43,000 Kaiser workers set to vote in bitter union faceoff
The battle between the Service Employees International Union and the new National Union of Healthcare Workers is continuing, as both fight to represent employees of Kaiser. A victory for either union would be extremely helpful. For SEIU, a win would shore up opinion after the departure of Andy Stern. A win for NUHW would give the union legitimacy, and place on the playing field in the health care industry. SEIU representatives are urging members to stay with what they know,and warning them that they will lose their contracts if they switch unions. For its part, NUHW says that they are the ones who negotiated those contracts, and that they are protected under federal law. The new union says that SEIU is more interested in lining its pockets than looking out for its members. Both unions have filed charges and counter-charges against one another with the National Labor Relations Board, but delays in the resolution process have caused votes to be delayed. Counting of the Kaiser ballots will begin in October.
See "43,000 Kaiser workers set to vote in bitter union faceoff", Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2010