SEIU Reiterates Call for Nurse Unity in Light of Legal Ruling Condemning CNA for Use of 'Half Truths'

OAKLAND, CA - A legal ruling in California yesterday found that the California Nurses Association's petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) earlier this year against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its president, Andrew Stern, was a "SLAPP" motion designed to suppress free speech. The court's finding that "CNA obtained a TRO by the use of incorrect statements and "'half-truths'" entitles SEIU to recover attorney's fees associated with its defense.

The anti-SLAPP motion stems from an aggressive years-long campaign by the CNA to intervene in efforts by nurses and other hospital workers to join SEIU and to "raid" SEIU members in hospitals in California and other states.

"Nurse unions should work together to win a fair union election process for the 85% of registered nurses in America who don't have a union--not fight over the 15% who already do," said SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry. "We continue to hope that we can reach a national understanding with the CNA that will include a no-raid/no-interference agreement."

SEIU's anti-Strategic Lawsuit to Prevent Public Participation (SLAPP) motion was filed in April against the CNA under California's Code of Civil Procedure 425.16, a statute intended to prevent organizations from using a "SLAPP" suit to suppress free speech from critics or opponents.

According to the judge, "the key point here is that the CNA filed an action to restrain a person who was not even in the State of California and an organization which, because it was not a natural person, could not be the proper subject of the restraining order sought here.

"Beyond that, we have a situation where the CNA obtained a TRO by the use of incorrect statements and 'half-truths' - for example, that Mr. Stern had 'caused physical and emotional injury to plaintiffs employee in this county.'"

"Making this even worse is the likelihood that the CNA sought the TRO primarily so that it could bandy the TRO to the press," the judge added. "We note that the CNA gave no notice in advance that it was seeking the TRO, and it informed the national media that the TRO had been issued before making any effort to serve it."

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SEIU to Pursue More Alliances and Coordinated Organizing Strategies with Other Health Care Unions

While SEIU convention delegates unanimously vote for unity and partnerships among nurse unions, the CNA escalates its "raiding" activities--and loses a court ruling.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO--Nearly 2,000 delegates to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) convention today unanimously passed a resolution calling for more unity and alliances among labor organizations, particularly within the health care industry.

Inspired largely by the growing conflict between SEIU and the California Nurses Association (CNA), the resolution calls on SEIU to pursue efforts to coordinate organizing strategies with other health care unions "that are committed to the principle of no raiding" and to consider convening "a summit meeting" of unions to achieve this goal.

The convention resolution affirms SEIU's ongoing efforts to promote a national "no raid/no interference" agreement and to work in partnership with other nurse unions.

By contrast, while SEIU leaders and members were meeting in Puerto Rico, the CNA expanded its "raiding" activities by leafleting at hospitals in New York and West Virginia--in addition to California, Nevada, and other states--calling on nurses and other hospital employees to decertify SEIU.

"We are hopeful that we can reach a national understanding with the CNA that will include a no-raid/no-interference agreement through the mediation process proposed by the AFL-CIO," said SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry. "Nurse unions should work together to win a fair process for the 85% of registered nurses in America who don't have a union--instead of fighting over the 15% who already do."

The resolution comes on the heels of a legal ruling in California yesterday evening, when an Alameda County court issued a tentative ruling in favor of SEIU finding that the CNA's recent petition for a temporary restraining order was a "SLAPP" motion designed to suppress free speech. The court found no "credible claim of violence or threat of violence" to justify the CNA's publicity stunt lawsuit, and that SEIU is entitled to recover attorney's fees associated with its defense. A hearing on the fees is tentatively scheduled for July 10.

SEIU Renews Call for Unity among Nurse Unions Following CNA Election Loss at Fresno Hospital

Mediation proposed by AFL-CIO could lead to national 'no raid' agreement

On the heels of a union election at St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, in which the California Nurses Association (CNA) failed in an attempt to organize 844 registered nurses, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is calling for a united effort by the nation's nurse unions to convince health care employers to abide by fair organizing ground rules.

After a vote count last Thursday night found the CNA lost 452 to 327 at St. Agnes, CNA officials accused the hospital of harassing and intimidating nurses and vowed to challenge the election results, according to a report by the Fresno Bee.

"The St. Agnes election serves as an important reminder that management can almost always stop nurses from forming a union," said Mary Kay Henry, SEIU executive vice president. "Hospital administrators routinely abuse their authority to interfere in a decision that belongs to nurses, and our labor laws do virtually nothing to stop them."

