Working In These Times
Union Sparring in California Gets Even Uglier
The battle between SEIU and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) over organzing home healthcare 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.
NUHW has also charged that SEIU local organizers told Latino workers they would be deported if they didn't vote for SEIU, and told workers their wages would be cut and they would lose their jobs or health insurance if they voted for NUHW. NUHW alleges SEIU organizers visited workers up to five times a day, banging aggressively on their doors, and otherwise intimidated and browbeat them.
An SEIU local official quoted in the Wall Street Journal called the charges untrue and "sour grapes." (See the charges here.)
The charges reference a speech by SEIU executive vice president Dave Regan at the Fresno fairgrounds on the eve of the election urging organizers to "drive a stake through their heart" and "bury them in the ground."
The rift between NUHW and SEIU has been festering for several years since the precursor of the NUHW, an SEIU local called United Healthcare Workers West, was unhappy with a nursing home contract that limited workers' rights in exchange for employers' neutrality. (David Moberg explains the background in this January story in In These Times.) Thousands of workers then voted to decertify SEIU and join NUHW.
Home healthcare has also been a battlefield between SEIU and AFSCME in recent years. These divisions and battles come at a time unions can hardly afford negative publicity or diversion of resources, as Congress considers the Employee Free Choice Act.
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Comments
It is most unfortunate that such divisions occur in the labor movement, however progressives need to know and accept that Andy Stern is to blame for this. Under Stern’s watch SEIU has agreed to contracts whereby nursing home workers cannot ally themselves with resident advocacy groups and force nursing home bosses to provide decent care! Under his watch wages have stagnated in the homehealth and nursing home care industries! SEIU members no longer have the right to bargain for themselves due to Stern imposing outside SEIU staffers to do this. SEIU memberes on the west coast were put under trusteeship simply for not falling for Stern’s dictator like tactics and the end result is a new, worker led union; NUHW.
My bet is with democracy and that the SEIU rank & file will revolt and reform a now corrupt organization!
Stern has turned SEIU into the largest company union ever in the U.S. While he talks a progressive talk, his actions clearly indicate otherwise.
I cut my teeth with SEIU in the early 70’s. Today I would not give SEIU the time of day much less my dues!
The SEIU has shown the world that they are indeed hypocritical thugs that would rather there be no union at all unless, of course, it’s SEIU.
SEIU intimidated, asaulted, and vandalized property in order to gain their “victory” in Fresno. They went so low as to threaten Spanish speaking home healthcare workers with deportation if they did not vote for the purple shirted, scandal plagued top-to-bottom corporate style union.
The SEIU has also alienated itself from the California Democratic Party by threatening to cut off donations if progressive within the Party don’t abandon their support for NUHW. SEIU’s main interest is collecting union dues from its members without truly representing them. Instead, SEIU is making sweetheart deals with the empoyers thus resulting in lower wages and benefits.
California’s healthcare workers should decert SEIU and join NUHW if they want better contracts led by the workers themselves and not by appointed Washington based Stern supporters.
The corrupt and dangerous direction in which SEIU has taken healthcare workers in California is coming home to roost.
Healthcare workers want NUHW to represent them. This is so mainly because the SEIU has proven to be a complete sell out. Healthcare workers are now being foreced to buy their own health benefits, co-payments have risen under SEIU’s leadership, wages have been reduced, workers are forced to call an 800 number to complain about worksite issues, Spanish speaking workers have been threatened with deportation, and dues have gone up without real representation. These are just some of the reasons why the SEIU is losing elections left and right.
NUHW RISING! UNITE HERE RISING! SEIU DIMINISHING!