I never imagined, when I ran for my position on the SEIU 503 Board of Directors, that I would end up in the middle of such an ugly, protracted battle with my own president over his enrichment scheme.  And to think I actually donated money and campaigned for this guy to get elected.  Geesh, was I ever bamboozled!

You see, I was among the women who respected him back then. Though the group has shrunk, there are still a few who stand by him, and they even do his bidding, as there are many tasks to be taken on when a scorned leader is lashing out and seeking flaws and folks to point his finger at.  

We hold our Board Meetings in Salem, Oregon, and some of us now fondly refer to his obstructionist and divisive tactics as the Salem Inquisition.  No doubt I am a witch in the OJ Cheerleader book.    Our next BOD meeting is this Saturday, and this guy with the gonads "of iron," as Richard puts it, still holds the gavel.  Some will say this is a testament to how civilized we are.  Others will say it is downright stupid...or creepy, or some other word I cannot utter.  But regardless, we are faced with this uncomfortable prospect. Fortunately, I will sit (and stand) strong with the majority.

To any and all who sympathize with our plight, please nudge anyone in SEIU you know, regardless of their local.  They in turn may know someone in SEIU 503 (Oregon) who will benefit from the knowledge. Given our inability to use Union Resources for our recall, we encourage information networking anyway we can get it.

Thanks Richard for highlighting Joe DiNicola's loss in court.  It is nice to have solidarity with folks across the nation. 

Star Holmberg, w/SEIU Local 503

I know early on in this debacle I was advised to cross post.  And, though I certainly had every intention of doing that, there just was not enough of me to pull it off effectively.  And as the variables kept flying at me (and my SOLID partners), well you know how it goes when you are in damage control mode dealing with relentless attempts at division and obstruction.  Plus, this has evolved in an ad hoc, grassroots fashion.  A lot of do and learn, you might say.  

 Thus, I am most appreciative of your gesture in solidarity, Richard.

Star Holmberg, w/SEIU Local 503

To readers of Union-Review:

A majority of our Board of Directors and most elected Member-leaders around the state have lost confidence in the current president's ability to lead SEIU 503.

The current 503 president has lost his "wage" claim in the Marion County Circuit Court.  The Member-led Recall DiNicola Committee asks that Members sign the recall petition right away.

When 20% of our Members sign the petition we can have an election and decide whether to remove the president from office.

Please help gather signatures. Obtain the petition at this website:
http://home.comcast.net/~lowda/index.htm

At the website you can also read the court's decision.

The Recall Committee is accepting contributions from anyone who'd like to support our recall campaign.  Donations are requested because we can't use union resources or union staff to help with the signature gathering effort. 

Thanks for helping gather recall signatures!
We are Stronger in Union,

James Jacobson, SEIU 503 Board Director

Eugene, OR 

    One would hope that OJ has gotten it through his head that he's got no legitimate dog in this overtime hunt--and that he will stop wasting workers dues money in pursuing his $$$ scent.

 One would also hope that the members soon get the chance to decide whether this mutt should be leading the 503 pack. 

Dear Readers:

 Like my brothers and sisters whom have posted on this website, I too am on the Board of Directors for SEIU Local 503. The countless hours, the needless waste, the shameful, horrible actions of this man, cannot be described as readily in print as I would like. We have (Star, James, Barbara and I ) and the majority of Board members have upheld our oath of office to protect, and honor our membership with our fiduciary responsibility to them.

Last May 2007, I wrote a letter to the Board of Directors: Here are some excerpts:

 "

" A transcript of the March, 2007 Board meeting repeatedly captured the President's efforts to obfuscate, evade, befuddle and cloud the relevant issues. A prime example is found on Page 191, Line 8 Joe: “It’s been suggested that there might be a lawsuit against SEIU.  I am not bringing a lawsuit against SEIU.  I have no intention to sue this union.  I’m barred from suing this union, as President and I don’t intend to step down to file a lawsuit against this union.  It’s not my intention and never was my intention.” 

The President, through his decision to pursue more than two and one half years what he believes is overtime can cause harm to our Local 503, probably will cause harm to Local 503, has caused harm to Local 503, and will likely continue to cause harm to Local 503.  The Berdhoff and Kaiser legal opinion also informs me that I better damn well uphold my oath of office as a current member of the Board of Directors of Local 503.  I am personally frightened enough to write this letter. I am frightened enough to read, re-read, and re-read again the Berdhoff and Kaiser legal opinion to fully understand the facts, the reasoning applied to those facts, to be persuaded by the conclusions derived by and based upon the facts and conclusions, legal and otherwise in the Berdhoff and Kaiser legal opinion

To those on the outside of this affair, and even to many on the inside who do not have to deal with Joe DiNicola on a routine basis (as we on the Board do), it may seem like now Joe will get the point and just slither away, or at least go back to his job as a Corporate Tax Auditor with the Department of Revenue.  (Sounds like a great plan for a guy who just took the State to Court.)

