By admin 
Dave Regan, a union leader who is the driving force behind the Proposition 40 billionaire tax, is facing an internal disciplinary process over allegations he physically confronted, bullied and attempted to coerce senior staff at Service Employees International Union California — allegations he has vigorously denied.
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It’s unclear what impact the accusations against Regan will have on Prop. 40, a proposal to levy a one-time, 5% wealth tax on California billionaires to help address looming federal healthcare cuts.
The revelations first published by the Los Angeles Times have already led one California lawmaker, state Sen. Lola Smallwood Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, to withdraw her support for Prop. 40. The California Nurses Association, which backs the proposition but has a long history of disputes with Regan, called for his resignation last week.
At least four other lawmakers and the California Legislative Black Caucus have called for Regan to step down or face disciplinary action: Assemblymembers Issac Bryan, D-Jefferson Park; John Harabedian, D-Sierra Madre; Patrick Ahrens, D-Sunnyvale; and Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier. All but Bryan had previously signed a letter expressing their opposition to Prop. 40, according to POLITICO.
In a press call Friday, Regan and other officials at SEIU-UHW characterized the allegations as a “smear campaign” designed to undermine their campaign.
“This has really charged up our membership,” said Suzanne Jimenez, the union’s chief of staff. “They are more determined now than ever to do what’s necessary to get Prop. 40 passed.”
Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California-San Diego, noted that because Regan wasn’t a household name, the allegations were unlikely to register with voters.
Still, he argued they presented a risk to Prop. 40 proponents.
“They do signify and solidify a major rift within the labor movement over this proposition and Regan himself that is clearly damaging its chances of winning,” Kousser said.
Allegations expose fissures within SEIU
Two law firms conducted separate investigations into Regan’s behavior at SEIU California, an umbrella group consisting of 17 local service unions. Investigators said they substantiated claims that Regan pinned former SEIU California executive director Courtni Pugh against a wall in 2009 and yelled at her, leaving her anxious and shaken.
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Investigators also said they corroborated allegations that Regan and other top SEIU-UHW officials attempted to intimidate the organization’s current director, Tia Orr, into supporting the tax, and threatened to ask the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate SEIU California if its state council didn’t endorse Prop. 40 before Jan. 1.
Regan denied the encounter with Pugh happened and said the accusations were surfacing now because she is a political consultant working against Prop. 40’s passage. He denied harassing Orr, describing her as a friend, or attempting to coerce the SEIU California’s State Council to support Prop. 40.
The investigations pit SEIU California’s State Council, which officially voted to be neutral on the tax, against its second-largest local. The matter is now in the hands of SEIU International, whose president, April Verrett, can appoint an officer to oversee evidentiary hearings on the allegations.
Penalties of that process range from temporary suspensions to permanent expulsions from office.
The accusations come as SEIU-UHW faces well-funded opposition from tech billionaires who’ve been politically mobilized by Prop. 40. That group is led by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who has spent $100 million on efforts to fight the tax and to boost Props. 41 and 42, both of which would effectively undermine the tax.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation and a supporter of the proposed tax, downplayed rifts within the broader labor movement. She argued labor remained united against those wealthy interests, even if they disagreed about how to accomplish their goals.
“We all agree that billionaires shouldn’t hoard money and that they should be taxed,” Gonzalez said. “Whether we disagree on this proposal right here in front of us — that doesn’t fracture the labor movement.”
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