Better Dead than Red?

Wow, shocking but totally unexpected. Way to go Zombie UHW! You'll do anything but support dues paying members, won't you? I suspect this is the first of many healthcare employers to reduce it's workforce now that employers know that if put to a vote for UHW or NUHW, the Purple Plague will bend over backwards to screw it's own members just to secure a win over NUHW. The message here is clear: think for yourself or vote for NUHW and you're on your own. "Race to the bottom," indeed!

When in bed with the boss make sure the roof doesn't cave in!

This is disturbing as it is unexpected. As time goes on SEIU is becoming harder to differentiate from the employer it seeks to emulate, by acting more and more like the employers it should be battling on behalf of it's dues-paying members. This week's act of complacency and passive support is documented below in Randy Shaw's article on Beyond Chron.

"We just write the rules, we don't follow them"

This is essentially what Memorial management is saying to the workers and the community in which we all live.
They fought 2 different unions organization efforts and lost. The pushed a no union vote and lost. They filed objections about the election and either rescinded them or had them trounced by the NLRB. Yet they still fight the inevitable.

Shame on them! If you are as outraged as me we can all voice our opinion by contacting Sister Katherine Gray, CSJ (General Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange), and writing a respectful but unambiguous email stating your concern for Memorial management's disregard for it's own rules, mission statements, and the decision made by voter in December election, we can hopefully and finally get the hospital to behave and move forward instead of backward.

kgray@csjorange.org

Memorial saga continues...

Apparently it's not enough that the workers at Memorial have been organizing, waiting and fighting management for more than 6 years to join a union. Throw in 2 competing unions, a substantial "no union" effort backed by Memorial management vote, unending delays, appeals and psychological warfare from management, despite their own commitment to abide by the workers choice and you can see Memorial management is proving the unthinkable is possible by treating it's own employees worse than the Zombies treat it's own members.

First is Randy Shaw's article at BeyondChron.

As beautifully pointed out by Randy Shaw at BeyondChron, Memorial management has yet again taken the low road and further delayed the inevitable union-negotiated contract between the voters who won the election and the ever profitable Saint Joseph Health Systems. How profitable? On December 7, 2009, just 10 days before the election they bought a building they don't have immediate plans for. This recreational shopping at its finest folks!

However, the news isn't all bad NUHW is the official and exclusive bargaining agent for Santa Rosa Memorial workers, again.

* * *

Sorry about the delay in reporting this (and the other postings today): I just finished 8 days in a row at my new job. In an economy where unemployment is10% nationwide I feel fortunate to have 2 jobs; however working homecare and delivering pizza to western Santa Rosa is no road to riches. Also, today marks the first year of marriage so I'm catching up on my blogging and then spending time with my sweetie.

Unable to fight fairly, Zombies hit below the belt

I don't know about you but I'm already tired of Mark Key Henry and what's going on at SEIU on the international level. To me, the new prez is just as divisive, manipulating and power hungry as her predecessor. She may be able to make amends with the unions and others Stern drove off, but like Stern she won't even consider working out SEIU's differences with NUHW. Apparently, it's ok to pick a fight but not ok to call a truce.

* * *

Anyway, on the the meat of this entry.

It appears the Summer Games, errr I mean WWIII has begun. Randy Shaw scoops the story below. Having been burned by the Zombies I look forward to a summer of stunning defeats for the Zombies. I fully expect they will "win" some elections if only by brute force, 100% annual turnover at various nursing homes with pending elections and because of these conditions NUHW has to good sense to pullout before the election.

P.S. Check out the memo referenced in the article: they have to stop writing this stuff down!

"You Have 0 Friends"

Ever notice how half of the Zombie UHW emails use the phrase so-and-so reject NUHW? The Zombies should know rejection of NUHW from constant pounding of members until they voted SEIU is a hollow victory at best. Well now the shoe is on the other foot and SEIU, as a whole is being rejected by both ILGWU and UNITE HERE. So what to do, when no one wants to be your friend? Well it's official: the unintended consequences of raiding UNITE HERE while denying such a treacherous action is taking place is proof no one that matters likes SEIU! Keep shooting yourself in the foot Zombies.

