification efforts of homecare workers in San Francisco and the Council's response? Fortunately for the Labor Council and it's members the remaining unions gladly stepped up to fill the funding gap. One might think that would be the last time the Zombies would take their ball and go home, but these are Zombies we are talking about here, and Zombies aren't known for using their brains, just eating them.

So imagine my surprise when Bill Lloyd, President of SEIU in California tried intimidating John Burton, Chairman of the California Democratic party, by threatening to withdraw funding for Burton's support of NUHW. Burton is not the kind of guy you ever want working against you. The L.A. Times summarizes it nicely.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot just to make a point!

The Zombies didn't get their way in San Francisco and now they are about to lose all credibility with the state's Democrats. I wonder how the Zombies will claim this as a victory.

A reader's rant

This rant was emailed to me. I think you'll agree it's good enough to become an entry. Enjoy your first reader rant.

I often wonder where SEIU is hiding when the governor pushes his agenda to criminalize us and, ultimately, destroy the IHSS program. Do they not realize that by refusing to protest they're threatening their own "dues units" as they call us? Why is SEIU so silent about Arnold's continued assaults on our livelihoods and the very lives of those we serve?

Hey Dave and Eliseo, can you spare a minute from dressing up as chickens, throwing eggs at people and threatening the rest of the labor movement to actually do some real work in California??? Could you at least take your chicken and eggs and go visit Arnold? Maybe head off the next round of cuts to IHSS? Is that too much to ask in view of the OBSCENE amount of dues we pay and you waste?!!

It's brief but to the point: we're dues paying members who want represention, not chickens who hide from members and potiticians!

Whining, Zombie UHW style

Ever stop to think and forget to start again? Yeah, well...it happened to me. I was reading the SEIU Wages War on Progressives article by Randy Shaw at Beyond Chron and then the phone rang...and you can probably guess how this story ends.

SEIU's behavior in San Francisco (below) and especially in Los Angeles represents the kind of sniveling, whining, nobody-is-paying-attention-to-me nonsense they seem so fond of lately. They are draw attention to themselves while going out of their way to alienate their members, the North Bay labor council, labor allies and politicians. I suspect that when the 80 petitions to change union representation are processed by the NLRB, SEIU will have a very hard time finding anyone to help fight their battle, or listen to their trumped up complaints. This now brings the number of credible journalists who documents SEIU's disgusting behavior to 4: the Wall Street Journal, the North Bay Business Journal, the Press Democrat and of course Beyond Chron.

So without any further delay here is Randy's article.

My first rant: Keyser v. repetitive mailers

If you have been following the mailers and fliers (here, here, here and and 2 here) SEIU has been harassing Memorial workers with, you will notice the nature of the Zombies claims: "SEIU big, NUHW small" or if you like "might is right". Talk about an 800 pound gorilla that no one fears or even bothers to acknowledge. If the comments received on the Red Revolt accurately reflect a cross-section of the Memorial workers then I think I can post the following cartoon with confidence.

Tell me Zombies, which animal do you think represents your crumbling organization?

Nothing like being put in your place by a mouse, eh?

Is Zombie Trustee Eleiso Medina still "working" at UHW?

Unless I have the wrong email address I think the bounced email message below shows Zombie Trustee Eleiso Medina is no where to be found. It appears the email address scheme used at UHW -- first initial followed by last name followed by seiu-uhw.org when applied to Zombie Trustee Medina -- is routinely kicked back. One Zombie trustee down, one to go!

Emphasis added but you get the idea.

----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----

    (reason: 550 5.1.1 : Recipient address rejected: User unknown in relay recipient table)

   ----- Transcript of session follows -----
... while talking to smtp18.msoutlookonline.net.:

>>> DATA

<<< 550 5.1.1 : Recipient address rejected: User unknown in relay recipient table
550 5.1.1 ... User unknown
<<< 554 5.5.1 Error: no valid recipients

Reporting-MTA: dns; a.mail.sonic.net
Received-From-MTA: DNS; 76-191-205-67.dsl.dynamic.sonic.net
Arrival-Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:58:00 -0800

Final-Recipient: RFC822; emedina@seiu-uhw.org
Action: failed
Status: 5.1.1
Remote-MTA: DNS; smtp18.msoutlookonline.net
Diagnostic-Code: SMTP; 550 5.1.1 : Recipient address rejected: User unknown in relay recipient table
Last-Attempt-Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:58:00 -0800

Ok, now the UHW Chicken makes sense!

UPDATE: NUHW volunteer Paul Krehbiel formerly of SEIU Local 660 penned an article detailing his experience. In it, he noted the appearance of a few free thinking Local 721 staff. Will they leave the dark side and join in the fight for union democracy and representation?

What turned out to be a pointless exercise in stupidity, that is dressing up a homecare worker in a chicken suit while the San Francisco bay area labor movement held a fundraiser for the Fund for Union Democracy, clearly SEIU needs eggs! Both Randy Shaw at BeyondChron and Sierra Spartan at ¡Adios Andy! report on the desperation of SEIU to get someone -- anyone -- to listen to their little and loud complaints.

