There’s a new kid in town and we are NUHW, National Union of Health Care Workers. And Andy Stern, Fuehrer of SEIU, is pissed. He came to the Warsaw Ghetto and is getting his ass kicked, deservedly so.
When SEIU (Service Employees International Union) illegally took away the right of United Health Care Workers West (UHW) to vote on breaking away from SEIU, I became angry. Let’s call it righteous indignation. Contacting the ACLU about what I considered an infringement of my civil liberties I was told that I had none. I was told that once I belong to a union I’ve given away my rights as an individual.
“Well,” I thought, “that means I’m chattel.” Doesn’t Andy Stern know that Lincoln freed the slaves. And what’s with the bean counter mentality of the ACLU? Last week Stern went to the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) and said, “They can’t form a new union, they are members of SEIU UHW, and are my property.” Geez, I had a husband like that years ago and divorced him, and UHW did the same to Stern.
So why were we UHW’rs so upset that we need to decertify from SEIU and Stern? There are two reasons. First, we are a bottom up democratic organization: members vote on issues and elect officials. Stern’s organization is a top down organization: He gives the orders and they are carried out. Our executive board is elected, his is appointed by him. Second, Stern would have us all in one health care union whence he’d broker sweetheart deals with employers and reduce us to minimum wag, thereby creating a workforce of drones. Or in his words, “They are my property.”A domino effect would ensue and, piece by peace, workers in home health care, hospitals, and nursing homes, would be subjected to SEIU acting as our employer, not our representative.
As of this writing 60,000 health care workers have decertified (legally petitioned Washington to leave) from SEIU. As of this writing SEIU has shrunk from 150,000 members in California alone to 90,000 and the numbers are growing. It is a movement of workers across the US saying, “Hell, no, we won’t go gently into the good night.” All of Denver, Colorado, Kaiser, has petitioned Washington to leave SEIU
‘ As of this writing, Andy Stern just lost a $30,000,000 yearly income from health care workers in California. And, if others go the route of Colorado. . . .well, you do the math.
I am begging all those health care workers who live amongst us to sign the petition to decertify. Democracy requires education and action. Please sign before you wake up to the fact that you belong to Andy Stern with no bargaining rights and minimum wage.