Given the failure of the nation's labor laws to guarantee workers the freedom to form a union, SEIU has been mobilizing nurses and other hospital employees to challenge their employers to agree to a fair process for organizing. Those efforts have won workers the freedom to form a union at such large hospital systems as Catholic Healthcare West, HCA, Tenet, and--most recently--Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) in Ohio.

"By contrast, the CNA's strategy is to fight other unions instead of fighting employers--by raiding already organized nurses and intervening in SEIU's organizing campaigns," said Henry.

Since 2001, fully 76% of the CNA's union membership growth (30,396 members) has come from "raids" of other unions (2,453), affiliation agreements (6,600), and interventions in SEIU's fair organizing agreements with CHW and Tenet (14,085). After SEIU mounted extensive multi-year campaigns to win these agreements, the CNA subsequently became a party to them by challenging them as "back-room deals" until they received similar agreements.

In addition, the CNA's interventions often serve no purpose other than to leave nurses and other hospital workers with no union at all. As a result of interference by the CNA, nearly 13,000 health care workers who had a chance to form a union with SEIU remain unorganized today. Among them are the 8,300 employees at CHP hospitals in Ohio, who had spent years fighting for a fair process but lost it in March when 36 CNA organizers descended on them with a vicious "vote no" campaign.

Ironically, CHP employees were subjected to the same kind of misleading and intimidating tactics that caused St. Agnes nurses to lose their chance to form a union--except the union-busting campaign at CHP was perpetuated not by an employer, but by the CNA.

Currently the CNA is attempting to "raid" thousands of nurses represented by SEIU and other unions in Nevada, California, and other states.

"Nurse unions should work together to win a fair process for the 85% of registered nurses in America who don't have a union--instead of fighting over the 15% who already do," said Henry. "Toward that end, SEIU is renewing our call for a mutual no-raid/no-interference agreement with the CNA and other nurse organizations. We look forward to participating in the mediation proposed by the AFL-CIO to reach that goal."

In a May 7 letter to SEIU President Andy Stern, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney asked SEIU to commit to a formal mediation process with the CNA. SEIU agreed to participate; a meeting date has not yet been set.

CNA Violated State Law in Mass Mailings to Iowa Nurses

California Nurses Association charged with illegally attaining private mailing list of SEIU nurses during Iowa Caucuses for unsolicited mailers to workers

The California Nurses Association (CNA) violated Iowa state law by improperly mailing promotional materials to 2,000 nurses represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 199 according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of nurses today. The suit charges the CNA broke the Iowa Trade Secrets Act when it sent unsolicited materials to the homes of Iowa nurses after illegally attaining a private mailing list of SEIU members earlier this year.

"It's frankly scary that an out-of-state union like the CNA would have gotten their hands on our confidential, internal list," said Cathy Glasson, a registered nurse and President of SEIU Local 199. "No one in America should ever have to worry that their private information will be taken and used without their consent."

The confidential membership list of SEIU union or local nurses was used by SEIU as part of a December 2007 effort to win support for then-presidential candidate John Edwards. The lawsuit states the CNA violated the Iowa Trade Secrets Act (IA Code §550) when it used SEIU Local 199's membership data and mailing lists without permission and by improper means. If found liable, the CNA could owe compensatory and punitive damages to the plaintiffs. The CNA could also be barred from using SEIU's list to initiate any further contact with SEIU nurses in Iowa.

"I could tell immediately something was fishy about the mailing I received because it was sent to my old address instead of the one I have on file with the state nurse registry," said Linda Merfeld, a registered nurse and member of SEIU Local 199 in Coralville, IA. "It's a little more than creepy that the CNA is digging for my personal information to use however they like."

The lawsuit was filed in the Iowa District Court of Johnson County today on behalf of SEIU Local 199 and the Service Employees International Union by the Iowa-based legal firm Sole, McManus, Pearson & Willems PC and Charles R. Both of Washington, DC. The plaintiffs jointly represent more than 900,000 health care workers across the country, including 5,000 nurses and other health care employees in Iowa.

"The way the CNA used our private list is a reminder of why the U.S. government created the Do-Not-Call List to stop telemarketers," said Pauline Taylor, a registered nurse. "SPAM, sales calls, mailers from other unions--it's all the same when it's unwanted."

The lawsuit filed today is the most recent legal action taken against the CNA in response to the California nurse group's dishonest and anti-union tactics. Despite the majority of its own membership being based in Northern California, the CNA has a track record of using underhanded tactics nationally to prevent nurses from joining SEIU and other unions. In March, the CNA sent a team of more than 30 union organizers to Ohio to sabotage a three-year effort by nurses and other hospital workers in Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals to win a fair process to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU. Just six days before a union election for 8,300 CHP workers, the CNA's organizers descended on the hospitals with a vicious and misleading "vote no" campaign using tactics such as dressing in nurses' scrubs to gain access to patient-care delivery areas, posing as pizza delivery workers, and sending messages through the hospitals' pneumatic tube system.

