Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/198525
SEIU:2 4/24/08 6:06 PM Page 14 In exchange for the ability to unionize nursing home workers in California, SEIU agreed to not only support greater Medi-Cal reimbursements for nursing home operators, but to lobby against crucial patient safety reforms and discourage its members from criticizing nursing home conditions. a grievable offense. Union representatives are not trained on labor law or enforcing the contract, and are discouraged from answering questions about contract violations. In the drive to forge management partnerships and increase membership, SEIU has worked hand-in-hand with industry bosses and politicians, violating some of the oldest tenets of worker solidarity. In 2006, SEIU President Andy Stern crossed a picket line to attend a tony brunch and discuss healthcare reform with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Schwarzenegger attempted to push through ABX1:1, the healthcare bill that would have forced Californians to buy insurance without guarantees of minimum coverage or maximum cost and encouraged employers to drop health coverage, SEIU fully backed the proposal. SEIU'S CHOLESTEROL CON A union that claims to represent health workers gets caught in bed with the pharmaceutical industry. By Maggie Mahar 14 REGISTERED NURSE SEIU has not only collaborated with employers in organizing, but also in bargaining. In the hopes of endearing themselves to management, SEIU negotiators have routinely undercut vital professional gains for RNs, including pensions and retiree health. Thanks to CNA/NNOC, pensions and retiree health for California nurses are an industry standard. Outside of California, pensions and retiree health for nurses are still unusual. In the early years of the last century, they had a term for this type of union: a company union. Company unions were typically established by the employer and gave workers an illusion of representation and collective power when in reality they were controlled by management and served to undermine worker unity. They were outlawed by the National Labor Relations Act in 1935. Today, the hospital