Certifiable

NUHW is now officially the exclusive collective bargaining representative for the SoCal KaiPerm employees formerly represented by Zombie UHW.

Any other questions, Zombie supporters?

"We Did It!"

Enjoy a bit of video coverage of the SoCal Tsunami...

Hot Off The Presses

...from the NLRB...


(click on image to embiggen)

Analysis of the KaiPerm SoCal Vote Count

First, I think a video is in order here...

"SEIU Organizing - An Interpretive Dance"


Okay, then.

There is no amount of polish that will be able to put a shine on what just happened to Zombie UHW today. Three bargaining units, all overwhelmingly voting for NUHW.

The cumulative vote today was 1652 for NUHW, 254 for Zombie UHW, and 33 for neither entity.

Put another way - of a total of 1939 valid votes cast today, only 13.1% were cast for the vaunted, long-standing, nationally powerful SEIU-UHW West.

In the meantime, the broken-down-before-it-even-starts-up newcomer to the race, NUHW, picked up a cool 85.2% of the vote today.

In Randy Shaw's article yesterday, he mentioned that John Borsos had called Zombie UHW's performance at SRMH almost exactly (Borsos had it at 15, it was really 13), and he predicted a 60% margin for NUHW over UHW - that margin actually turned out to be 70% and change.

The pro-SEIU voices (what there are of them) are predictably silent today, while the NUHW folks, especially those on the ground down in SoCal, are rightfully jubilant at today's results.

It will take a day or three to fully digest what went on today, but as it stands right now, SEIU and Zombie UHW are in a world of hurt, which they have have brought entirely upon themselves with bad service, bad negotiation, bad agreements, and a generally bad attitude toward their customers.

This election result today should come as a shock to nobody outside of Our Glorious Maximum Leader's syncophantic E-board.

Look for Brave Sir Regan and Esquirol Medina to suddenly find themselves with other more pressing matters within SEIU while the dust settles from this interstellar ass-kicking they received at the hands of NUHW.

SRMH - Post-Election Discussion

The press and the blogosphere is beginning to realize and to document the EPIC level of FAIL demonstrated by SEIU and Zombie UHW in the Santa Rosa election...

"The result was a crushing defeat for the SEIU..." according to the Los Angeles Times.

"NUHW is Decisive in Santa Rosa, SEIU Tries to Postpone Defeat" per Labor Notes.

The article in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat had this quote from Zombie UHW:

Adriana Surfas, an official with SEIU-UHW, said of the vote, “We are disappointed, and we wish the Santa Rosa workers well.”

Much like Forrest Gump, that's about all they gotta say about that.

Randy Shaw at BeyondChron has weighed in, and in the article SEIU is laid low...

After a relentless campaign attacking NUHW, its staff, and its very right to call itself a union, SEIU lost 283-13 among workers desiring a union. It’s going to take a heckuva spinmeister for SEIU to explain to workers in other hospitals why they should trust SEIU over NUHW when those at SRMH clearly did not.

SEIU’s brand is badly tarnished in California, both from its fight against NUHW and its failed struggle against UNITE HERE. The union has alienated multiple local labor councils, threatened John Burton (the state’s leading progressive and union hero), and is burning bridges with the religious community.

SEIU paid a steep price for its all-out campaign in Santa Rosa, and should have withdrawn from the election months ago, as many urged. Now, it has undermined its ability to compete against NUHW for the nearly 9000 other non-union workers in the St. Joseph's Health System chain, and will be under statewide pressure to withdraw from contesting NUHW's organizing rights in these facilities.

How does a union spend that much money, using messaging produced by the highly regarded San Francisco-based BMW political consulting firm, only win 2% of the total vote? And only 2% despite multiple attack pieces on NUHW, while the victorious union only could afford a single glossy leaflet during election week (the NUHW piece was designed at no cost by San Francisco political consultant Eric Jaye, and explained why workers needed a union and only referenced SEIU as a purple grinch in the corner)?

NUHW spokesperson Jon Borsos thinks he has the answer. He described NUHW’s win as a “tremendous victory for democratic unionism, as health care workers stood up to corporate health care and to corporate unionism.” Longtime SRMH union supporter Nancy Timberlake echoed Borsos, adding “to win against a behemoth like SEIU and our employer’s own anti-union campaign is true vindication and a true miracle.”

Tis the season for miracles, something SEIU also overlooked when it successfully delayed the election until a week before Christmas.

This election may well be having downstream consequences down at KaiPerm in SoCal as well, according to Tasty...

Sources report that very high level SEIU staffers in DC are saying that SEIU is going to lose the Kaiser Pro election.

Behind the scenes the word is, "...there is no way to win this election. The workers simply won't talk to us."

Tasty doesn't know if that is true, but it seems like DC doesn't have much confidence in the Trusteeship Team.

Now it's on to SoCal Kaiser...

Video Coverage From SRMH Vote

The Empire Report has been all over the SRMH election fight, and now has an excellent compilation of video coverage from last night's results at SRMH...

