New Haven Independent

Posted by: nfjanette | March 12, 2007 5:37 PM

That has City Hall convinced (as Mary O'Leary reported in this Reg article) that management consciously orchestrated widespread violations at top levels, poisoning its relationship with New Haven, perhaps irreparably.

There's nothing like a little calm hyperbole from the Independent's writers to go with the afternoon tea. By the way, why has the Independent consistently stopped mentioning the union's breaking of the agreement in the last series of articles? Where is the Union's letter admitting their violations?

Posted by: jacob | March 12, 2007 5:52 PM

Sure, I've got some ideas of how to break the impasse. If the hospital board is serious about fixing this, here are some steps it can take:

1) Fire Marna Borgstom and other senior managers who are responsible for this debacle. If, as Crespo claims, the her dissembling and cheating comes from a lack of experience with union organizing drives (although really, given how long this drive has been going on, you'd think she'd have more experience than most!) hire an executive that is used to unions, comes from a unionized hospital, and has a track-record of working with, not against, unions.

2) Agree to recognize that 1199 already has signed cards from more than half of the bargaining unit. The board should order management to recognize the union and start negotiations toward the first contract.

Or, of course, the board can continue its standard practice and encourage more lying and cheating.

Posted by: elmcityguy | March 12, 2007 6:08 PM

Other than one incident where an organizer got into an arguement with a manager and was fired for it, what other incidents of the agreement being broken by 1199 have been confirmed?

Posted by: Joe | March 12, 2007 6:42 PM

"The most senior Hospital leaders were unaware of these violations when they occurred ..."

Stop already! Nobody's buying that damn bridge.

Posted by: Kris | March 12, 2007 8:07 PM

As one of the 1800 YNHH employees let me say this. The one thing all 1800 of us agree on is that we just want to vote and get this over with.I dont want card count because i dont want a union but i did sign a card years ago. I felt i had no choice but to sign.The union called my house a hundred times a night and came to my house on many occasions.Every time i went on my cigarette break,went outside to get lunch or left to go home they were there waiting for me and somehow knew my name.They were stalking me until one day i signed the card just i could eat and smoke in peace.Why doesnt the arbitrator,clergy,mayor or anyone else ask me about intimidation?

The employees that want a union just want a wage increase without having to work for it.We keep hearing about all these employees that cant afford the premiums for the insurance yale offers so they are forced to go on state insurance.Give me a break,i bet just by getting rid of the cell phones that they spend half the shift talking on and i bet they could pay for insurance.Its not a matter of what you can or cant afford its about what you choose to spend your money on.Why pay for insurance when the state gives it for free. Remember,the state isnt gonna pay your union dues just because you have more babies than you can afford.

Posted by: ann | March 12, 2007 8:39 PM

Same old picture, same old news, same dodo over and over again.

NFJANETTE: The reason why they don't mention anything that the Union has done wrong is because of the monies they provide these politicians. Don't worry though, there are large groups forming to vote these people out of office. From New Haven and all the other area towns. People are covering all districts. After all the Union may provide these government officials with monies for their campaigns, but we the people get to vote them out. You might say we can fire them!!!

Posted by: jacob | March 12, 2007 10:09 PM

Kris- If you signed a card but have now decided you don't want a union, why don't you rescind your card? The hospital management has broadcast loud and clear that all you need to do is send your notice rescinding your card to the union or to management.

It card count comes down to this: if you want a union, you sign a card. If you don't, you don't. And if you get "stuck" with a union that you didn't want--well, you'll just have to "suffer" through higher wages and better working conditions. You'll have my sympathies.

Posted by: No Name When it comes to the unions. | March 12, 2007 10:23 PM

We need to run the unions out of this city.
Their bull reeks of greed and ruins lives.
Anyone who thinks that the underlying principals of the union are strong in their leaders are sincerely wrong.
The union leaders are about as socialist and for the people as the Russian Czars.
Here's the mentality: The more people I can get to work for me the less work I have to do to make much more money and assure my own job. If I have to lie cheat and bring good honest people down with me in the name of "the working man" so be it.

Posted by: Suspicious | March 13, 2007 8:34 AM

I think YNHH managers are posing as Hospital workers who post comments on this website. Kris, particularly, strikes me as a phony.
"The employees that want a union just want a wage increase without having to work for it."
"Give me a break,i bet just by getting rid of the cell phones that they spend half the shift talking on and i bet they could pay for insurance.Its not a matter of what you can or cant afford its about what you choose to spend your money on."

