SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued by the Health Care Workers Union, SEIU 250 -- Today, locked out health care workers will file a lawsuit in San Francisco superior court against Sutter Health and the agency it used to hire replacement workers, Modern Industrial Services. The suit states that Sutter and the agency broke criminal and civil law by misleading replacement workers and hiding from them the fact that they were being hired during a labor dispute to undermine locked out workers. The suit is being filed by the Health Care Workers Union, SEIU 250 and the press conference is co-sponsored by the California Nurses Association and will be supported by UNITE-HERE Local 2, the hotel workers union.
The lawsuit shows that Sutter has not only been misleading the public about the reasons behind the dispute, but it has also been lying to the very replacement workers it is using to run the hospital while regular workers are locked out. Specifically, the suit claims that Sutter and the agency violated California Labor Codes 970 and 973.
Modern Industrial Services is a firm that specializes in providing security guards and replacement workers to undermine registered nurses and caregivers who stand up for better patient care. The replacement workers it uses are unfamiliar with the facilities in which they work, which can endanger patients.
“These agencies are of very questionable quality and use itinerant workers who are unfamiliar with the facilities,” said John Baumhauer, a pharmacy purchasing technician at St. Luke’s. “For example, there is a medication to dissolve blood clots that requires preparation and delivery within 3 minutes. A replacement worker is not going to know the location and correct procedure to administer a drug like that.”
“During our last negotiations, Sutter was actually hiring replacement workers in a room next door,” said Sal Rosselli, SEIU 250 president. “That kind of blatant disrespect shows that Sutter has no interest in negotiating over patient care standards.”
Every major hospital system in Northern California except Sutter has accepted standards designed to protect patient care, including a voice in staffing for caregivers and a training fund.
With 100,000 members, SEIU 250 is the largest and fastest growing health care union in the Western U.S. We represent every type of health care worker, including nursing, professional, technical, paramedic and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high quality health care for all.
SEIU 250
CONTACT: Dave Bates of SEIU 250, +1-510-773-8950