SEIU Watch – Sept 22, 2011

by | Sep 22, 2011 | News

A federal Administrative Law Judge issued a 26-page decision dismissing all of SEIU’s ULP charges against Kitsap Mental Health Services (KMHS) in Washington state. When employees filed a decertification petition with the board asking it to withdraw recognition from SEIU 1199NW, KMHS withdrew recognition from the union, causing SEIU to file the flurry of ULPs. When the Seattle office of the NLRB ruled that the union’s claims should all be dismissed, the union appealed to the Appeals Division in Washington, D.C. In typical Washington fashion, the Appeals board reversed the original Seattle decision, ordering the Seattle office to prosecute KMHS based on the charges. A 3-day trial was held, and the ALJ upheld the original Seattle Division ruling, finding all of the union’s claims unsupported by fact and law. The SEIU and Sodexo settled the RICO suit against the union via a confidential agreement. In an interesting interpretation of the move, it is suggested that SEIU did not want to face exposure to damaging disclosure, and were petrified of potential fines of up to $1 billion. To prevent “dirty laundry” being exposed to the public, SEIU agreed to cease their corporate campaign against Sodexo in exchange for the dropping of the RICO suit. In California, SEIU Local 1000 president Yvonne Walker was hoping to see her salary tripled, and the salaries of the 3 local vice-presidents significantly boosted. It came to naught when a member filed an open letter [4] calling her on the move. One of the suggestions listed in the letter was to “encourage Local 1000’s executive board to find solutions to help members instead of searching for ways to provide union leadership undue and unearned enrichment.” Walker pulled the item from the board meeting agenda.

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