California Union Leader Faces Harassment Allegations Amid Billionaire Tax Fight

A California labor leader who is spearheading a ballot measure to tax billionaires has been accused of harassing and intimidating several women who work for an affiliated union, according to an investigative report commissioned by SEIU California.

The report, completed in June and made public on Friday, centers on Dave Regan, president of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West. It draws on interviews with current and former SEIU members and others who say Regan sought to pressure union leaders into backing the billionaires' tax, which will go before voters in November.

The allegations extend beyond the campaign. The report also claims that Regan physically assaulted an SEIU leader more than 15 years ago during a political dispute, and that in more recent years he engaged in harassing behavior toward other women in the organization.

Regan acknowledged using curse words with union leaders but denied the physical assault allegation. Speaking at a news conference, he said he would take responsibility for his words and actions, but added that he would not accept what he called flat-out lies.

The ballot measure, Proposition 40, would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires living in the state to help backfill federal funding cuts to healthcare for low-income people. The proposal has caused a rift within the Democratic Party and among labor unions that are typically aligned. Regan's union supports it, while the larger SEIU California has not taken a position.

SEIU-UHW alleged that opponents of the measure worked to make the report public in order to hurt the initiative's chances of passing. In a statement, the union said billionaires were trying to play working people, and it called for taxing the wealthy to restore healthcare funding. It also described the allegations as unrelated verbal interactions spanning nearly two decades that were being stitched together and stripped of context to manufacture a false narrative about the union's leadership.

SEIU California said it took action in response to the allegations to uphold values of respect, fairness and equity in the workplace. The group said it asks members every day to stand up to power and speak out against abuses, and that its leaders were also saying enough.

According to the report, SEIU California executive director Tia Orr told investigators that Regan said in December the union needed to support the tax measure by Jan. 1 or, in his words, he was coming for her. Orr later told members she felt unsafe and learned about other allegations of Regan threatening or berating female union leaders and staffers. SEIU California has filed charges against Regan with the SEIU International Union alleging a pattern of bullying, extortion and threats.

The report also alleges Regan acted aggressively toward Courtni Pugh, the union's former executive director, amid a political dispute sometime before she resigned in 2009. Pugh told investigators he yelled at her, kicked in her office door and backed her up against a bookcase, following earlier expletives and a comment that she was not tough enough for the job.

SEIU-UHW called Pugh's allegation a trumped-up claim from 17 years ago and noted that the political firm she works for has worked for groups opposing Proposition 40. Pugh did not immediately respond to a request for comment about her involvement with the ballot measure. In a statement, she called Regan's response offensive to the women and people who have had to endure his threatening behavior. She said she told colleagues about the incident at the time and that it was well known around SEIU, adding that she participated in the investigation because she saw his behavior had continued and hoped no one else would have to endure such treatment.