But that is not the case with Joe. I do not observe or sense he is capable of remorse or even being wrong in what he is has done and is doing to our union.  In fact, he showed up today uninvited to our Local meeting, that is in Eugene at the University of Oregon (Local 085).  In other words, he just comes boppin in glad handin anyone who is willing to touch him and chattin like this is business as usual.  

 He smiles a big wide one as he approaches me.  I am in the process of passing out fliers for my campaign outside the door to the room where the meeting will take place, and as he draws near I start to feel that lousy feeling in my gutt, the one that comes to me when there is a serious atmospheric change.  Mind you, he travelled from Salem, which is over an hour away, and I will not be surprised if he bills the union for his trip.  And here he is coming to a place where, if he has any allies, they lay in secret.  

So he flashes that big smile and asks me how my week is going, and I tell him it's been great since he lost his case in court.  He smiles again, says something like "good job Star" and reaches for the next unsuspecting soul's hand and any opportunity he can to leach onto whatever their pet issue is and listen as though he would never use them for his own purposes.

 To his little group of OJ Cheerleaders, the overt and visually loyal ones (NONE OF WHOM WORK AT THE UO, BY THE WAY), he is a victim.  And on more than one occasion we have been scolded by the Head Cheerleader for the horrible way we have talked and written about him.  And those gals (yeah, they are mostly gals) are coincidentally popping up on committees he is in charge of setting up.  It is quite remarkable the lengths to which he has gone to execute his agenda.  It has really become far more than a wage claim.

So, anyway, ya gotta wonder what makes a guy like this tick.  Why any man, without the comforting presence of his cheerleaders, would even want to be where most folks do not want him is beyond me.  Some might say it is not even rational.

 Back to the purpose of the meeting, the INVITED guest was Leslie Frane, our dynamic Executive Director, and she gave a great talk about bargaining issues and politics.  Except for one brief moment when Joe raised his hand to share some Joe-style presidential rhetoric during the Q and A, this unwelcome guy sorta became the invisible man.  At least that is what he was and is to me.

However, I do not expect  him to be regarded as invisible at the Board Meeting on Saturday...

 Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts.  I suspect there will be more thoughts to come.  Oh yeah.... 

Star Holmberg, w/SEIU Local 503

Joe DiNicola has told us frequently in Board meetings thathe has never filed suit against the union, that his justified court actionswere not against SEIU, or words to that effect.  In fact, at some meetings he repeats this severaltimes.  He repeated it againtoday.  I have no doubt that the OJCheerleaders sitting across the room grow as weary of me rolling my eyes as Iam weary of Joe repeating himself…and them believing him.

Joe’s mantra, as I have decided to term his instructivechant, even though mantras are typically single words or sounds, is evidence ofhis semantic wizardry.  For yousee, it is key to his justification to ignore the fact that by him suing theState of Oregon, Department of Revenue, then SEIU is the third party defendant,since if the State had to pay up, we would have to pay the State.  Likewise, it is our coffers that haveincurred many thousands of dollars in legal expenses (not to mention divertedresources), even without him winning his claim. 

Now this is not rocket science, but really I do not think heis oblivious to the truth recognized by the majority on the Board.  Rather, he is a very clever man whoappears to have no intention of backing off on his self-serving view, regardlessof the summary judgment; and he seeks to leave documentation “for the record”every step of the way.  Heconsiders himself supremely right, a misunderstood victim, and he is intent onkeeping the talons of his power firmly in place.  Neither humility nor culpability nor remorse appears to bein his emotional vocabulary.

From where I sit at the Board table, a prime vantage pointfor watching his eye and body language, this man’s unrelenting and unrepentantposture are a troubling sight to behold.   

I am glad to learn from the last poster that he has fond memories of working with a good leader.  I hold onto such reminders, as more often than not union leaders are good folks who are intent on serving the members and would never seek to siphon energy, resources and money from the bodies they swore to serve.

More later... 

Star Holmberg, w/SEIU Local 503

I believe most of us truly appreciate the value and virtue of loyalty. It can be a powerful and positive demonstration of strength in unity in our human relationships. Like the Three Musketeers, we can believe in "One for all, and all for one!", because we know that loyalty to family and friends is the adhesive that holds us all together and builds the sturdy foundation on which we support our personal life goals. But, loyalty degrades in value when it's blind. Such blind loyalty destroys unity and corrupts those who continue to follow an unethical and deceitful leader. I believe that loyalty should never become the uppermost virtue in and of itself. Instead, conformity to standards of fairness and staunch support of any position, ought to be guided by a careful assessment of facts and an accountability of actions. Hence the reason why "Question Authority" became such a popular phrase.

Only false leaders demand respect, reverence and blind loyalty. True leaders inspire personal achievment in others and actively develop and mentor new leaders. I fervently hope all the voting members of SEIU Local 503 may eventually have an opportunity to assess the facts and finally be able to hold our (false) President accountable for flagrantly violating his oath of office.

Deborra Ann Low
Rank and File Member
SEIU Local 503
http://home.comcast.net/~lowda/index.htm