Checklist for Perez Henry

I have to admit I was not impressed with Zombie SEIU as it was run under Führer Stern's watch, but Randy Shaw's article at BeyondChron gave me a flicker of a hope that incoming International President Mary Kay Henry's administration might have the brains to lead the Zombies out of the mess the Führer has made. Squaring up with UNITE/HERE & NUHW would go a long way towards advancing both the interests of SEIU and labor in general.

I'm somewhat worried about Henry the dark horse candidate turned International President. I had high hopes two other unlikely high office candidates Obama and the Governator, given their obvious difference from the usual crop of candidates, would have the courage to lead in new and constructive ways...and we all see how well they've worked out for the working poor. Obama & SEIU: no EFCA or public option for universal healthcare, and the Governator's relentless attacks on the disabled poor and their caretakers.

Meh, we'll see.

Life in a post-Andy world: what lies ahead?

The successor to will be Anna Buger until an election and then it's game on, with Burger and Henry as likely candidates. These are our choices? Sheeeeeesh! Give the choice, I wouldn't choose. Burger is essentially a female Andy Stern and Henry is certainly intent on destroying NUHW and all that is stands for.

Stern may have accomplished some admirable goals, but he's left one hell of a mess for the next president to clean up. Just think of it as his gift to 1.8 million dues paying members and the labor movement.

Zombie UHW: pushing the anti-union vote at all costs, again

It seems the Zombies will never learn from their mistakes. As you may recall the vote for unionization at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital last December was 283 for NUHW and - no kidding - 13 for the Zombies. This staggering loss was widely publicized, but what was not as well publicized is the vote for no union at all, a nerve-rackingly close 263. I was at the vote count that night and it was quite an emotional roller-coaster for all but the Zombie UHW supporters.

You'd think after such a staggering (21.8:1) defeat the Zombies would change their tactics, as would any normal person or group. But the Zombies - being a special breed of con artists - will keep using the same lame tactic while utterly convinced better results are just around the corner. What they are doing this time should make the unofficial alliance with Memorial management pale in comparison. To learn more, read Randy Shaw's article from BeyondChron to learn just what the Zombies have been up to down at USC University Hospital.

Worse yet is their attack on Barbara Lewis and NUHW (of course)! However, before I dissect their flier I just want to point out I just don't believe anything the Zombies have to say. They've outright lied so many times and aren't willing to back most of their statements it's difficult to say with absolute certainly what's truth and what's puffery. So I will instead point out the hypocracy in their statements, claims which I can easily back, and they are reluctant to talk about when presented with the truth.

So, right off the bat, the third and forth words in the title: Backroom Deal. Given the Zombies track record for backroom deals (listed below) and the fact that NUHW is running a shoe-string budget, with a much smaller staff than their Zombie counterparts, does anyone really believe that NUHW has the time or interest in negotiating a backroom deal? This would seem to go against one of the main reasons why NUHW exists!

Here a few of the juicier backroom deals Zombie UHW have negotiated on behalf of their prisoners, err I mean "members", courtesy of ¡Adiós, Andy!

The LMP Shakedown
Reganomics (also referenced above in paragraph 2)
SEIU Threatens To Dissolve CKPU
Pharmacy Agreement Going Down To Defeat?
Zombie UHW Taketh, Zombie UHW Giveth Away...
Signed, Sealed, Sold Out
Signed, Sealed, Sold Out (Part Two)
...and so on

Second is this long standing claim that NUHW officials, acting in their capacities as pre-Zombie UHW elected (not appointed) officials, are guilty of "misusing millions in union funds". This misuse of union funds is merely an opinion presented as fact from the International. As U.S. 9th Circuit District Judge William Alsup has told the jury many times in the trial between NUHW & the Zombies these last 2 weeks, resisting the trusteeship is not a violation of the law, it just doesn't sit well with the International leadership's plan to run all of SEIU from Washington, D.C. with no real regard for the members or prospective members. In simple terms this is akin to moving money from your wallet or purse to your hand. Unless it has changed hands it's still yours!

