In no particular order, here's the first part of a quick rundown of the biggest stories of the last month...
1) Kaiser Layoffs
First and worst, this one's just sickening. Turns out Zombie UHW (specifically Mary Grillo and Veronica Chavez) signed off on the Kaiser layoffs in a backroom deal on August 4. The agreement shows that SEIU agreed to limits on workers' rights to challenge layoffs and set aside job security protections in the contract. Adding insult to injury, to date Zombie UHW are still urging workers to picket to protect their jobs, and Kaiser seem fine with that - contract specialists are regularly spotted making the picket signs on Kaiser property.
2) UNITE HERE rejoins the AFL CIO.
Unsurprisingly, UNITE HERE formally rejoined the AFL CIO on September 17, the last day of the organization's convention. Perez predicted the end of Change to Win back in March (really, you could tell it was over when SEIU started reusing the acronym for Change that Works), but it's great to see new strength for the AFL CIO come out of it.
3) Alejandro Stephens looking at serious prison time.
Former Local 660 President Alejandro Stephens is looking at up to 45 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to taking part in a scam involving late LA County Fed secretary-treasurer Miguel Contreras's (now defunct) "Voter Improvement Project" non-profit. Apparently Contreras hired Stephens as a fake consultant, and sent him money that came from charitable foundations (including Kaiser Permanente) under the guise of "voter outreach" that never happened. Annelle Grajeda is also named in the documents as having assisting Stephens with the fraud by helping her son pass $10,000 from the non-profit along to him. Stephens's own plea bargain leaves Annelle out of the sordid story, but names her son.
To be clear, this case is not the original set of accusations that Grajeda helped Stephens double dip from SEIU and his old job with the county, but a whole new can of worms apparently opened during that investigation.
4) The end of UHW?
After being destroyed in all but name this spring, will the UHW-W name now also be consigned to history? That's what Debbie Schneider apparently threatened to Zombie UHW staff at the beginning of September when she emphasized how vital it was that they win upcoming elections (oh dear). According to Debbie, major losses could mean the break-up of UHW members into other locals, and Zombie staff joining Kaiser workers on the unemployment rolls. Makes sense, especially as SEIU bosses have apparently been aggressively spending down the local's bank account since the take-over.
Part 2 tomorrow...