The CNA is also continuing to hurt nurses and other hospital workers in its efforts to raid hospitals where workers already have a union voice in states including California, in Nevada, and in Texas. Overall, eighteen states have already reported anti-union campaigns by the CNA.

SEIU RNs Condemn Raiding by CNA as Union Election Outcome Hangs in Balance at Catholic Healthcare West Hospitals in Las Vegas

SEIU nurses call on CNA to stop attacks on unionized nurses

With the outcome of an election held May 6 and 7 among 1,000 nurses over union representation at three Las Vegas hospitals yet to be determined, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) nurses are renewing their call for an end to the divisive actions of the California Nurses Association.

The CNA's months-long campaign of lies and false promises failed to capture enough votes to lure nurses away from SEIU. With 400 votes for CNA, 377 for SEIU, and 26 for no union, neither organization obtained the 50 percent of all votes required to win. The National Labor Relations Board must review the six challenged ballots and will likely set a date for a runoff election.

"Nurses in Las Vegas have no use for CNA's destructive tactics," said Sandi Naugle, RN at Catholic Healthcare West's (CHW) St. Rose de Lima hospital, where SEIU nurses and healthcare workers have been negotiating their third union contract since forming a union with SEIU in 2004. "We want to move forward--and negotiate the best possible contract so we can deliver the best possible care."

SEIU leaders are hoping the indeterminate election results will put an end to the in-fighting and institutional rivalries that are dividing the labor movement at the worst possible time.

'We have an opportunity to elect a pro-worker president, bring health care coverage to the 50 million people who don't have it, and change the laws to guarantee all workers the freedom to form a union," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "When unions waste time and resources on efforts to re-organize the already organized, unorganized workers lose, the labor movement loses, and progressive causes lose most of all."

"We will sign a mutual no-raid agreement with the CNA and its allied organizations anytime and anywhere," Stern added. "It's time to work together to unite the 85% of registered nurses who don’t have a union, instead of fighting over the 15% who do."

Over the past several months, the RNs at CHW's St. Rose Dominican hospitals say they were inundated with a series of distortions and untruthful statements from the CNA. When the CNA filed for an election in March, they overstated their support among the nurses by including 40 RNs who had previously revoked their signatures on CNA cards. The CNA routinely and intentionally misled nurses, and there are reports that many nurses received intimidating phone calls that included anonymous threats against RNs who were not voting for the CNA.

In addition to "raiding" in Las Vegas, the CNA is actively engaged in efforts to decertify SEIU nurses throughout California and other states. In March, the CNA waged an aggressive "vote no" campaign in Ohio, forcing the cancellation of union elections for 8,300 nurses and hospital workers in nine hospitals. In recent years the CNA also has raided other unions or intervened in other unions' organizing drives in Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and other states.

"CNA's behavior in attempting to destroy our union at St. Rose is shameful," said Shauna Hamel, RN at St. Rose Siena and SEIU Nevada member. "Hundreds of thousands of nurses and healthcare workers across the country struggle to provide quality patient care without the protection of a union. Instead of helping them, CNA sought to divide St. Rose nurses and staff while we were actively bargaining to once again raise healthcare standards in Nevada."

NEW VIDEO: Ohio hospital workers speak out about CNA's anti-union effort

In this new video, Ohio nurses and hospital workers are speaking out against the "vote no" campaign by CNA that shattered their hopes of forming a union. Here nurses and other caregivers at Catholic Healthcare Partners hospitals describe the exhilaration they felt after their three-year campaign with SEIU finally won a fair process for choosing to form a union--and their shock and dismay when they were besieged by dozens of CNA organizers just six days before they were scheduled to vote.

Scripps Memorial Hospital Nurses Throw Out CNA

After failure to negotiate major improvements, California Nurses Association voted out by RNs

SAN DIEGO--Registered nurses at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas voted out the California Nurses Association (CNA) as their union in an election this week. The decision by Scripps nurses to eject the CNA follows contract negotiations that didn't result in real improvements for nurses or patient care.

"Scripps nurses' vote to oust the CNA should be a wake up call to the union," said Lorraine Thiebaud, a registered nurse in San Francisco General Hospital's recovery unit and member of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021. "CNA is spending millions of dollars in its members' dues money on efforts both inside and outside California that hurt nurses and other healthcare workers while neglecting their own members' needs to win improved pay and benefits, strong staffing ratios and new patient protections."

According to Scripps nurses, the CNA took credit for making improvements in the union contract finally settled last month that had already been in place.

