The "facade of house cleaning" at SEIU 6434??
More from the Los Angeles Times today on the Tyrone Freeman/SEIU 6434 controversy.The Service Employees International Union on Friday removed all elected officers of its biggest California local amid an inquiry into the financial practices of the labor group and a related charity, including payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars to firms owned by its president's relatives.
Friday's action follows an announcement earlier this week that the president of the Los Angeles local, Tyrone Freeman, would step aside while the union's national office investigated expenditures disclosed by The Times.
In placing the 160,000-worker local in trusteeship, the union formally relieved Freeman, the local's secretary-treasurer, Amanda Figueroa, and its 55 board members of their posts.
The trustee appointed to take over the local's operations is John Ronches, who has been based in the union's Washington, D.C., headquarters. Ronches, who could not be reached Friday, is an assistant to SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and is a 30-year veteran of the union.
....and now allegations of retaliation,
SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said the union "is going to be looking very closely" into allegations this week that the local leadership retaliated against some staff members when they refused to sign a letter in support of Freeman.
A small number of staffers were transferred to positions far from their homes, and about 10 had their union cellphone service terminated after balking at signing the letter, according to three workers who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal.
"SEIU vs. EAA", the battle renews......
A turf battle between two Los Angeles city employee unions hit the airwaves Thursday, as one group began running radio ads asking the mayor and City Council to investigate its rival.
The Engineers & Architects Association and Service Employees International Union have fought over members before, with SEIU launching an unsuccessful drive in 2002 to decertify EAA and represent its 8,000 workers.
This latest fight comes as SEIU is under fire for alleged financial mismanagement in a local chapter representing home-care workers. The chapter's president, Tyrone Freeman, has stepped down pending an investigation into charges that he funneled union money to firms owned by family and friends.
EAA has pounced on that, and in radio ads has charged that SEIU is a corrupt organization.
"SEIU reaps millions of dollars in dues from its membership, much of this money indirectly paid by taxpayers, and puts this money at play in the political arena," the ads said.
"SEIU reaps millions of dollars in dues from its membership, much of this money indirectly paid by taxpayers, and puts this money at play in the political arena," the ads said.
The ads also urge residents to call Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to demand an investigation of the union.
Labels: EAA, SEIU 6434, Tyrone Freeman
Posted by Red Spot in CD 14 @ 8/23/2008 09:34:00 AM
18 Comments:
Janice Hahn, Bill Rosendahl and other throwback white lib lefties have been sucking upto SEIU and their money -- that's been behind their pushing the "living wage" for LAX area workers when it was none of their damn business or jurisdiction, since those hotels were singled out at random with no city contracts.
Stacking chambers with these maids and hotel workers, largely illegal and other immigrant Latinos who speak little or no English and can't get better jobs, so they could clap for her and she admitted when Perry tried to quiet them down, so Hahn could boast about her leftie creds further: "I kind of like it," let them clap for me!
The hotels are suing the city and I wonder how much it's costing? Especially with Rocky contracting everything out and Moron Hahn having no legal basis for her SEIU suck-up move.
Eric Garcetti and the Mexicans of course strongly support Hahn, but were glad to have the two white idiots out at the forefront on this one. Jan Perry supports it, too.
Sucking
Earnings
Into
Underworld
How long before the stuff going on at 721 hits the papers?
Isn't the head of 721 using union money to take care of her relatives?
Who's the head of 721?
I heard Ridley-Thomas' folks are getting nervous. If he couldn't beat Parks outright with $4.5 million, What's he going to do without his Sugar Daddy, Tyrone? Even Maria Elena has got to look over her shoulder when she reaches into her corrupt pockets. The feds know that she was the treasurer of that independent expenditure funded by the union to slam Parks. It's over, baby! Who's running for the Eighth?
President of 721 is Annelle Grajeda. Seems she was installed by the Washington, DC office after the merger of seven southern California public employee locals (including 347, which used to be at the city)
in to one, SEIU 660.
Julie Butcher is still around, too. You can sometimes see her with her temp employees around various city facilities.
