Executive Board Member Kathy Griffee Files Charges, Requests Fellow Member Be Kicked Out

This comment is a lot longer than the ones I've been reading at this site, but I hope it is OK (and worth people's time). I have sent this out to dozens of labor publications, websites, listservs, etc.
-- Monty

Subject : New SEIU scandal reported today in LA Times

Date : Sun, Aug 17, 2008 03:42 PM

Dear SEIU Siblings and friends in the labor movement,

There is a new investigative report out today in the LA Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-union17-2008aug17,0,1737360,full...

also, see SMART commentary at http://www.reformseiu.org/

My comment to the reporter (Paul Pringle), submitted online a few minutes ago, is this:

Paul,

I am an SEIU Local 221 steward, and served as an elected union negotiator for our 2006 contract renewal with the County of San Diego. I was then in Local 535 and since March 1, 2007 have been in one of the forced merger new locals (combining parts of Local 535 and Local 2028). We have had serious problems with the 4 local union officers and the executive board appointed by Andy Stern. Members have demanded, but not gotten, monthly income and expense reports. And we have demanded new elections until 'our purple faces turned blue.'

Below are 2 items: (1) a Union Open Letter I am currently circulating to protest the threat to expel one of our best stewards from the union, and (2) an older open letter to our appointed local union president (Moore), protesting her unilateral action to bar me from serving on joint union-management committees, and her direct collusion with my employer. I have retained a private attorney and have filed ULP charges with PERB against Moore and against my employer, for violating my right to participation in union activity. Before filing the ULP against Moore I filed internal SEIU charges against her. It is ironic (but typical) that my charges against Moore have gotten no hearing and indeed zero response (other than Andy Stern writing to decline original jurisdiction) while the charges against Steward Gutierrez are getting a hearing in less than one month!

I also had an arbitration hearing on August 11, 2008, with my union's attorney, Fern Steiner, representing me (and the union), concerning a 2006 grievance that the employer put me on forced administrative leave and discriminated on the basis of union activity, WHILE I WAS SERVING ON OUR UNION'S BARGAINING TEAM. I mention this latter matter to let you know I am not some marginal character, and I have the credibility and support of a substantial part of my union's membership, and even of our appointed executive board, which voted to take my grievance to arbitration.

I would be happy to supply you with documentary records, and answer any questions you have, regarding these issues, and related history.

For union democracy and integrity,

Monty Reed Kroopkin

858-373-7018 (cell) and 4409 Donald Avenue, San Diego, CA 92117

***************************************************************************

ITEM ONE:

A Union Open Letter: Local 221 to expel member Wally Gutierrez ?

Dear Local 221 siblings,

I heard mention at the Social Welfare Chapter meeting on Wednesday night, that one of the 221 bargaining units, the Crafts Unit, was having a "decertification" election. This is NOT true. I corrected the member who said it, and he then agreed: Decertification and Agency Fee Rescission are totally different.

This difference is very important, because one of the stewards leading the campaign for an Agency Fee election has been charged with 'gross disloyalty' and 'dual unionism' (a charge which properly applies ONLY to advocating decertification and certification of SOME OTHER UNION). He is facing a union 'trial' to decide if he will be EXPELLED from our union !!!! That steward is Wally Gutierrez. He is not acting alone, either. The entire Labor-Management team from the CR Unit is united in their demands. He is being singled out as an "example".

Decertification is the legal process for workers to revoke a union's right to represent them and choose either to then certify a different union to represent them, or choose to be unrepresented. This is NOT what our brothers and sisters in the Crafts Unit are doing. They will continue to be represented by SEIU Local 221. The contract for their bargaining unit will be an SEIU Local 221 contract.

What the Crafts Unit is doing is having an official PERB election to rescind (or retain) the agency shop status for their bargaining unit. A majority vote to rescind would mean that ONLY people who CHOOSE to be union members would pay dues. People who choose to not be members would no longer pay the agency fee for union representational services.

The Crafts members are saying that they want elected officers and an elected executive board, and are tired of excuses for not having these elections. We have all waited a year and a half since the combining of parts of Local 535 and Local 2028, and there is STILL no sign of elections. We were all promised we would have a constitutional convention within 6 months of the birth of Local 221, and vote in a new constitution, and then use it to elect new leadership. Since March 2007, we have had local union officers and executive board members who are all APPOINTED by the SEIU international union president. Many members believe these appointees are NOT doing a good job. We have no constitutional method to recall them or to elect new leaders.

