Monday, February 18, 2008

Trojan SEIU Does Downtown D.C. Theater


The Washington Post reported on yet more high jinks by the Service International Employees Union at The Carlyle Group's expense. This time union members and guests conducted the equivalent of a panty raid at Carlyle headquarters.

The SEIU contingent -- chanting "better staffing, better care, no more money for billionaires" -- swarmed through the Carlyle building, jumping on and off elevators, running up stairways and trying to get into Carlyle offices in an effort to confront Carlyle co-founder David M. Rubenstein, the union's favorite target.

The piece opened with "the Service Employees International Union doesn't give up easily." The problem is this statement simply isn't true. SEIU President Andy Stern already said, "We have to recognize that employer-based health care is ending. It's dying. It will not return." That leaves one of three groups to pay for the benefit, if employers won't. Either the individual steps up, the government does more or unions fill the gap.

SEIU wants to organize all those ManorCare employees in over 500 facilities, mostly nursing homes. Yet, they won't tell possible members that President Stern has already given away the benefit in his mind. Instead SEIU underlings focus on the boogeyman, when they have a greater threat inside the union. Hello, Mr. Stern, you represent health care workers! Health insurance is an important benefit for them. It also pays much of the bills generated by those employees fine work.

I am no fan of The Carlyle Group. This can be seen in my many posts on this and my StateoftheDivision blog. But I'm no fan of the SEIU either. Both groups are secretive, hyper-competitive and relish rolling in piles of greenbacks. None of that is fulfilling and it sure doesn't help patients.