I'm sorry, that sounds like management 100%. And if they are willing to intimidate and lie to their employees face to face, obviously they are willing to post a fraudulent comment annonymously on a website, right?

Posted by: ann | March 13, 2007 9:05 AM

Hundreds of people have revoked their union cards. Most of them had signed them under falsehoods. That is not the whole issue here. The issue is to take someone's right to vote away is WRONG!! And yes, unions have been linked to labor racketeering (a practice of extortion on). The FBI is loaded with info you can search on the web. Minorities (woman included) have worked too hard to get rights. I am not about to hand them over to anyone. Just let YNHH vote. Do you know the sad part? Many of these employees who want a union, say that they need to work if YNHH were to go on strike. They have families to support. So they say they will just cross the picket line. HELLO PEOPLE.... YOU CAN'T. There is a ritual process you have to go through to be in a union. You can be fired, fined, and I won't use the other "F" word.

Posted by: Kris | March 13, 2007 9:06 AM

Hey suspicious you are wrong.I have been a PCA at ynhh for 12 years but thanks for the compliment.I wish i was part of ynhh management,they are a wonderful group of people.

Posted by: Tom | March 13, 2007 9:22 AM

Suspicious: You must have signed a union card and are one of those people who want them to controll your $$. Maybe people should take Kris' advice on how to "MANAGE" your money? YNHH has a program for tuition reimbursement you know.

Posted by: z | March 13, 2007 9:51 AM

what "mistakes?" From the letter, this all sounds pretty deliberate. I agree with Jacob. Card check is the only way out of this. An election now gives Borgstrom exactly what she wants and exactly why the hospital did all of this in the first place

Posted by: Jacki | March 13, 2007 10:30 AM

I'm a YNHH employee as well (19 years), and I agree with everything Kris said. Folks who do their jobs correctly don't need a union. It's the lazy ones who want a union, so they won't get fired for not doing their job. I've seen it happen at Yale Univ.

Posted by: SAVE LIVES | March 13, 2007 10:59 AM

Union fights, political battles...what about all of the lives that aren't being saved right now because of the union and mayor road blocking the hospital every step of the way. Maybe if DeStefano came down with cancer he would wish that hospital was built...

I am a hospital employee and that union could not pay me to participate. They put the purpose of unions to shame...this is the ugliest battle I have ever seen and the unfortunate thing is that people could die because a stupid union and a mayor who is only in it for the spot light and what ever little money he is making. Remember this my fellow employees...you work for a hospital...our goal is to save lives and you want a union voted in that has aided in preventing the building of the cancer hospital? This is sickening and I wish I were in a position to really make a change because the union would be out and the mayor would be out as well! Neiter one had good intentions...it is all about personal gain for them. Marna and her team are fighting for us and for this hospital. And to those who complain...go get a job somewhere else...no one is making you stay! You want a union go work for a hospital that has one! You are doing more harm than good!

Posted by: elmcityguy | March 13, 2007 11:31 AM

As much as I support the idea of a union at YNHH, I don't like the idea of card count neutrality, unless the union has to start from scratch with the cards. I don't like the changing of the rules in the middle of the game by either side.

Ann - Union members certainly do not HAVE to strike if they don't want to. When local 34 struck in 2004, there was a high of about 55% who went out. Thats 45% who didn't, for what ever their reason. There might have been some tension on both sides when people got back to work, but it was soon forgotten, at least where I work. No one was fired, no one was fined. There is no ritual process, that is, quite simply, a lie.

The lies, broken promises, and intimidation by the hospital management are exactly WHY they need a union.

I'm still waiting for some confirmed incidents of 1199 breaking the law or rules of the community agreement. There are certainly enough from the hospital.

Posted by: BTL | March 13, 2007 11:51 AM

First off, card check vs vote speaks for itself. Employees will have the same rights as the Mayor, who (surprisingly) was voted in as Mayor of NH, and (thankfully) voted out as Governor... secondly, Union harassment of bargaining unit employees vs Hospital management educating the bargaining unit employees of union membership is a wash. Why can't hospital management have the same rights as the union (who slander the hospital and accuses hospital management of forcing low wages, expensive healthcare, and inadequate retirement benefits on their 'blue collar' workforce). Employee Satisfaction surveys (conducted routinely at YNHH) show high level satisfaction rates in the benefits/salary category, so as a result, I see the union's negative campaign of 'unfortunate' underpaid and under-benefited blue collar workers at YNHH as false and slanderous.

