The Service Employees International Union is facing having its 2010 victory against an upstart rival union thrown out after a judge ruled the SEIU had intimidated workers for their vote. The SEIU had won an election against the National Union of Healthcare Workers, an SEIU splinter organization, for the right to represent over 40,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California 9 months ago. In her ruling, however, Judge Lana Parke found that the SEIU had threatened workers that their pay increases would be withheld if they voted to switch to the NUHW. The matter will now be brought before the National Labor Relations Board to determine if a new election is warranted.
See "Judge rules against SEIU in California fight", Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post, July 21, 2011