This week's vote is the second by Scripps nurses to hold the CNA accountable for improving conditions for nurses at their hospital. In 2005, nurses protested the CNA and launched a website but ultimately voted not to decertify the union at that time.

For months, the CNA has been mounting campaigns to persuade SEIU nurses to decertify their union in hospitals in states including California, Ohio, and Nevada. In California, the CNA's hostile efforts to raid hospitals represented by SEIU has even resulted in violence, with a CNA organizer arrested in early April for slapping an SEIU organizer and stomping on the foot of another while handing out decertification leaflets at a Los Angeles hospital ("Battle of the Nurses Unions Turns Physical," Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2008).

In March, the CNA sabotaged a three-year effort to win a fair process for 8,300 nurses and other workers at Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals in Ohio to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU. Just six days before CHP workers were set to vote, CNA organizers came to Ohio to launch a vicious "vote no" campaign that ended in the cancellation of elections.

This week, the Alameda County Superior Court ordered an illegal temporary restraining order obtained by the CNA as a publicity stunt last week be thrown out after reviewing affidavits and other information contradicting the CNA's accusations that "5 male staffers were harassing CNA Board members." A video shows that a 54 year-old registered nurse and a 61 year-old respiratory therapist, both women, were going door-to-door to try to speak to CNA leadership.

SEIU RN Dian Palmer Calls On AFL-CIO Head John Sweeney to Review Video from Dearborn Protest, Retract Statement Accepting CNA Distortions

Unedited video footage from Labor Notes conference shows nonviolent protest by women and children, CNA claims of violence inaccurate and exaggerated

WASHINGTON, DC--With raw video from the Labor Notes Conference in Dearborn, MI showing a nonviolent protest held by mostly women and children, SEIU District 1199 Wisconsin President and registered nurse Dian Palmer today called on AFL-CIO President John Sweeney to retract his hasty statement last week criticizing SEIU members and accepting the inaccurate depiction presented by the California Nurses Association (CNA). Palmer urged Sweeney to view unedited video footage to determine for himself that the much-debated April 12 protest led by nurses and other workers from Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals, while certainly spirited--in the classic tradition of labor union protests--was brief and involved none of the widely posted but utterly inaccurate claims of orchestrated violence by the CNA and Labor Notes participants.

"The true victims of what happened in Dearborn were not the conference-goers, and not the SEIU members who came to protest," said Dian Palmer, RN, in a video message to Sweeney today. "The true victims were the Ohio hospital workers who fought for three years to form a union, but who saw their hopes and dreams disappear when dozens of CNA organizers landed in their hospitals. Now their story is being drowned out by all the inflammatory rhetoric surrounding the Labor Notes conference, just as the California Nurses Association hoped it would be." Watch Dian's video message:



Since the Labor Notes Conference protest--an effort led by CHP nurses and other health care workers to express their disapproval of the CNA's sabotage of union elections for more than 8,000 hospital workers in Ohio--the CNA and Labor Notes organizers have made sweeping and inaccurate claims of "violence by protesters." Last week, Sweeney issued a statement condemning SEIU members' role in the protest based on misrepresentations by the CNA and other Labor Notes conference attendees.

"I was quite surprised to learn that you had accepted the untruthful accounts of what happened in Dearborn as a 'violent attack orchestrated by SEIU'--and even put out a press statement to that effect--despite the fact that you weren't even there," said Palmer, in the video message. "I appeal to you--as a leader of the American labor movement, as a former member of SEIU, and as man of faith--to help us put the false and misleading stories to rest."

VIDEO CONTRADICTS CNA'S, LABOR NOTES' CLAIMS OF VIOLENCE

Raw video footage directly contradicts the distorted stories presented by the CNA and Labor Notes shortly after the conference. The footage of the entire 15-minute protest shows a mostly female crowd of nurses, hospital workers, nursing home workers, home care workers, and their children picketing and chanting. After a brief period of tension when SEIU members were blocked from entering the hall, the protesters dispersed. Here's the raw video footage:





A video by the Labor Video Project also tells a different story than the one being disseminated by the CNA--not only about the Dearborn protest, but also about the union elections in Ohio. The video features an interview with Susan Horne, a registered nurse with CHP in Cincinnati, who responds to questions from an angry conference participant concerning the protest. Video courtesy of the Labor Video Project available at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7388056286203978326.

"I wish I were a member of SEIU but I was denied my right to vote for the SEIU union--and I was denied by the California Nurses Association," said Susan Horne in the Labor Video Project video. "I'm here because of Rose Ann DeMoro. They were going to honor Rose Ann DeMoro at this conference and she's a union-buster. We have a conference of unions and people and they are going to honor a union-buster."