First up is an announcement of the "unofficial" vote count...



Next is an announcement from John Borsos, indicating that SEIU has unilaterally decided to prevent the certification (but if they didn't, then management would)...



Next is one of the NUHW organizers explaining some of the upcoming technical challenges toward getting this count certified and completed...



There are additional reactions that can be seen either at Empire Report or by clicking directly into the Empire Report's YouTube channel.

SRMH Election Update

From Sadie Crabtree at NUHW...

Memorial workers vote to join NUHW after six-year struggle

Caregivers reject a rival organization that stood in their way

Santa Rosa, Calif.—Caregivers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital voted to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) today in an election victory that caps their six-year struggle to win a voice at work.

"We are all so excited to finally have a voice to make our hospital a better place to work and better for our community," said Nancy Timberlake, a telemetry technician at the hospital. "We stuck together for six years and we finally did it. I'm so relieved and so happy that we won."

The vote was 283 for NUHW, 263 for No Union, and only 13 for SEIU, a rival organization that tried to interfere in the election. Despite SEIU's devastating loss, as of 7:00 p.m. Friday night they were still trying to stop the labor board from certifying the results. Seventeen ballots were cast by workers not on the board's list of eligible voters, and SEIU wants those ballots counted in the hopes there will be enough "No Union" votes to trigger a runoff.

The workers' effort drew national attention last year after political leaders and religious leaders rallied with caregivers at the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, the founding order of St. Joseph Health System, which owns Memorial. Under pressure from the community, hospital administration agreed to negotiate with workers' representatives to establish ground rules for a free and fair union election.

This April, a majority of Memorial caregivers petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for an election to join NUHW. But the election was delayed for more than five months because of frivolous "blocking charges" filed by SEIU, the rival organization. When the labor board rejected those charges, SEIU demanded a spot on the ballot and blocked negotiations over ground rules—giving hospital management a free hand to mount an aggressive anti-union campaign.

SEIU ignored appeals from religious leaders, the North Bay Labor Council, and even former Labor Secretary Robert Reich to negotiate ground rules. Despite having virtually no support at Memorial Hospital caregivers, SEIU bombarded workers with dozens of mailers and visited them constantly at home and at work, urging them not to vote for NUHW.

NUHW filed charges with the labor board on Wednesday, after workers alleged that hospital administrators broke the law by engaging in illegal surveillance of union supporters, threatening and disciplining union activists, and giving SEIU staff unfair access to caregivers at work so they could campaign against the union.

"It was really transparent what SEIU was doing," said Melissa Bosanco, a Care Partner at the hospital. "It was like they were management's anti-union team. They wanted us to fail. But we saw through it and stuck together in NUHW."

Next month, more than 2,300 Kaiser Permanente professionals in Southern California will vote to quit SEIU and join NUHW. In all, a majority of 100,000 workers at 360 facilities across California have petitioned to join NUHW and are waiting for similar elections.

Again - NUHW puts out the particulars on the vote, unlike SEIU who never does. The only question right now is whether or not SEIU will allow the challenged ballots to be fully and fairly judged.

More as it comes in...

NUHW Adds Sequoias-Portola...

One more unit freed from frivolous SEIU blocking charges has opted to go with Big Red...

Workers reject cynical effort by SEIU officials to deny them the right to join a union

Seventy caregivers at The Sequoias Assisted Living Facility in Portola Valley have won their election to form a union with NUHW.

“We organized our union so we could stand up for ourselves, and make sure our residents get the best possible care and that we are treated with the dignity and respect we deserve,” said Jose Bolanos, a cook at the facility. “Now we have a voice to do that. We’re thrilled to be part of a democratic union that is run by healthcare workers like us.”

SEIU had tried to block this election for several months with frivolous charges. When the labor board rejected their charges and scheduled the election, they failed to win enough support to get a spot on the ballot. The final vote was 40 for NUHW and 20 for “No Union.”

It must be noted again - SEIU prevented these people off from joining a union for almost nine months, even though SEIU had no intent of ever representing these people - just like with the HHS group at Los Alamitos. The results were seen at the ballot box.

It can't get any lower or any more cynical than for SEIU to deny someone the opportunity to join a union when SEIU had no intent or desire to represent those people for themselves.

SEIU is acting like a dumped boyfriend that can't take "no" for an answer. It is unfortunate that such a formerly proud organization has had to stoop to this level.

Los Al Chooses NUHW

One more crack in the Big Purple Dam...

SEIU officials forced to abandon election after failing to win any support

Hospital Housekeeping Systems (HHS) workers at Los Alamitos Hospital voted 35-to-7 to form a union with NUHW, despite an aggressive effort by another union to stop them.

“I’m overjoyed that we finally have a voice to protect our jobs and our families,” said Matilde Garcia, an HHS worker and member of the organizing committee. “And I’m proud that we stayed united and chose a union that respects its members and is run by healthcare workers like us.”