The Crafts members believe that withdrawing our dues/fees is about the only way to exert any influence or control over these appointed 'leaders'. They also know that if they pull out their money and drop their membership, but stay represented by Local 221, they can REJOIN and be full members AT ANY TIME. They believe the local union leadership will WORK HARDER to address their issues if they know that no dues money will be paid otherwise. They also believe that other bargaining units in Local 221 will follow suit and join the movement to demand elections.

To learn more about their views about Local 221, see

http://221craftsforchoice.com/

http://sunshineon221.com/

http://sunshineon221.com/shoutbox

We must all turn out for Wally's 'trial' and support his right to free speech and the right of all members to petition and use the state laws as we see fit.

Attached is a petition demanding that the APPOINTED Executive Board member (Kathy Griffey) who filed these anti-democratic charges against Wally must RESIGN IMMEDIATELY . Please print it out and pass it around and get as many signatures on it as possible and tell people about the 'trial' and to pack the E-Board meeting to protest this gross misconduct -- by an unelected E-Board member.

The 'trial' will be at the

SEIU Local 221 Union Hall

August 27, 2008, 6:00 PM

4004 Kearny Mesa Road

San Diego, CA 92111

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO ALL THE MEMBERS YOU KNOW AND TO THE PRESS.

"AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL"

-- Monty Reed Kroopkin, SEIU Local 221 Steward, San Diego, California

(858) 270-8067

***************************

ITEM TWO:

TO: Sharon-Frances Moore, President, SEIU Local 221

Social Welfare Chapter, SEIU Local 221

SEIU Local 221 Executive Board

Employment and Eligibility Subcommittee of

the Union-Management Committee

FROM: Monty Kroopkin, SEIU Local 221 Steward

DATE: October 13, 2007

Dear President Moore:

I am writing in response to your letter of September 24, 2007, and its attached letter from the County of San Diego Labor Relations Office (enclosed).

As you are aware, the Social Welfare Chapter voted almost unanimously to tell you we want you to file an unfair labor practice charge against the County of San Diego, for coercion and attempting to dictate which members will represent the union, in clear violation of CA Gov. Code Section 3506:

“Public agencies and employee organizations shall not interfere with, intimidate, restrain, coerce or discriminate against public employees because of their exercise of their rights under Section 3502.”

I have not resigned from the E&E committee. I was shocked to read that you assured Labor Relations that I would no longer attend the committee meetings. I even decided last week to quit the union, but good brothers and sisters have talked me out of it.

I have committed no crime. I have violated no policy or regulation. I assaulted no one. I made no physical threats against anyone. I have not been charged with any offense. I have not had any hearing. I have not been subjected to any discipline.

Both the County and SEIU have clear procedures for charges and due process for any discipline. None of that has taken place because there are no grounds for it. What I did do on the date of the so-called “incident” was to respond to a direct threat by the County’s HHSA Human Resources Director, on union property, by telling her she had no authority to tell union representatives how to talk to each other. As a steward and a representative of the union, I stood up for the legal rights of all unions everywhere.

The employer’s response, to lie outright about the “incident” and claim that managers felt “threatened” is absurd and malicious on its face. They did not stop the meeting, in fear or concern that day. They did not even mention any problem. Labor Relations only cooked up their attack upon my reputation to coerce the union into allowing the employer to dictate which union members may represent the union at the bargaining table. They clearly want to talk only with union representatives who will cave in to anything they demand of us, and who will be afraid to negotiate hard for what workers need and want.

Your naked complicity with the employer’s blatant smear campaign has disgraced the entire labor movement. We do not know your motives, but my leadership in my chapter, and my chapter’s consistent complaint that you have not provided the membership with monthly income and expense reports (for an annual union budget of more the $3 million) leaves us with grave suspicions. We will not be silenced.

I expect to be notified of the next E&E committee meeting, and I expect your office to obtain the required union release time from the Labor Relations office, to enable me to attend the meeting.

I demand that you distribute this reply to everyone you sent your 9/24/07 letter.

Yours for Union Democracy,

Monty Kroopkin

cc: concerned parties

***********************************************************

AND, I SEPARATELY SENT PAUL PRINGLE A POST SCRIPT NOTE, THAT I HAVE FORGOT TO GIVE HIM THIS:

Here is the comment I posted at the Seattle Times in response to the article "SEIU's New Political Plan"
http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/2008/06/seius_new_pol...