CNA PUBLICITY STUNT DISMISSED: RESTRAINING ORDER THROWN OUT
The CNA's misrepresentation of the protest in Dearborn is not the first untruthful allegation the California Nurses Association has made in recent weeks. On Tuesday, the Alameda County Superior Court ordered an illegal temporary restraining order obtained by the CNA as a publicity stunt last week be thrown out after reviewing affidavits and other information contradicting the CNA's accusations that "5 male staffers were harassing CNA Board members." A video shows that a 54 year-old registered nurse and a 61 year-old respiratory therapist, both women, were going door-to-door to try to speak to CNA leadership (available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGw2QJTgw4I).

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Court Throws Out Restraining Order Against SEIU

California Superior court dismisses illegal temporary restraining order filed last week by California Nurses Association as publicity stunt (.pdf of actual court order at end of post)

OAKLAND - A California Superior court today dismissed a temporary restraining order against the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SEIU President Andy Stern filed last week as a publicity stunt by the California Nurses Association (CNA). The decision comes on the heels of an anti-Strategic Lawsuit to Prevent Public Participation motion filed yesterday by SEIU against the CNA to prevent the union from further efforts to silence critics of its divisive tactics.

"For months, CNA leaders have made inaccurate and exaggerated claims trying to cover up their own anti-union tactics in Ohio and other states. They have produced doctored 'evidence,' they have made phony allegations and they have cried wolf," said Andy Stern, SEIU International President. "Today's court decision shows the public what the CNA is really about, but that's little comfort for the thousands of Ohio nurses and hospital workers who saw their dreams of forming a union destroyed by the CNA. It's time Rose Ann DeMoro and the CNA wake up and apologize to the workers they hurt."

The Alameda County Superior Court ordered the temporary restraining order be thrown out this afternoon after reviewing affidavits and other information-including video footage showing what the CNA called "5 male staffers harassing CNA Board members" was actually a 54 year-old registered nurse and a 61 year-old respiratory therapist going door-to-door to try to speak to CNA leadership (available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGw2QJTgw4I). Information submitted by SEIU showed SEIU members, staff, and workers employed by Catholic Healthcare Partners were exercising their First Amendment rights in their peaceful appeals to CNA leadership in California. The temporary restraining order-obtained by the CNA on April 15 without any notice to SEIU-was found unlawful under California labor code.

Since its "vote no" campaign at Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals in Ohio sabotaged a three-year effort by nurses and hospital workers to win a fair process to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU, the CNA has consistently spread untruths and misinformation in Ohio, California, Nevada, and elsewhere. In particular, the California-based union has inaccurately characterized efforts by CHP workers and supporters to engage with CNA leadership over the union's anti-union tactics as "harassment."

"I'm a mom and a grandmom and I've spent my life caring for patients-the last thing I thought anyone would ever call me is intimidating or scary," said Michaela Silver a respiratory therapist with Catholic Healthcare Partners in Springfield, OH who spent a week door-knocking alongside one of her coworkers to try to reach CNA board-members. "We just want the CNA's leaders to explain what they did in Ohio and stop their union-busting."

On Monday, SEIU filed a motion against the CNA under California's Code of Civil Procedure §425.16, a statute intended to prevent organizations from using a Strategic Lawsuit to Prevent Public Participation or "SLAPP" suit to suppress free speech from critics or opponents. Damages including attorney fees and costs from SEIU having to vacate the improper restraining order are expected.

"The CNA's injunction against SEIU was nothing short of a media stunt meant to chill free speech by SEIU members and supporters," said Stephen Berzon, a partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP, the San Francisco-based law firm handling the case. "This kind of abuse of the law is exactly what California's anti-SLAPP statute is intended to stop."

The CNA filing of the temporary restraining order last week is only the latest tactic in the union's misinformation campaign. Last week, the CNA posted widely an exaggerated and distorted depiction of a protest at an April 12 Labor Notes Conference in Dearborn, MI featuring photos and video of SEIU members and staff injured by conference security as "evidence of violence by protesters." Despite outcry from Rachael Holland, the SEIU organizer in the images, the CNA has failed to admit its misrepresentation of actual events.

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Order%20Vacating%20TRO.pdf

SEIU Seeks Damages for CNA's Effort to Silence Workers, Suppress Criticism of Anti-Union Tactics

Service Employees International Union files anti-SLAPP motion against the California Nurses Association, submits application to vacate TRO publicity stunt

OAKLAND - The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) today filed an anti-Strategic Lawsuit to Prevent Public Participation motion against the California Nurses Association (CNA) to prevent the union from further efforts to silence critics of its divisive tactics. The motion cites a temporary restraining order against SEIU President Andy Stern and SEIU that the CNA obtained as a publicity stunt last week as the latest effort by the CNA to suppress nurses and hospital workers who have criticized its anti-union tactics in Ohio and other states.

