Carlyle and SEIU Burying the Hatchet?

Don’t take this to the bank yet, but I have good reason to believe that The Carlyle Group and the SEIU have entered into high-level discussions about settling their many differences. The two sides have been bickering for months, with SEIU regularly interrupting Carlyle speeches and protesting in front of the firm’s Washington DC headquarters. It really has become a fairly toxic relationship.

My understanding is that SEIU boss Andy Stern is directly involved in the talks, and Stern isn’t someone known for doing things piecemeal. In other words, don’t expect an agreement on Manor Care without everything else also being fleshed out (Synegro, protests, etc.).

As I said, however, this is not information I’ve been able to confirm with Carlyle or SEIU – either on the record or on background (and sources at both have been known to be chatty in the past, particularly about each other). Carlyle issued a “no comment,” while SEIU wouldn’t even go that far.

Also worth considering one of two scenarios: (A) Talks are ongoing and an agreement will eventually be announced; or (B) Talks are faltering, and status quo will reign.