There is no good defense for this behavior and as Randy Shaw so perfectly states: "SEIU is unifying the labor movement -- against it."

Garbage in, garbage out

Straight from the mailbox and on to the blog, here's the latest propaganda nonsense from the Zombies. Why do they keep using the same 4 arguments? Don't they have a legitimate victory they can highlight? I can think of three for NUHW.

Sequoias caregivers join NUHW 
Los Alamitos Hospital join National Union of Healthcare Workers 
Workers win election at Doctor's San Pablo

So in classic Söze style I will pick apart their 5 nonsensical arguments.

"No members under contract."

How do they know the above listed facilities aren't under contract? If they were the Zombies would surely avoid publicizing this most embarrassing loss.

"Dozens of staff leaving."

Who? Do they have names (or the positions they left behind) to back this claim? As far as I am aware they have only publicized the the unemployment claim of one worker, which in my opinion is private business between the former employer, the former employee and the EDD.

"Going broke and facing financial judgement in Federal Court."

What, specifically, are they talking about? SEIU is burning through cash pretty fast.Why else would they take out a loan for $87.7 million from Bank of America? Note: after they took out this loan then turned around and attacked B of A and it's CEO Ken Lewis. This is the new SEIU: attack your union brothers and sisters, squander members money, take credit for the work of others, etc, etc, etc.

"Struggling to stay in business."

If the lawsuit NUHW recently filed against the Zombies for their browbeating in Fresno is any sign then NUHW seems to be doing just fine. The damaging declarations gathered for the suit and then research for writing the PERB complaint show that NUHW has both the money and the muscle to fight SEIU.

Finally, "[a] union about to close it doors can't win a contract" has won 2 contracts so far. More are on the way, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Stay tuned for more stupid; the election at Memorial is fast approaching and SEIU is sure to be a source of many tragically comical entries.

The Zombies protest the Fund for Union Democracy fundraiser. Wait. What?

A couple of interesting things came out yesterday's Fund for Union Democracy fundraiser in San Francisco.

First, Randy Shaw at BeyondChron writes about how SEIU has outdone itself when it comes to fighting against those who should be allies. Sound familiar?

Second, I was emailed this tragic and hilarious pic from SEIU's protest of the fundraiser. I want my dues money refunded. All of it. SEIU's behavior just gets weirder and weirder. I have bills to pay and a chicken outfit it not one of them!

To my "fowl" friend: UHW is doing a fine job destroying itself, no need for help from other labor unions.

62 pages of smoking gun goodness

Remember my earlier post about how the hammer was about to be dropped on the UHW camp? Well here it is folks, NUHW has the goods on SEIU's criminal and frequent misdoings in Fresno. Packed full of legal defenses of NUHW's claims against the Zombies, declarations by both NUHW staff and former Zombie staff members (whom implicated themselves in an attempt to come clean). The good stuff begins with declarations from a few IHSS workers who had the courage to step forward and describe the hell they went through because of the Zombies, and of course the smoking gun itself: "Winning in Fresno: Some Tips for Success" (last page of the lawsuit).

So first off is a Table-O-Contents, using the page numbers shown when viewing the documents as a PDF. A print out will not show the page numbers I have listed below. Exhibits 1-5 not in this document.

Section	Pages
Summary by NUHW	1-3
Response to the Zombies "position paper", proof of service	4-10,11
Exhibit 6: Defense of election results as seen from the Department of Industrial Relations, "...and the winner is:"	12, 13-14, 15
Exhibit 7: Signed Supplemental Declaration from NUHW Director of Long Term Care Division John Vellardita	16, 17-19
Exhibit 8: Signed declaration from Carlos Martinez, former Zombie staff member	20, 21-26
Exhibit 9: Signed declaration from Andriana Gomez, Fresno IHSS (homecare) worker	27, 28-29
Exhibit 10: Signed declaration from Sheri Davis, Fresno IHSS worker	30, 31-33
Exhibit 11: English declaration from Patricia Barbosa Rodriguez, Fresno IHSS worker	34, 35-37
Spanish to English translation certification from TransPerfect for Rodriguez	38
Rodriguez's signed original declaration in Spanish	39-42
Exhibit 12: Signed declaration from Mary Townsend, Fresno IHSS (homecare) worker	43, 44-46
Exhibit 13: English declaration from Irma Orozco Fresno IHSS (homecare) worker	47,48-49
Spanish to English translation certification from TransPerfect for Orozco	52
Orozco's original declaration in Spanish	53-55
Exhibit 14: Signed declaration from Richard O'Brien, SEIU staff from SEIU Healthcare PA (Pennsylvania)	56,57
Exhibit 15: Signed declaration of Alexandra Early, SEIU staff from the Fresno fight	58,59-60
SEIU's very incriminating handout: "Winning in Fresno: Some Tips for Success".	61-62

Whew! Ok, that's done so let us dig in to this pile of garbage and see what juicy nuggets of Zombie fear-mongering we can dig up.