SEIU also filed an application today to vacate the temporary restraining order, which was obtained by the CNA on April 15 from a local court commissioner - without any notice to SEIU - and based on misrepresentations by the CNA.

"CNA leaders have waged a dishonest and desperate campaign to divert attention from the truth that they've robbed more than 8,000 Ohio workers of the right to form a union," said Andy Stern, SEIU International President. "Their latest trick was the cynical use of important laws intended to protect people from real abuse and harassment - most often women - and it simply went too far."

The motion against the CNA was filed today under California's Code of Civil Procedure 425.16, a statute intended to prevent organizations from using a Strategic Lawsuit to Prevent Public Participation or "SLAPP" suit to suppress free speech from critics or opponents. SEIU expects to recover its attorney's fees and costs for having to vacate the improper restraining order.

"California's anti-SLAPP legislation is designed to ensure organizations like the CNA cannot stand in the way of the First Amendment rights of SEIU workers - or anyone else - simply because they don’t like being criticized," said Stephen Berzon, a partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP, the San Francisco-based law firm handling the case.

At a hearing this afternoon at the Alameda County Superior Court, the court conveyed it was "strongly of the belief" that the temporary restraining order obtained by the CNA was unlawful under the labor code. The court granted the CNA the opportunity to respond to the SEIU motion to vacate the order within 24 hours - by 3PM pacific on Tuesday, April 22 - and is expected to make a ruling immediately thereafter.

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SEIU to File Motion to Dismiss CNA Restraining Order

Service Employees International Union taking immediate legal steps to dismiss temporary restraining order filed yesterday by California Nurses Association

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) today announced plans to file a motion to dismiss the temporary restraining order filed yesterday by the California Nurses Association against SEIU President Andy Stern and SEIU.

"This is an entirely frivolous injunction being used for political purposes," said Attorney Stephen Berzon, a partner with Altshuler Berzon LLP, the San Francisco-based law firm handling the case. "The CNA designed their suit to interfere with SEIU's legitimate, constitutionally-protected free speech activity. The CNA ran into court and procured the order without giving SEIU notice or an opportunity to be heard. Once SEIU gets its day in court, this illegal injunction will be overturned very quickly."

This week's legal maneuvering by the CNA is the latest tactic in a campaign of untruths and misinformation led by the California-based union. After waging a vicious "vote no" operation at Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals in Ohio that sabotaged a three-year effort by nurses and hospital workers to win a fair process to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU, the CNA has inaccurately characterized efforts by CHP workers and supporters to engage CNA leadership over the union's anti-union tactics as "harassment." Video footage shows what the CNA called "5 male staffers harassing CNA Board members" was actually a registered nurse and respiratory therapist going door-to-door to try to speak to CNA leadership: (available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGw2QJTgw4I).

The temporary restraining order--filed Wednesday afternoon by the CNA without providing notice to either SEIU or SEIU President Andy Stern--was issued under the California Code of Civil Procedure 527.8 intended for "Employees subject to violence or threats of violence at the workplace."

"Under no circumstances have SEIU members or staff harassed CNA members or leadership," said Andy Stern in response to the temporary restraining order. "It's shameful that the CNA is continuing to spread misinformation and distorting reality to divert focus from the real issues--the anti-union tactics that sabotaged the opportunity for more than 8,000 nurses and other hospital workers in Ohio to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU."

For more information visit www.ShameOnCNA.com.

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Andy Stern on CNA's Misinformation

Statement by SEIU International President Andy Stern Regarding CNA Temporary Restraining Order

WASHINGTON, DC -- The California Nurses Association's (CNA) insistence on presenting misleading and inaccurate stories about the members and staff of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) reached new levels this week.

Not only has the CNA failed to admit photos it claimed as evidence of "violence by protesters" at the Labor Notes Conference in Dearborn, MI were actually images of SEIU staff and members injured by conference security--the union's claims of "stalking of, use of violence against, and harassment of officers, directors, and staff of the California Nurses Association" also stray far from reality.

SEIU has not yet received a copy of a court order of any kind, we cannot comment on the details of the temporary restraining order filed by the CNA today.

What SEIU can confirm is that under no circumstances have SEIU members or staff harassed CNA members or leadership. Nurses and hospital workers from Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) have bravely led a national effort to engage CNA leadership in a dialogue about their vicious "vote no" campaign in Ohio and are committed to continue these efforts.

