Union Resists SEIU Effort to Centralize Control By KRIS MAHER
A top official of the Service Employees International Union on Wednesday flew to California as part of the organization's effort to remove a dissident local leader. It is the latest move by the union giant to reorganize and gain control of local affiliates.
Top union officials are seeking to remove Sal Rosselli, the head of the United Healthcare Workers-West in Oakland, Calif., for allegedly engaging in a pattern of financial malpractice, including improperly diverting $3 million to fund a campaign against the international union. Mr. Rosselli denied any wrongdoing and has said the fund was proper and intended to be used to promote changes to the health-care system.
The SEIU also alleged that as many as 50 members of the Oakland UHW pushed their way into an SEIU office Tuesday in neighboring Alameda. An SEIU spokeswoman said the dissidents "harassed and assaulted the staff, stole materials and damaged office equipment," and that a second incident followed Wednesday at the SEIU's Los Angeles office.
SEIU officials declined to say what may have been taken. But people who have seen some of the allegedly purloined documents said they relate to SEIU efforts to remove Mr. Rosselli, who heads the 150,000- member local and has been a vocal critic of Andy Stern, the SEIU president.
Mr. Rosselli denied his members forced their way into the Alameda office. "There was no forced break-in. It's a union office that our members are members of," he said. "There was no damage, to my knowledge. I don't know about documents that were taken."
Alameda police confirmed a report was filed yesterday that "40 or 50" UHW workers went to the SEIU building, Lt. David Boersma said, adding, "there was some pushing and shoving."
Mr. Rosselli said he is unaware of any Los Angeles incident.
A UHW spokesman said union members acting on their own volition entered SEIU offices and obtained documents, but he said he had no knowledge of assaults alleged by the SEIU.
Dave Regan, a top SEIU official who some of the dissident members say is Mr. Stern's leading choice to replace Mr. Rosselli, flew to California from Washington, D.C., yesterday, but couldn't be reached for comment.
Tensions between Messrs. Stern and Rosselli started to escalate after Mr. Rosselli began openly criticizing Mr. Stern's strategy of merging local unions and appointing his own choices to run them. Last year, Mr. Stern said he planned to combine 65,000 of Mr. Rosselli's members with another local that represents long-term-care workers.
Mr. Stern said the SEIU's executive board is waiting for a report from Ray Marshall, a former U.S. Labor Secretary who was appointed by the SEIU to conduct hearings and recommend whether Mr. Rosselli should be removed and his local placed into trusteeship. Mr. Stern said he expects a vote as soon as this week.
"We're acting on Ray Marshall's recommendation. We're not acting on whether I think [trusteeship] is right or wrong," Mr. Stern said.
Mr. Rosselli said he believes the trusteeship will be declared by Friday. The UHW had scheduled to vote in March on whether to secede from the SEIU.