The streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles were alive with the sound of beating drums and the voices of hundreds of SEIU-UHW members this week. But it wasn't the latest plot by the Governor to cut home care wages or a hospital management trying to stall negotiations that brought out the union protest. No, it was an effort by ousted union officials to raise funds for their campaign against SEIU-UHW members--the very healthcare workers they say they want to defend.
"I am so proud to be here tonight with all my fellow union members," said Marcelino Robles, who works at Sutter CPMC, and came out to protest the fundraiser. "We are out here to show how united we are in SEIU-UHW and how little support these former leaders really have."
"I am so proud to be here tonight with all my fellow union members," said Marcelino Robles, who works at Sutter CPMC, and came out to protest the fundraiser. "We are out here to show how united we are in SEIU-UHW and how little support these former leaders really have."
"While we were battling management for our unpaid raises and retro, NUHW did everything they could to try and decertify us and obstruct workers from getting paid. Even now, as we're trying to bargain our new contract, they're making things very ugly by spewing lies to hurt and divide us," said Stephanie Allen, who works at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, as she tried to address the Los Angeles event attendees.
The events were organized by former UHW officials Sal Rosselli, John Borsos, Barbara Lewis, and other defendants (and former UHW officials) to raise funds for their court defense. UHW members made sure they let those attending the fundraiser know of the litany of misdeeds Rosselli and the other defendants committed while in office and since they have been removed from their posts. Sporting the Orwellian name of Fund for Union Democracy, the event web site said that, "Funds raised at this event will support the legal defense of these twenty-six union activists" who now face a host of legal problems with ever-dwindling resources.
SEIU-UHW members weren't buying what the defendants were selling, and they came out in force to caution those who might be attending the event without knowing all the facts. They also handed out flyers detailing the misdeeds of the ousted officials and literally shined the (flash) light on those who went inside.
Sonoma County home care worker Marie Melchor wore a chicken outfit to make her own personal point about NUHW: "Sal Rosselli and his group are trying to fool these people into giving them money. I am here to tell them that NUHW just wants to hurt real workers like me."
"I've got three children and it's crucial for me to protect my family by maintaining my wages and benefits when we negotiate a new contract next year. NUHW is trying to mess up everything we have, and they need to go away," said Jay Fermin, who works at Kaiser Regional in Pasadena.
While a few NUHW staff stood in front of the door, shouting insults and made sexual innuendo's about UHW members, hundreds of SEIU-UHW members picketed for hours without a pause.
At the Los Angeles event, Sal Rosselli was caught trying to sneak out of the event at around 9 p.m., presumably when he thought SEIU-UHW members had left. But Darren "Tree" Wallace from Kaiser Sunset was there to greet him. Despite Tree's attempts to stop Rosselli and speak with him, the shocked NUHW leader scampered away unwilling--or unable--to answer any of our questions.