The scandal-plagued SEIU, widely condemned for its attacks on other unions, had tried to intervene. After the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rejected SEIU’s attempt to block the election by filing frivolous legal charges, SEIU tried to compete in the election—but abandoned their effort last week when they failed to win any support from workers.

Even though SEIU represents many other workers at Los Alamitos, SEIU members actually supported the housekeeping workers in choosing NUHW.

“SEIU never intended to represent the housekeeping workers,” said Letty Marquez, an SEIU-represented lab tech at the hospital. “They just want to stop everyone from joining NUHW. It’s sad that instead of helping members, SEIU is wasting our dues money standing in the way of workers who want a union voice.”

NUHW was founded in January, in the wake of SEIU’s hostile takeover of California’s healthcare union. Since then, more than 100,000 healthcare workers—mostly current members of SEIU—have petitioned for elections to join NUHW. Today’s election at Los Alamitos Hospital was the first election to be scheduled by the NLRB.

The voters down at LosAl did exactly what had to be done - deliver a resounding victory for NUHW.

It sure was nice of the Plague to try to bag on Randy Shaw for his latest article calling BS on their claim that NUHW was "falling apart at the seams." What was especially nice was their dig at these workers who freely and without coercion joined NUHW instead of Zombie UHW, and described their decision as "about 80 workers vote for NUHW this week in uncontested elections at two small facilities."

You stay classy, Purple Plague.

Props to the folks down at LosAl, and props to the staff and administration of NUHW. Let's keep the ball rolling, folks.

A Beatdown So Good...

...you could cut it with a fork!

The Zombie UHW Response to Defeat...

Oy, vey. They just can't take defeat gracefully, can they?

OAKLAND, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU UHW) is protesting the recent decision by the California Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) to allow the decertification election at Doctors Medical Center (DMC) in San Pablo to continue. The PERB issued its ruling in the face of clear violations of labor law by DMC management and organizers of NUHW, which is seeking to decertify SEIU UHW at the hospital.

"Management gave NUHW a free hand to organize in our hospital and to confuse our members about who their union really was," says Martha Torrentes an EVS at Doctors. "The same people who failed to help us get a new contract last year are now abusing the law to win a tainted election."

Sure, Zombies. It's okay when Kaiser and CHW and Sutter and DoC staffers block any kind of access for NUHW partisans, but when the folks at Doctors did NOT do so, that's when you cry foul?

The PERB has issued three separate charges -- two against management and one against NUHW -- that make it clear that both the employer and NUHW acted illegally during the election. These complaints are very serious and may overturn the results of the election on appeal. The employer clearly wanted NUHW. According to PERB, management allowed NUHW organizers full access to the hospital floors while greatly restricting the access of SEIU UHW organizers.

The people "restricting the access of SEIU UHW organizers" were the people that SEIU UHW were trying to organize, as can be seen below:




Still and all, it's nice to see SEIU having to now be on the ass-end of an appeals process.

"Everyone knows why management supports NUHW," says Jose Quinto, who works in the hospital's surgical operation. "They know they will be the ones who benefit when their workers are the only members of their own union and have no resources or clout."

Yo, Jose - everyone also knows why management supports NUHW- that's because their employees support NUHW as well, and since they actually want to have an environment where patient care comes first and warfare between management and labor comes last, it behooves the management folks to actually listen to what the rank-and-file are saying - which is that they want out of SEIU.

Adding to the damage, the PERB also found that NUHW illegally instructed workers to hand ballots to NUHW supporters. This is a clear violation of the law and undermines the integrity of the voting process. NUHW has a history of ethical violations: They misused members' money when they were in office; they harmed the union's ability to represent the workers once they left office; and they have now illegally interfered with an election.

The only thing that NUHW interfered with was the SEIU plan to take over the union destiny of 300 workers at Doctors Hospital, who have made it clear that they DO NOT WANT The Purple Plague to be their representative.

VICTORY AT SAN PABLO!!!

The staff at Doctors Hospital in San Pablo have officially checked out of Hotel California, and have checked themselves into some fancy new digs!

Folks, this vote wasn't even close. It went as follows:

NUHW - 158 (79.4%)

SEIU - 24 (12.1%)

No Representation - 7 (3.5%)

Void ballots - 8 (4.%)

Challenged - 2 (1%)

The number of eligible voters in this election was approximately 300, and NUHW got an absolute majority of all eligible voters, and not just the landslide majority of those who voted (6-to-1 ratio of NUHW-to-SEIU, by the way).

I'm still looking for the SEIU reaction to this absolute punking they received at the hands of NUHW. I'm sure that Baghdad Michelle will have lots to say about this one, right? (/sarc)

There's really only one thing that The Purple Plague can say about the outcome of this fight:

Bottom line: In the first direct contest between NUHW and SEIU, it is NUHW who has emerged victorious.

Now it is time to take this momentum and carry it on to the fight down in Fresno, such that we can show Our Glorious Maximum Leader what a "death knell" really looks like.