It's shameful that the CNA is continuing to spread misinformation and distorting reality to divert focus from the real issues--the anti-union tactics that sabotaged the opportunity for more than 8,000 nurses and other hospital workers in Ohio to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU and are continuing to stand in the way of workers around the country uniting to improve patient care, workplace standards, and the lives of hardworking families.

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The Truth About the CNA in Dearborn, MI

SEIU MEMBERS RENEW CALL FOR CNA AND LABOR LEADERS TO ADDRESS DEPLORABLE TACTICS HARMING NURSES AND PATIENT CARE

Eyewitness Accounts of Recent Protest Question Distorted Story

WASHINGTON, DC -- On the heels of a protest led by Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospital employees at a Labor Notes Conference in Dearborn, Michigan, SEIU members and eyewitnesses are renewing their call on the California Nurses Association (CNA) and major labor leaders to address the deplorable tactics that sabotaged a union election for more than 8,000 caregivers in Ohio and other hospitals around the country.

"John Sweeney has the power to solve this problem," SEIU President Andy Stern said in response to a statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney released earlier today. "He should stop making excuses and protect workers."

As details unfold about the events of last weekend, clear and compelling evidence is emerging to contradict the CNA's account of what happened in Dearborn. To those seated inside the banquet hall, what appeared to be happening near the door was only a minor tussle. Outside, however, a scuffle occurred between protestors trying to enter and conference organizers trying to keep them out. Contrary to the CNA's description of what happened, however, many of the protestors were being pushed, shoved, and even assaulted by conference participants. In fact, photos on the CNA and Labor Notes websites offered as "evidence" of violence by protestors actually depict the peaceful protestors under attack by conference security. The following are some of the reported and eyewitness accounts that contradict the CNA's portrayal of the event:

* "We were in the middle of our meal, when all of a sudden the private security guards hired by the CNA whisked all of the CNA people out of the room. The doors were locked, and people formed a human chain to block the entrance. People were trying to get inside. The whole squabble lasted about a minute and a half. I don't think anyone got in. There was no violence whatsoever. One lady got hurt—she was standing by the door and got bumped in the head by the door. The conference organizers tried to make a bigger issue out of it. They tried to suggest to the woman that she had been hit, but she denied it. She insisted no one hit her. It was done and over with in less than two minutes."

--Sandy Morales, RN, SEIU Member, New York City

* "A spokeswoman for the Dearborn mayor told BNA April 14 that there were no arrests and the SEIU members dispersed without incident when the police arrived on the scene. She added that one woman was 'startled' when the SEIU group came into the hotel resulting in her falling and hitting her head. The fall did not occur because of 'criminal action,' she added"

--"Dispute Heats Up Between SEIU, CNA Over Elections in Ohio, Las Vegas Hospitals," Daily Labor Report, April 15, 2008

* "I was at the banquet, talking quietly with people at my table. Then there was a ruckus in the back of the room. Someone went to the microphone to talk about what the CNA did in Ohio, and the conference organizers tried to take the microphone away. There was some back and forth, and some shouting, but no physical violence of any sort. We continued to chat at our table."

--Sally Baker, RN, Springfield, Ohio

* "Dearborn Police Sgt. Derek Hadder tells me no reports of a crime or charges have been filed, yet he has been fielding media calls from across the nation. 'It's definitely been blown way out of proportion,' he said. 'Once police arrived, they left without any problem. It was done within minutes, and I don’t know why it's been blown out of proportion as it has.'"

--Josh Richman, http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/category/general/, "Update at 2:05 P.M. Monday," April 14, 2008

* "Our plan, and my own goal, was to march peacefully into the board room and support our CHP sisters as they spoke and handed out literature about their stolen right to vote for their union. However, the CNA's supporters in the room ran out to confront us and used physical force to prevent our group from entering the ballroom and voicing our dissent. After only a few feet I found myself dodging out of the way of getting tackled. They started to attack us. I ran past about three men who tried to stop me by tackling me. I was about 10 feet away from the ballroom room door at the point that I was slammed into the ground..."

--Rachael Holland, SEIU/1199 organizer, Ohio at http://www.openleft.com/showComment.do?commentId=58274

* "Here's what happened: We stood outside and protested peacefully. Then the doors came open and we went inside. We didn't go into the banquet room, only the hallways. We had friendly conversations with people in the hallways and we chanted: 'Shame on CNA.' The only violent part was Labor Notes pushing us out of the building. It was a peaceful, loud demonstration. We wanted to make our voices heard. I can't believe that CNA is claiming that we were violent, after what they did to the CHP workers."