It appears that all the reports on PerezStern and ¡Adios Andy! were right on the money. Was there ever any doubt in your mind?

In one of it's more desperate moments the Zombies tried to challenge the PERB's (Public Employees Relations Board our equivalent of the NLRB, the National Relations Board) "jurisdiction to resolve the allegations raised by NUHW". What the...? Huh? Isn't that like a criminal trying to convince a cop that she doesn't have the authority to arrest the criminal? Since when does SEIU get to the the PERB where and how to do it's job?

NUHW supports its reasoning with a quote from the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA). Section 3309(c) states: "unfair practice charges made during an election shall be submitted to the Public Employee Relations Board for resolution." Hah! Take that you misquoting-for-your-own-gain criminals! Never fear: the Zombies will misquote again, keep reading!

Nearly a month after the election, the State Department of Industrial Relations sealed the fate of 10,000 fellow homecare workers in Fresno was sealed. I wish I knew at the time the Zombie had similar plans for Sonoma homecare workers.

Can you imagine how the ruse pulled on Mr. Roose is going to backfire on the Zombies?

Ok get ready to kick it up a notch. Below is Vellardita's (partial?) laundry list of complaints against SEIU. For those playing along at home mark this on your score card and check them off as further proof of SEIU bully-the-workers-party in Fresno sees the light of day. For the party hardy readers: drink 1 shot of the good stuff for each claim that proves to be true in the coming months. As soon as I know it will be here on the Red Revolt within hours.

But what good is a claim without substantial evidence to back it up? Enter the signed declaration of former (and quite remorseful) SEIU interloper and scab Carlos Martinez. While here in California, his boss Rebecca Mahlberg subtly  instructed him to work against the good of the homecare workers they were so desperate to "represent". Here Mahlberg shows what she is really made of, and it's not sugar and spice and everything nice!

Just words so far, right? It's illegal for an union employee or volunteer under their direction to handle a ballot or the envelope, period. Can words describe the reprehensible actions of the union we all pays dues to?

At one point in the campaign the Purple Plague needs someone for on the spot Spanish to English translations. Who does it? Martinez. What do they do after translation? Well, this is their first major assault on unrepresented workers so they weren't taking any chances on playing a fair game, so I'm sure you can figure out what happened to at least one translation.

Ok, so I found some words. Unmitigated arrogance, and brazen inhumanity to fellow man. So a college educated white woman sees fit to act like a child? I can't imagine what kind of social criminal works for SEIU when oppression like this happens. This appear to be a turning point in Martinez' understanding of the kind of morally corrupt outfit he is working for. I applaud him for trying to get the word out, but as you can see when your dues money goes to elect a president it's very hard to get anyone to investigate that same union.

 
Note the 3 federal government officials that didn't act on Martinez's pleas for help. How much abuse must the workers endure before somebody in power steps up?! Good thing we have some on our side! Go Red team!

Here are several clips of workers having their voting supervised and the accompanying harassment. To follow a  worker to the post office is both a sign of desperation and downright creepy, so is the supervised voting, initialing ballots, persuasion to change their vote, etc. For any vote any where it should be done alone, with help from any party on the ballot. SEIU doesn't see it this way as shown here.

From Fresno IHSS (homecare) worker Adriana Gomez's declaration (translated from Spanish):

From fellow Fresno homecare worker Sheri Davis.

Creepy, huh? Unfortunately for these workers SEIU "forgot" (see below) to tell them that benefits are negotiated by but not administered by the union. They go step further in the next quote. In it, they claim to be able to reduce a consumer's (patient's) hours as punishment for not voting for SEIU, yet I am certain that in every contract SEIU has negotiated in California for homecare providers (workers) in California including here in Sonoma county, the consumer's determines who to fire and hire. They are using the ignorance of the members against them. Is that union you'd vote for?

From Patricia Barbosa Rodriguez (translated from Spanish):

I've always believed that in a fight the loser always fights harder, and they are fighting pretty hard to keep what they should have lost.

The end is near folks: for both this entry and the Purple Plague.

Ok everybody the bullet is in the chamber now. Read this declaration from a former staff member to get an inside look on the trickery the Purple Plague pulled in Fresno.

From Alexandra Early, O'Brien's subordinate.

 Finally, here is the smoking gun. Enjoy!

 

 

Wall Street Journal: New Salvo Fired as Unions Battle Over Workers

For the Wall Street Journal's perspective on the Fresno fight, read here.

Irrespective of which union you favor or how you feel about organized labor, this much can be said about this absurd fight for representation: if SEIU had a decent approach to organizing and member representation we wouldn't be in this mess. In fact, their strategy is to grow for the sake of growth by adding members as fast a possible then leaving them to fend for themselves. How do I know? Just ask any homecare worker, anywhere or any UHW member that has had a contract renegotiated since SEIU hijacked our local in January 2009. SEIU is not good for workers and not good for America, no matter how you slice it.