SEIU 1000 08.07.20091800 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington DC 20036 To the powers that be:

I demand a full investigation as well as decertification proceedings to begin against local 1000 and bargaining unit 1.

I was sworn in as a union rep in the late 80s in San Jose, California, while working for state fund. I filed so many strong grievances, top level managers in state fund’s san Jose district office and many others at “Home Office” used their good old boy influences to have me muffled and "dismissed" as a union rep as they would do anything to keep in power (keep their jobs, retirements etc), as who wanted to go to jail as result of what I was trying to expose, which also points to the need for civil service AND worker’s compensation reform in California (still).

Yes it was that bad.

As a matter of history, note at this time corruption and illegal anti-union activities were rife at the fund, as it was a bastion of good-old boy types who felt it was their duty to make sure the "right people" got the money and benefits they were entrusted with. Power and favors - worker's compensation AND civil service favors - were their stock in trade. Its how you got ahead and got transfers, promotions at the fund. Help the right people, and you have a huge future. This is what I tried to expose. Kind of foolish even I admit.

At the request of others, I took up a crusade to fight management at state fund on many of these "minor issues"...mere details to management but lives and food for the family for the rank and file. I fought them on my issues and others asked me to fight for them - I was asked to serve, then what did the union do to us ALL? They abandoned us, literally telling me specifically "you are not a rep,” and they refused to give a reason or specifics, and refused to give me or anyone any options to protest this. From then on, the union shunned me and anything and anyone associated with me.

Other union reps or people who stood by me often got “magic” jobs or transfers that civil service management “simply” made happen to silence them. One fellow union REP even apologized as “he just couldn’t pass this opportunity up, as it was what he was waiting for.” Good for him but one by one, my supporters vanished just like this, or left state fund, or simply went silent seeing how I was treated (think openly abused) for “just saying no” to illegal stuff for myself and others.

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At one time, management in San Jose formally formed a “motivation committee” (ask for that report). 6-8 claims adjustors were selected by management to help figure out how to motivate people as at that time so many people at work (not just claims) were so unhappy and were complaining that management was truly desperate and they tried this as an innovation to get the ones complaining involved in fixing the problems. Well, we tried.

This committee, as a group – unanimously - decided the best way to increase motivation was to tell management in writing, signed by us all, to STOP the corruption, the rule of special interests, to halt anti-civil service activities, to stop the anti-union actions, to stop ALL the illegal claims, etc and other illegal or even unfair stuff managers did to us all. In short we asked for decent working conditions.

How do you think they took this – they blamed ME for it all, despite it being a group and unanimous, official report that was done at managements request. And the union ignored this whole situation, ignored all of what these people stood for at no small personal risk. It did result in the almost immediate transfer or retirement of two key managers, so that was good and a means of tracing this committee, its work and its report.

And by ignoring this, union management abandoned not just me, but ALL the hundreds I represented, and allowed the "CHP golden parachute" (it actually involved ALL safety groups and more) scandal (and others like the group/safety scandal now ongoing) to go on for years more all over the state, and do you think illegal benefits have stopped at the fund, in civil service or worker’s compensation?

That was the purpose of abandoning me, to help keep secret awhile longer all the illegal stuff - including abuse of power, theft of business premiums AND public moneys to provide favors and illegal or "simply" enhanced benefits, claims and even RETIREMENTS that nobody else deserved or got. This was going on widely at state fund as well as in the city and county level work comp systems too tho, as I did discover. Plus, all the fake claims I found that involved judges and attorneys who knew – or more. Ethics and personal responsibility are in my view, interesting concepts in worker’s compensation and civil service.

Funny thing is, I was recruited and taught and sworn in by someone who was a long time union steward/rep. she claimed they couldn't do this, but she backed off as she could see I was being singled out. Everyone saw it. I was ousted at the request of powerful civil service managers who had the keys to the hope chest. Favors were handed out like candy, as it wasn't their money but it was within their power.

State Fund has a nebulous position as a "quasi" state agency, with no real controls or transparency on their operations, as each district office is run like a kingdom with no transparency and no way for outsiders to see inside the kingdom of civil service and work comp.

This began many decades ago and I was assured BY management it was statewide and endemic to work comp as they considered themselves not just above the law, but for work comp, civil service management at state fund IS the law, as they are work comp in California (much more so back then) as they are historically also the leader in work comp, and what a poor example they set.

Because the union abandoned me, I was tortured, abused and robbed of civil rights, civil service rights, and the right to pursuit of happiness and all that. I was deprived of the support of my fellow union brothers and sisters, and they lost the right for my representation as a union rep. People should face a judge or jury for what happened to me and countless others. In my opinion, the union should be decertified as being a pawn of state fund and useless to anyone.

I’m demanding a full investigation into what went on then as well as to what NOW goes on at state fund re corruption, abuse of power, anti-civil service and anti-union behaviors....or do you approve of these kinds of behaviors?

Employment at state fund was horrific for many and full of nepotism, civil service favors, illegal claims and benefits and power-hungry managers in civil service who knew NO LIMITS to their power. What they did can even be categorized as involving multiple conspiracies and indeed even hate crimes .

The union was at the time, apparently, completely bought off. After talking to many in the union in Sacramento as it was a he-said she-said in trying to pin down just who had ousted me…. one union office secretary called me privately on her break (she was afraid of being overheard) and she told me an odd story that bothered her allot where she overheard her boss talking to a state fund manager (one of mine) about stopping me. She’d never heard anyone in the union conspire to abandon a union member or union rep. she was to tell me more, but someone at work surprised her, she had to go - never heard back from her.

The union delivered the final insult to me when they raised my disability-based union dues to around 50 bucks from around 8 bucks, claiming it was the right thing to do - just another minor detail. They promised to correct this and refund the money, but so far….

Will I hear back from you? I do not intend to let this lie fallow any longer now that I’m able to speak out again, and it's not merely for me, but for all the others who have been trampled by the behemoth state fund and its “minions”,

including civil service and bargaining unit 1, apparently, from my personal experience. And although I’m retired now, I’m betting I was never really legally dismissed as a union rep, and am thus asking for careful review here, or will you abandon the rank and file as well?

Sincerely yours,

Tom Curtis 2435 meadowland way, Lincoln ca 95648 916 765 8385 Cc: us dept of labor Afl-cio Usdoj California governor Others…