--Eugene Jordan, Sr, hospital employee, SEIU member, Cleveland, Ohio

CHP nurses and other hospital employees have been engaging in a broad effort nationally to express their disapproval of the CNA tactics in Ohio. After a three-year campaign by CHP workers to win a fair process to freely choose whether to form a union with SEIU, CNA organizers waged a vicious "vote no" campaign that resulted in the cancellation of union elections in March.

The CNA has continued its tradition of raiding other unions rather than uniting currently unorganized nurses. Recent examples include:

* Texas: CNA is "trying to muscle in on the action" by raiding nurses in public hospitals already represented by AFSCME ("Union is wary of its new rival on the scene; An area leader says California Nurses group is "raiding’ her local," Houston Chronicle, L.M. Sixel, April 8, 2008).
* California: CNA is raiding nurses in public hospitals already represented by SEIU, an effort a CNA official describes as "a real war." ("Battle of the Nurses Turns Physical," April 10, 2008.)

For more information visit www.ShameOnCNA.org.

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New Shame on CNA Web Video

Sue Allen, RN and Michaela Silver, respiratory therapist visit CNA Board member Margaret Keenan, RN to protest CNA's interference in their efforts to form a union.

Disapproval of CNA Tactics Grows

Today's press release:

DISAPPROVAL OF CALIFORNIA NURSES ASSOCIATION'S TACTICS GROWS; CNA LEADER ROSE ANN DEMORO NO LONGER WELCOME AT 'DEBS DINNER'

CHICAGO -- Amid growing criticism of the California Nurses Association's recent sabotage of union elections among hospital employees in Ohio, CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro has cancelled her appearance as featured speaker at an upcoming gathering of Chicago's labor and progressive allies.

DeMoro was scheduled to deliver a keynote address on April 25 at the 50th annual dinner hosted by the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in honor of Eugene Debs, Norman Thomas, and Michael Harrington. Responding to concerns expressed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and other unions, however, DeMoro has now declined to appear.

"Rose Ann DeMoro does not embody the values of DSA," said Tom Balanoff, president of the SEIU Illinois State Council. "As the head of the California Nurses Association, Rose Ann used the exact same tactics as corporate America in stopping Ohio workers from organizing."

Just days before 8,000 employees at nine Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) hospitals in Ohio were to vote on whether to form a union with SEIU, as part of a fair process won after a three-year struggle, CNA organizers descended on the hospital workers with an aggressive "vote no" campaign. The CNA's actions were so misleading and intimidating that the elections had to be postponed.

"Unfortunately, we did not anticipate that the CNA would take the place of the National Right to Work Committee in launching a campaign to destroy this historic opportunity," said Balanoff.

The announcement comes two days after DeMoro cancelled an appearance at the Labor Notes Conference in Dearborn, Michigan. At the last minute, rather than face SEIU members and other protestors led by CHP hospital workers from Ohio, DeMoro chose not to speak at the conference banquet on April 12.

Contrary to the accounts from the CNA and Labor Notes organizers, the protest was mostly peaceful. Unfortunately, a brief period of pushing and shoving occurred when conference organizers attempted to block the protestors from entering, which resulted in a number of unintentional injuries—including several SEIU members and organizers.

"Our plan was to march peacefully into the board room and support our CHP sisters as they spoke and handed out literature about their stolen right to vote for their union," said Rachael Holland, an SEIU organizer from Ohio. "However, the CNA's supporters in the room ran out to confront us and used physical force to prevent our group from entering the ballroom and voicing our dissent." A photo later posted on the CNA's website, intended to be evidence of violence by protestors, was in fact a photo of Rachael in the midst of the scuffle. To see Rachael's full statement visit: http://www.openleft.com/showComment.do?commentId=58295.

For more information, visit www.ShameonCNA.com.
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SEIU Organizer Sets the Record Straight

SEIU organizer Rachel Holland posted this comment on OpenLeft.com telling what really happened when CNA organizers physically blocked SEIU members from entering the Labor Notes conference. You can read her entire comment by clicking here, but here is an excerpt:

I have worked on the campaign to help CHP workers win fair organizing rules from their boss since I started working at the local in June, 2005. Knowing what it meant for the caregivers, housekeeping staff, maintenance workers, and all the other people I know who have been fighting for their union for three years - to watch that all go up in smoke due to the unprincipled union-busting of Rose Ann Demoro's CNA was just beyond upsetting. I drove up to Dearborn, Michigan to protest the fact that an organization that says it's committed to union democracy was honoring the architect of this union-busting as the keynote speaker at their banquet. And I wanted the real union people at the Labor Notes conference to hear what happened in Ohio, not the barrage of lies the California Nurses Association keeps putting out everywhere.

Read the rest to find out the whole story.