He showed how Rosselli and the other defendants:

• Moved $3 million of our dues money off the SEIU-UHW books and into a slush fund for their personal use in the event the local was placed in trusteeship - money that would not be used to benefit us as members.




• Set up a private e-mail network in order to communicate about the conspiracy without being detected or leaving incriminating e-mails on local union computer servers.




• Used money from the slush fund to purchase private phones for trustworthy staff and members of the executive board to communicate secretly.




• Secretly lined up outside office space prior to the trusteeship, which eventually became the NUHW offices.




• Used staff and union resources to develop secret, off-the-books lists to be used by NUHW after a trusteeship - a theft of SEIU-UHW's property. This operation included handing out cards for members to write out their contact information at a series of "mega-meetings" on January 24, 2009--three days before the trusteeship. After the meetings, the cards vanished and the information was never entered into the SEIU-UHW membership database.




• Planned to connect offsite offices to the SEIU-UHW computer network without informing the local's IT Department.




• Prepared a list of NUHW staff before the trusteeship, on January 21, 2009, even though they claim they didn't decide to create the new union nor have a name until the trusteeship on January 27, 2009.




• Distributed a list of Kinko's locations to key staff so they would be ready to make copies of decertification petitions in the event of a trusteeship, and eventually ran up a copying bill of more than $41,400 the day after the trusteeship. This showed that they were planning to start their new union prior to January 27, 2009.

Kohlman showed how major parts of the now infamous memo written by defendant Barbara Lewis, which called for creating "an ungovernable situation" in the local in the event of a trusteeship, was carried out almost to the letter.

He showed how they canceled 30 nursing home contract extensions so when they formed NUHW they could turn around and decertify those homes, even though it left members vulnerable in the middle of the economic crisis.

He showed how staff incited members to barricade themselves in SEIU-UHW offices to keep the trustees out and create chaos after the trusteeship. And he laid out violence and threats against SEIU staff - some of which NUHW attorney Dan Siegel acknowledged in his closing. The violence forced our union to spend an extra $1.5 million on security to protect members, staff, and our buildings.

In a dramatic moment at the conclusion of the closing argument, Kohlman looked the jurors in the eye and said there were two things that Rosselli and the other defendants left behind. They left behind a massive paper trail, but more importantly, "they left behind their honor."

The trial of the 26 former SEIU-UHW officers stripped of their positions is now with the jury who will deliberate until they reach a verdict. We will continue to bring you the latest breaking news.

There are other ways to stay informed, too:

• Read Rudy Vallin from Seton Medical Center by clicking here.




• Read Contra Costa County home care worker Mary Harms' blog here.




• And read Erica "Lady Bee" Boddie, an activist and radio personality from Kaiser San Francisco, on the top national blog Huffington Post, by clicking here.




• Read blog posts by Bob Lewis, a long time member from Saint Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco,  at this location.




• And sign up for regular tweets as the trial unfolds here.




• Finally, join us on Facebook at this address.