I have a son who works at YNHH who is in the bargaining unit, a husband who might (in the second round of this 'vote'), neither of which want a union. I also work at YNHH, but luckily won't fall into the bargaining unit category. I have a sister, niece and brother-in-law who also work at YNHH. How can it be as bad as the union says it is. Let's just admit what the real reason is... M O N E Y. The union needs membership... it couldn't care less about 'blue collar workers'. The six family members of mine that work at YNHH, are here for the salary and benefits, not to mention tuition reimbursement, as well as job security and we don't have to pay anyone to get it. What other reason could anyone have to want a union representing them, except that they need protection because of their lack of work ethics.

I, for one, don't think Marna Borgstrom should have apologized for anything. If anything, she should be commended for not screaming !!!

Posted by: ann | March 13, 2007 3:45 PM

Elm City Guy: Here is part of the artical.

New Haven, Conn. (November 5, 2003) -- With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a group of food service workers at the Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) filed federal charges today against local union officials for illegal retaliation after employees honored their commitments to their employer and refused to walk off the job during a strike that began in August.

(I can print the whole artical but it will take up this whole blog. You can go read it if you choose to.)

Go on page 45 of the SEIU bylaws (online). It is called an Initiation Ritual in the Manual of Common Procedure. Actually, it's quite interesting to read it. You have to raise your right hand and pledge to the Grand Pubah.

Posted by: elmcityguy | March 13, 2007 4:25 PM

Ann - Consider me educated on that issue. Not only was I unaware of that, I disagree with it. Like I said, we had 45% not strike, and, at least where I work, there was some initial hostility, but we all get along as well as a workplace can get along now.

Also, thanks for pointing out the ritual. Seems more like a formality to me, but I wouldn't do any swearing to anyone.

I appreciate you taking the time to point those things out to me, and giving me enough info to search on them.

Posted by: Uncle Nunzio | March 13, 2007 6:36 PM

If unions are not influenced by the mafia, where the heck is Jimmy Hoffa?

And the SEIU is so desperate for union membership that SEIU Local 790 formed the Exotic Dancers Union and organized the workers of the Lusty Lady peep show in San Francisco. Do strippers really need a union?

Posted by: jacob | March 13, 2007 7:09 PM

BTL says: "I, for one, don't think Marna Borgstrom should have apologized for anything"

Whether or not you want a union, whether or not you want a process like card count that satisfies international law (unlike the current broken NLRB system)--she violated a contract she signed agreeing to certain conduct, she violated federal law, and she brought dishonor on her institution. She should do more than apologize: she should resign!

Posted by: ann | March 13, 2007 8:54 PM

Elm City Guy: Anytime!! All I want to do is help people to see both sides. It is important that people can communicate without fighting. I thank the Independant for giving us all a chance to blog (I just wish they would be fair and balanced with their articals). If anyone needs any information on anything, just let me know in a blog and I will post it for them if I can find it. You can also go into public information sites to see where 1199's monies go. After all you the members pay for those things. You have a right to see where your hard earned money is going.

Posted by: tom | March 13, 2007 10:24 PM

Uncle Nunzio... Although we don't know where Jimmy Hoffa Sr. is, Jimmy Hoffa Jr. is running the Teamsters Union. Go look on their website.

Yep they not only organized strippers, but they also hire homeless people to walk the picket lines. They do pay them though. Min. wage.... I wonder if the strippers have to pay dues on their tips?

Posted by: had enough at ynhh | March 14, 2007 12:20 PM

Consider the following:

1) If the union thought that they had the vote in December, don't you think that they would have gone ahead with it despite the alleged charges?

2) Just before the union called off the vote, the employee group who is revolting against the union passed out bucket-loads of "Vote No" buttons. A quick head count in the days afterwards revealed a huge "Vote No" majority in every department. That's the REAL reason the union backed out of the vote. They could see the handwriting on the wall... (My favorite button: "Ho-ho-ho Please Vote No")

3) Imagine if you're one of the organizers...you've been here for nearly 8 years, spending all sorts of union money...not to mention your own salary...attempting to organize a group of people...and you STILL can't deliver the goods. You'd sure want to stop an election that would certainly result in your being fired or demoted.

4) Unions and organized crime? C'mon...read the history books folks! Anyone talking about that relationship is simply stating historical (and current)fact. Maybe not SEIU, but certainly the Teamsters... Calling Mr. Hoffa...Mr. Hoffa to the Meadowlands endzone courtesy phone...