Why are racists comments like 11:39 AM 20080823 permitted here? What kind of blog moderators would tolerate this kind of language?
So . . . Tyrone isn't the only Stern-appointed head of an SEIU mega-local stealing from the members.
Shocking, absolutely shocking ! !
Annelle Grajeda, appointed by Stern to head the new LA based mega-local SEIU 721, apparently has her boy-toy Alejandro Stephens on te 721 payroll in a no-show job while he is also on the LA County payroll.
With Andy Stern and Anna Burger calling the shots, Grajeda will not be held acountable for her corruption until three weeks after it's exposed in the papers. And then, it will be another Tyrone Freeman style cover-up.
A few questions about the SEIU 6434 bogus trusteeship:
Are Tyrone Freeman and Amanda Figueroa still getting paid?
Count on it!
Are the rest of their lackeys still on the payroll?
You can depend on it!
Will the trustee try to get the stolen funds back from Freeman's pals and relatives?
No way!
This ain't a real trusteeship. This is trusteeship 'lite'. This is the begining of a cover-up by Andy Stern and Anna Butger; they can't let their Southern California flagship franchise go down. They need this crooked local union to stay crooked so they can force all of the homecare and nursing home workers in California into this employer-friendly RICO. (look it up!)
The nursing home bosses are counting on you Andy; you had a deal; you can't let them down; remember, secret backroom deals with the boss is the only way you know how to "organize" (aside from mergers and affiliations, that is.)
Notwithstanding Stern's recent grand pronouncements (after weeks of silence), anyone expecting this bogus trusteeship to clean up the corrupt mess is fooling themselves.
Don't believe?
Just watch!
Solidarity
Eliminated
In
Unions
Anyone in SEIU 6434 and or CUHW 4034 (California United Homecare workers)I urge you to get in contact with reformseiu.org
Mr. Freeman was installed as the 'President' of CUHW after he initiated a raid on the United Domestic Workers. He was never a homcare worker, is unelected (in CUHW), and 'won' the presidency of 6434 in a sham election that ensured incumbant victory.
Union democracy can fix this sort of thing. You would think the head of the carpenters union would have at least at one time swung a hanmmer, the next head of this union should be a homecare worker, one who takes care of the indigent. Have you ever applied a catheter or bathed a disabled man or had to survive on $8.50 an hour Mr. Freeman?
Lars Logan
A former Homecare worker/CUHW member
illuminaticus@gmail.com
This is more than a simple facade; this is a full blown FARCE!
Two of SEIU boss Andy Stern's top appointed henchmen (Tyrone Freeman in California and Rickman Jackson, Freeman's former crony, in Michigan) have been implicated in a rapidly spreading corruption scandal that threatens Stern himself. Freeman has "stepped down" and his local is in trusteeship. Jackson has been dodging the media and is under such pressure that he may "step down" as well.
Firing underlings has never done anything but postpone the boss's downfall, so Stern knows he's in trouble.
In true Nixonian form, the cornered Stern is going after his critics, pointing the finger at someone else.
In a pathetic and desperate effort to put the spotlight somewhere else, he has now called for an SEIU 'hearing' (get your kangaroo suits) to determine if SEIU UHW West (headed by Stern critic and union democracy campaigner, Sal Rosselli) should be put in trusteeship and its officers removed because of 'financial irregularities.'
Stern's accusation is based on the establishment of a 'patient education' fund established by the UHW late last year (similar in purpose and structure to funds established at many other SEIU locals). This is the same bogus charge Stern tried to advance before the SEIU convention in a federal lawsuit, which has already been thrown out of court.
Since Sern couldn't win in a United States court of law, he has chosen this week (coincidence!?) to move the matter to an arena where he sets the rules, appoints the hearing officer, and the final decision is made by Stern's hand-picked International Executive Board!
This is clearly a desperate dictator!
But wait, there's more!
Internal charges alleging corruption have been filed by SEIU members against another Stern-appointed, mega-local head, Annelle Grajeda of SEIU 721 in Southern California. The essence of those charges is that she has had her partner, former Local 660 president Alejandro Stephens in a high-paying, no-show job on the the Union payroll for over a year while he remained an active employee of Los Angeles County.