*******************

Out of more than 10,000 members of SEIU Local 221 (in San Diego), only 56 voted for our convention delegates. More members signed my delegate candidate nominating petition! A committee of our provisional local’s appointed executive board engineered this tiny low turnout by simply not telling the membership where and when to vote. Most of the people voting were members and friends of the unelected e-board members who wanted to make sure they got themselves “elected” to go to the convention in Puerto Rico. They clearly enjoy having power and keeping it. They all say they believe in union democracy.

But actions speak louder than words. All over SEIU these undemocratic, indeed, these anti-union actions are speaking so loudly that we can hardly hear ourselves think.

We pulled out of the AFL-CIO and split the labor movement in North America, but I was never asked to vote on it. I, and probably most of SEIU, would have voted “NO” because dividing the labor movement, instead of building greater unity, is the most stupid thing we could possibly do. The membership was never asked.

My old local, Local 535 in California, was broken up and we were forced to join 4 new locals, all with unelected e-boards and officers. But Local 535 never voted to do that. A tiny fraction of the members of all the locals statewide even voted. Votes were not counted local by local. Restructuring in California did not result in a rational, single statewide public workers local. The rhetoric of increasing bargaining strength through consolidation is just rhetoric. 535 was already a statewide local, and it would have made sense to merge all the smaller locals to form one powerful statewide local, with proper attention to autonomy of community-level chapters and district councils. But 535 was one of the largest, most democratic and powerful local unions in SEIU. I think that is why Andy Stern and his faction wanted us broken up – to eliminate a power base that was not in his pocket. Our union dues and staff time was devoted to “selling” a “yes” vote on the statewide restructuring. No money was spent to give members pro and con ballot information. This was immoral.

When we were forced to join Local 221 on 3/1/07, Stern’s “personal representative”, Marc Earls, promised us a constitutional convention within 6 months, and new elections. Today, we still have unelected leadership. I have even heard the excuse that the members are not “ready” for a constitutional convention. Translation: Stern’s unelected team does not trust the members. E-board meetings are held in secret. Members are not even told the names and contact info of e-board members. Stewards cannot get a roster of our fellow stewards. Dissident rank and file leaders are kicked off union-management committees without any vote or hearing, or passed over when new committee members are appointed. Our contracts and our labor laws are not enforced. Our unelected leaders enjoy many trips, on our dues tab, and stay in fancy hotels. We have an unelected committee holding secret meetings to write a new constitution. They don’t even call it a constitution committee. They call it a “bylaws” committee. Corporations are governed by “bylaws”. Unions are governed by constitutions. This is a symbol of what is wrong.

All over SEIU hundreds of elected local union leaders have been replaced by Stern’s hand-picked appointees. It is like a coup in progress. Stern tells the world it all is to organize the unorganized and strengthen the labor movement. But the methods are destructive of the goals. Vast numbers of members now sneer at the idea that SEIU is even a real union. They think it is becoming a company union: Suck-ups and Employers for an Invisible Union (the new “SEIU”). How many more secret sweetheart deals has Andy Stern made with major employers, and which remain unexposed to the union membership and to the world? Has Stern made secret deals with the government also?

Long before we coined the word “union” workers held meetings and democratically decided how to act in unison toward our employers. That is where the word “union” comes from: unity, built on democracy of, by, and for workers. Somewhere along the way unions started to hire staff to help with the work. Somewhere along the way people started to think of the staff as the union, instead of the members. Power corrupts.

Some union staff and officers think they know what is best for workers. What is best for workers, all over the world, can only be decided democratically by workers. Democracy is not just a tyranny of majority rule, but requires respect for the right of the minority to freely advocate for the majority to change its mind. A democratic union does not fire staff who disagree with a ‘party line’, and does not purposely shut out a dissident minority from meetings, from contract negotiation teams, from conventions. A democratic union does not rig elections and conventions.

The bosses have long had the tactic of grooming labor bosses to do their bidding, to tie our hands behind our backs, to keep us thinking and acting like wage-slaves. We workers have, time and again, found the will and the ways to push them out of our way.

A democratic labor movement is still the future, the destiny of humanity.

In solidarity from San Diego,
Monty Reed Kroopkin,
SEIU shop steward
and organizer for S.M.A.R.T. – SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today http://www.reformseiu.org/