5) Intimidation? No one at YNHH is intimidated, unless you count the unannounced home visits by union weenies. People in our department were visited at their homes, after dark, by union reps who waited for them in parked cars and walked up behind them as they unlocked their door. Does anyone seriously think that any comments by managers at YNHH equal this sort of personal "I know where you live" intimidation?

Does anyone really think that an employee, knowing their rights to vote in a secret ballot supervised election, would be intimidated not to vote, or to vote in a certain way...by anyone? We work at a large urban hospital...we're not easily intimidated.

6) In some cases, the union has misrepresented what employees signed. Some employees were duped into signing a union MEMBERSHIP card, rather than a card calling for an election. No wonder the union would like card-count....they can jumble the results in their favor.

7) When have you ever heard of a mayor railing against one of his city's largest employers in the manner displayed by John DeStefano? Would you ever hear NYC's Micheal Bloomberg telling Citigroup or Time-Warner that their latest multi-million dollar expansions would be held up because of an 8-year unsuccessful unionizing campaign? Why is DeStefano so in favor of unionization that he would endanger the largest building project in the city and the creation of future jobs and opportunities? And don't give me this "he's for the people" crap. There is a definite "relationship" between DeStefano and the SEIU. Somewhere there is money or services being traded...and they are valuable enough to him that he is even willing to push for his constituents to LOSE THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE in an election that directly affects them. Check individual donations to his campaign and their ties to union membership...check to see where he gets his campaign "foot soldiers". Someone should do some real investigative reporting rather than being spoon-fed by SEIU. Calling Mary O'Leary...Mary O'Leary to the "objective journalism" courtesy phone....

Posted by: Noah Kazis | March 15, 2007 12:52 AM

What I don't understand is how the commenters here can read an article in which the chairman of the hospital's board admits to systematic violations of the law and of the conduct agreement on the part of management and then claim that the union breaks the law because Jimmy Hoffa Sr. was corrupt.

Let's take a step back from our prejudices and look at the facts, according to the neutral third party arbitrator. The hospital, not the union, has been cited repeatedly for intimidating workers in violation of federal law and the conduct agreement. The CEO and Chairman of the hospital have admitted this. Those are the undisputed facts. How is this not an open-and-shut case?

Posted by: Can't be B S'd | March 15, 2007 6:59 PM

Listen, all you Pro-Union people. You are all living in Never Never Land!
If you don't think for one minute that this or any other union isn't in it for the money, just like any other business, than you must be from Mars!
You can put perfume on a pig, but it's still a pig!
I would like to know 1 Union that ever really and truely took care of their memebers during a strike? Go ahead name one! Oh, sure they pay you a days pay per strike week. Like that really helps? Ever seen those union "silk suits" on a picket line when it's raining or it's 20 degrees outside.
You Pro-Union people are all like Lemmings following your b.s. leader off the bridge.
Give me a break and let all the hard working employees from YNNH vote. However, the chips may land!

Posted by: fed up | March 16, 2007 12:37 AM

To Noah-
The union has also been cited with many violations by the neutral arbitrator. In one case, one of their key organizers was permanently barred from hospital property for physically threatening an employee (although he often remained legally stationed across the street to glare at employees). The union simply has better access and sympathies with the press (the Advocate especially), so a majority of what you see in the paper is biased in their favor, and against YNHH. I can understand your point of view, since you have only been allowed by these journalists to see a one-sided story.

As far as union corruption is concerned, it is still happening. Check this link, [http://www.nlpc.org/artindx.asp] and go to the SEIU section. You'll see what they've done as recently as two weeks ago. There is also an intersting article about employees who are suing both the SEIU and their employer for being forced to accept "card check".

Too bad that the Advocate and the Register don't have enough ink to cover both sides of the story...its a real disservice to their readers.

As an aside, it is interesting that the recent Advocate article featured a picture of employees in the atrium...and if you look closely, at least two are wearing anti-union/pro-YNHH buttons or ribbons (the red and green button is the "Ho-Ho-Ho Vote No" button). I'm sure that the Advocate photographer was trying to portray employee unity...and they did.

Posted by: ann | March 16, 2007 6:40 AM

If mistakes are made in life, it takes a more honorable person to admit they made a mistake than to try and cover up things that might have been. No one is perfect and that includes 1199.