What other SEIU corruption is out there???
It is becoming painfully and abundantly clear that with Andy Stern's brand of top-down, personality-cult, anti-democratic, boss-friendly, corporate unionism comes a heavy dose of corruption.
But why should SEIU be any different from any other organization where too much power is concentrated in too few people?
Can SEIU reform itself under Stern?
Or will it require a federal government trusteeship to throw out the Stern cabal and put this union in the hands of its members?
Update!!
It's official:
Tyrone Freeman's crony and former chief of staff, Rickman Jackson has taken a 'leave of absence' from his job as the Stern-appointed president of the statewide health care local in Michigan.
This is on top of Stern-appointee as head of the Nevada health care local, Jane McAleavey, was forced to resign after corruption related to that local's internal election was revealed in the local newspaper.
Next domino? Annelle Grajeda!
Stern's house of cards is not standing up very well to these gentle breezes.
Wait till the wind picks up!
Is it true Julie Butcher claims to have filed a Freedom of Information Act request and obtained all EAA-represented employees' home addresses and will be sending people to solicit them to switch to SEIU at their homes?
There's two stories on the internet that say SEIU did this earlier this year in Northern California with Stockton city employees and in a different place with nurses. One story said SEIU claimed in court knocking on peoples doors and yelling into their homes in an attempt to get their signatures was an expression of their free speech rights!?
Andy "Wag-the-dog" Stern.
Got a corruption scandal ensnaring your protégés Tyrone Freeman and Rickman Jackson?
Corruption you were warned about years ago, but refused to act?
Want to get out of the spotlight?
Simple solution: WAG THE DOG!!Attack your critics in the most successful SEIU local in the country by threatening to put it in trusteeship and remove its leaders for alleged financial improprieties which have already been thrown out of court. By the way, we're talking about the SEIU UHW West and its president Sal Rosselli. This is a well-run, highly successful union where there has never been even the whiff of scandal; the best standards and contracts in the country, the fastest growing local in SEIU, the most political volunteers, the most voluntary political contributions raised of ALL California SEIU locals.
So why is the GangSternGang attacking the UHW while it covers up the real corruption with Freeman, Jackson, Stern and Burger?
Simple: In Stern's SEIU there is no room for dissent, no room for democracy, and no room for honest leaders.
In the name of keeping iron-hand control of the union and crushing all opposition to their corrupt and anti-democratic practices, Stern and his corrupt thugs are prepared to drive SEIU over the cliff and hand the Republicans a potent issue to use against Barack Obama and the Democrats.
Stern is starting to look like a bigger amateur than George W Bush but with a huge dose of megalomania!
How tragic for American workers and the labor movement that these crooks are in charge of this huge union.
Thanks to the LA Times for exposing the rot and hope the just announced congressional investigation results in the removal of these Stern-appointed crooks and the union being put back in the hands of honest leaders.
Whoops! And Annelle is gone too now! (although still on payroll I bet)
Congratulations Andy Stern, your strategy of forced mergers, undemocratic appointments, and attacks on the few remaining sound locals has almost completed destroyed SEIU in California.
Keep up the good work (I'm sure you will as you are too power crazed and angry to realize when you should back down, and no one around you has the balls to tell you.)
It is only a matter of time til this spreads to Massachusetts where two toadies -- David Holway and Susan Segat have long been corrupt leaders inexplicably propped up by the national union in spite of hundreds of member complaints, blatant corruption, and a pathetic reputation that besmirches good union members in the Commonwealth.
well as an EAA member I just got the SEIU letter which I have no intention of reading. I find it insulting that my address was given out. How in the world would a FOIA be applicable here. It vioulates my right to privacy and that trumps FOIA. What creeps these people are. EAA members are not going to be bought this way. They lost a few years back why don't they go away for GOOD? to SEIU union Go away and be corrupt somewhere else!
Take a look at yet another SEIU mess, Local 221 (San Diego):
http://221craftsforchoice.com/
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