SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Denouncing Sutter Health for two years of bad-faith bargaining on issues critical to patient care, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West issued a 10-day strike notice today that will put some 8,000 caregivers at 13 Sutter facilities on the streets beginning Sept. 13. It would be the nation’s largest open-ended healthcare strike in 20 years.
“No caregiver ever wants to strike, but Sutter has left us no choice,” said Denny Enriques, a respiratory care practitioner with Sutter Delta for 16 years. “We are advocating for our patients, but Sutter refuses to recognize our voice. Now we must raise that voice, and we’re proud to stand together with so many other caregivers, patients, community leaders and elected officials -- all with grievances about how Sutter treats its patients, its caregivers and our community.”
Besides the 4,500 SEIU UHW members employed by Sutter, another 3,500 caregivers from other unions have agreed to join in a sympathy strike. Representatives from those unions -- the California Nurses Association, Stationary Engineers Local 39, Teamsters Locals 665, 856 and Joint Council 7, Office and Professional Employees Local 29, UNITE-HERE Locals 2 and 2850, and Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union -- expressed their solidarity at the press conference, as did Art Pulaski, president of the California AFL-CIO.
“Much has been made about a political split in the labor movement,” said Pulaski, “but union members everywhere understand that an injury to one is an injury to all. That message resonates on this Labor Day, as it has throughout our history. We are strongly united behind the effort of Sutter Health caregivers to get a fair contract and a voice in ensuring quality healthcare for their patients.”
SEIU-UHW President Sal Rosselli said the unity behind caregivers represented by the Service Employees International Union, a leader in the new Change to Win Coalition, shows that the labor movement is focused on the future and not on the past. “The issues our caregivers are fighting for -- a voice in staffing decisions, a training fund and protections for speaking out for patients -- are at the heart of workers’ struggle everywhere to make a difference in their work. Unity and solidarity is what will make that happen.”
Rosselli also pointed out that the SEIU caregivers at Sutter facilities are only trying to achieve the industry standards for patient care in contracts with other Northern California healthcare systems, including Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Healthcare West and Daughters of Charity.
“Considering the quality care issues at Sutter hospitals, a voice for caregivers is even more important than ever,” Rosselli said. “But Sutter seems determined to go its own way, indifferent to the standards of our communities.”
Della Reed, a licensed vocational nurse with 27-years experience at California Pacific Medical Center, said she feared for her patients at the mercy of untrained replacements who are unfamiliar with the equipment and hospital procedures. “I don’t know why Sutter has forced this crisis in health care for people in our community,” she said. “We’d rather be taking care of our patients. I don’t know why Sutter executive are being so unreasonable.”
“With its ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ approach, Sutter management continues to isolate itself from its caregivers, its patients, elected officials, and every advocate for quality patient care in the region,” Rosselli said. “Sutter continues to take a position that divides our community, rather than heals.”
SEIU United Healthcare Workers -- West, with more than 140,000 members, is the largest and most powerful healthcare union in the Western United States. We represent every type of healthcare worker, including nursing, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high quality healthcare for all.
CONTACT: Thea Lavin 510-520-7732
SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
CONTACT: Thea Lavin of SEIU United Healthcare Workers -- West,+1-510-520-7732
Web site: http://www.seiu-uhw.org/