Posted by: jacob | March 16, 2007 3:11 PM

Ann-- I agree. 1199 certainly isn't perfect, and neither is SEIU. (But while 1199 is part of SEIU, they aren't the same thing, so pointing to past or present corruption in other locals of SEIU is entirely beside the point.) But to say that no one is perfect is different from saying that everyone is equally imperfect. In this case YNHH and Borgstrom have behaved much, much worse than the union. There's really no question about that if you read the documents from the arbitrator. Even people who, on the merits of unionization, don't want a union, should be able to see that management's behavior has been far more egregious.

And neither the hospital management in general nor Borgstrom in particular have taken adequate responsibility for the "mistakes." They've tried to blame lower-level managers, they've tried to blame their anti-union consultants, they've tried to blame their lawyer. None of these things wash. It's the fault of upper-level administrators like Borgstrom and the entire board, which is supposed to control management.

I repeat myself, but it's really very simple. New Haven as a city and YNHH's workers can't move on until Borgstrom is replaced by someone who respects the law and respects contracts that she willingly signs.

Posted by: fed up | March 16, 2007 7:07 PM

Jacob-
You are basing your opinion entirely on either what you have read in the newspaper, or by what union organizers/sympathizers have told you. From a vast majority of employees' perspectives, myself being one of them, the administration of the hospital has not been worse than the union...in fact it has been much better. The experiences of being hounded by organizers at work (in cafeterias, outside, in common areas) and at home is common knowledge throughout the hospital. This harrassment even extended to people who were not part of the bargaining unit (although the union thought they were). The daily and weekly slandering of the hospital's reputation...the ridiculous delay of the new cancer center...the obvious one-sided actions by the mayor and some of the aldermen...are all part of the reason why a majority of employees simply do not want this union here...and want to vote to prove it. By the way, most of the employees here really like and respect Marna, so this recent attempt to make her out to be some sort of villian does nothing but make us more angry. Also, most employees do not feel that 1199 has fairly represented the workers in the kitchen, who in the past have lost performance incentive bonuses, and were used as pawns for the 34/35 strike awhile ago. There have even been rumors floating around in the past about decertification of the union by that group. I appreciate that you have a viewpoint, but its a lot different looking in from outside than it is when you work here.

Also, you might enjoy reading this:
http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/x3760043486.pdf

It talks about the SEIU and its plans for unifying all locals under one banner, and also some interesting dealings involving 1199 in NYC.

Posted by: ann | March 17, 2007 11:04 AM

Jacob and Noah: I don't go to Yale University everyday to study so that I can make something of myself. I go to YNHH everyday to earn a living so that I can help my kids make something of themselves. YNHH is a great employer. There are generations of families working there.

I have studied about Unions and what their foundations were built on. I've read FBI documents and was totally blown away by those findings. The arbitrator's findings is a "Dick and Jane" book compared to this stuff.

I respect your opinion, but mine is based on history. The SEIU should be called the SEPU, cause it stinks.

Posted by: strangerthanfiction | March 17, 2007 8:04 PM

The only question here is: Why did the hospital break labor law to try to stack the union election? There are pros and cons to both the hospital and union positions, we know that. But let the workers have a fair vote. That is what the hospital had promised to allow. This is a non-profit that is supposed to compassionately care for us when we are ill, and they very regrettably showed an above-the-law arrogance that is all too familiar in the Bush era.

Posted by: g | March 18, 2007 3:04 AM

For those of us who just want good medical care when we and our families go to Yale, all of this sounds ridiculous!

My mother has been in and out of Yale regularly over the last 4 years and my biggest concern is the lack of compassion shown by many providing services, the mistakes in medication and the very very corporate attitude. The practitioners and the many students don't even speak to families in the hallways!!

The atmosphere is that they're too busy as students and too important as practitioners to have a pleasant attitude. It is amazing that managers and union leaders don't notice this and do something about changing that culture.

Finally in September of 2006 we went to St. Raphael's and our experience there was completely opposite. The Yale corporate attitude with lack of compassion did not exist. Any nurse on the floor would attempt to help versus some of Yale nurses telling families that the patient's nurse was busy and to wait for him or her to be available.

I once had to beg a doctor to order an MRI on my mother when I suspected she had another stroke the day prior to her release!! And guess what, she did indeed suffer a stroke. Another time she had vomit all over and no one noticed until I came in!! Another time her medication was wrong!

Union and Yale give us a break!!

Both of you need to come together, clean up your image and attitude and at least pretend every single day that you care about your patients and their families which will not include us since my family and I will never be a patients there again!!