Finally, this bit about NUHW signing a "secret deal with management" and cutting "members out ... completely". This is almost identical to what the Zombies did to homecare workers up here in Sonoma county back in September. But I'm just speaking from experience, what do I know about Zombie UHW practices in California.

SEIU gets into bed with Sutter management...

...before the beds have even arrived! This move defines a new low for the Zombies in terms of back room deals and now, the very odd appropriation of their own staff.

The Side Letter even authorized Sutter to assign SEIU-UHW workers to spend work hours building support for the project.

Wow, I thought they hit rock bottom , but this is messed up! Read Randy Shaw's article of BeyondChron.com about the new deal between the Zombies and Sutter, the worst of the worst in their respective fields.

Local 1021 members regain control of their local; Führer Stern...

...calls to congratulate them?! Might we be seeing the softer side of ol' Mr. Pink-Scarf? Who would have thought an election inside a mega-local could have been pulled off without any (or at least any substantial) resistance from $tern & Co.? Congratulations Local 1021 elected leaders: you've set an example for the rest of SEIU.

NUHW crushes SEIU/Memorial media round up

Here is a round up of the media coverage that has been published since I witnessed the edge-of-my-seat vote count Friday evening. 

I was busy hanging with the purple and yellow folks this weekend. No, not the Zombies (not ever), but rather the Lions club of which I am a member. Their colors are also yellow and purple like SEIU. However, unlike SEIU We Serve. We set politics aside, and in the context of a service club, we do what is best for everyone, regardless.

Anyway, my mind is wandering after an exhausting weekend so I'm gonna turn in. I'm taking "Mrs. Söze" on a li'l road trip tomorrow in honor of our 10 years together, so I'll be back in the office (read: on the couch) Tuesday morning. In the mean time, enjoy the blogs I look to: ¡Adiós, Andy! and Stern Burger with Fries for breaking news on Zombie stupidity.

UPDATE (12/24): Upstart Union Deals Blow to SEIU, Raises Prospects for Future Fights (In These Times)

UPDATE (12/21): NUHW Trounces SEIU 283-13 to Win Santa Rosa Election (Beyond Chron)

UPDATE (12/21): National Consequences for Memorial Hospital Union Vote (Empire Report)

NUHW is Decisive in Santa Rosa, SEIU Tries to Postpone Defeat (Labor Notes)
 
NUHW in Santa Rosa: a David versus two Goliaths (Daily Kos)

Breakaway union claims victory in Memorial Hospital vote (Press Democrat)

Upstart union wins a plurality in Sonoma County hospital vote (L.A. Times)

Zombies anger every one, loses it's way, almost backed out of Memorial election

Randy Shaw of BeyondChron writes a good piece about how 2009 should have been labor's year to make substantial progress, but sadly the house of labor is in need of substantial repair. We all had such high hopes in January (EFCA, healthcare reform, etc), most of which were dashed due to the greed and reckless spending spree of Dictator for Life Andy Stern. The good news: it looks like the Zombies' fate is sealed at Memorial. They intended to pull out of the election last week, but decided to reverse course and continue management's work of busting union NUHW. Oh Zombies, will you ever understand human nature?

The Zombies dig themselves ever deeper now with managment's help

A good summary of the Zombies nonsense so far. Hats off to Randy Shaw at BeyondChron. Get ready for a laugh-a-thon as you see them lose all credibility with the very workers they are desperately trying to get to vote for them (HAH!), discard previous gains made at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and workers, and lose their grip on reality. My favorite sentence: "Few could have imagined one year ago that SEIU’s number one hospital organizing drive in 2009 would focus on preventing workers from joining a union."

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.

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."