Diary of a Mad Striker

Day 1

I am on strike. My hospital (california pacific medical center) is part of the evil Sutter empire.

The day before the strike they had all of the environmental workers go to a meeting and told that they were part of a big family. and the Aides got a flyer saying that we were "ordered" to go on strike and that we could resist and show up for work. The RN's (not in the union) got a flyer that they could park in a secret Japan Town garage and take the secret shuttle to the hospital. In other words the Rns would be human shields for management riding the same buses. The Rn Flyer ended with a call for RNs to be "vigilant" and to be on the look out for retaliation by pro union workers. Vigilant is a war on terror term and it is just past the anniversary of Sept 11th.

Originally several Bay Area Sutter hospitals were going going to strike but the union (SEIU - UHW) decided it was a better strategy to have just our 3 campus hospital walk out in San Francisco. Some workers are mad about this and others are going along with the program.

Some workers think it will be 2 weeks minimum and others think CPMC does not have the staff coverage.

Some delivery people crossed the line. However, PEPSI, Thomas' English Muffins and the Examiner did not. However I will not eat those "English Muffin Pizzas" my Mother used to make regardless of solidarity. The Pepsi driver was a good Teamster would not cross the line. His Manager drove out and crossed the line to deliver the SCAB Cola. I hate all Managers. The Good Pepsi guy was talking to a cop who told him "What this society needs is a redistribution of funds". Only in San Francisco.

A Pacific Heights yuppie Mom wheeled her kid over to the cop---not having heard the funds comment. She told him that, "We, the neighbors, are okay with this thing but NOT at 6:00AM. They can have their movement at 7:00 but not 6:00--it woke the baby!" What a generous Matron-to-be. The cop tried to convince her he felt her pain and the Pepsi guy just nodded. The baby had no comment and seemed well composed at the moment.

In order to receive strike pay, workers must show up for 6.5 continuous hours. Many people (myself included) came for the 5:30AM walk out. The strike pay brought a bigger turn out. The numbers increased the militancy. We delayed several buses of SCABS by hours.

The scabs are protected by a group of ...( I don't want to give goons and thugs a bad name)...security personnel. Their company is called, PAIN inc., I shit you not.

One creepy thing is the union used the freedom of information act to research the head of the SCAB staffing agency. He is Gary somebody. The union staff made a big deal off announcing that his a "convicted drug felon, and dead beat dad who owes his ex wife $100,000 in back child support. On the one hand I don't like the whole war on drugs thing but they do make health care workers pee in a bottle when we are hired.

This Gary guy was on the lead scab bus which my coworkers and I successfully repelled (I wanted to say "drove off"--but that sounds like high-jacking).

Our shop steward could not strike with us; he is very sick and in the very hospital we are picketing. As a result, his friends in the union cannot visit him. He is a gay guy who will probably need a hear, lung & liver transplant. He is totally OUT about his illness so I do not feel I am violating his confidentiality. Sal Roselli head of SEIU - UHW visited him the night before the strike. I thougt that was cool.

Sal has been visible to both the workers and the media during the strike. He walked around the hospital the night before the strike and shook hands with workers and introduced himself. As most of you know, the SEIU and the AFL-CIO just split. The SEIU is in the "Change to Win" coalition. I think this strike is a big deal for SEIU. Not that every strike isn't.

We closed with a rally at the old Children's Hospital now called the "California Campus of CPMC". It was really big.

I am wiped out and need to sleep. People's calls and text messages were appreciated.

One closing thought. I worked the night before the strike and noticed that there were less supplies than usual. By law we gave them a 10 day notice and waited 11 days. Had this been a natural disaster it would have been ugly. It makes me think of Katrina and New Orleans and other hard hit areas.

Strike a Pose – Day 2

After feeling dehydrated but not totally demoralized, I returned for a second day of picketing.

I had ignored an email asking me if my picture was on the Chronicle website. I figured there were ten thousand people in the picture. It turned out to be of 2 people. A female coworker--who works a different shift so her name escapes me--and me in the back ground with my hand on my hip (pic enclosed). Okay, if I can't look macho and militant then I can just look good. Actually it is a horrible picture but we must have a sense of humor.

So I got up today and felt horrible (the weather sucks and it took its toll on me). I went out for a coffee on the way to the picket line. I opened the Chron Bay Area section and saw the dreaded pic. Fortunately I did not bounce my bagel.

When I signed in (to accrue strike pay hours)the union staff member was surprised that I memorized what page of the book name is on.

There is a division between paid staff & workers. Just as there is a division between non profit workers and "clients". The workers intellectually get that the union won't screw us out of strike pay but on an emotional level we feel compelled to sign in and out on time. Some times the is a longer line at the book than on the picket line. However this just lasts for 20 minutes. The Union Staff has been good and they intellectually get our attachment to the book but some of them do not emotionally get it. And unless it is one's own money, it is hard to understand the stress.

It was confirmed that no one in my department was a SCAB. Hurray!!!

One of the first things I saw today was a man yelling that we were anti patient and that his dying daughter was trying to sleep. However he made his point by trying to intimidate the smallest woman on the picket line. He closed by yelling, People who behave like children get paid like children." Yesterday I saw this same guy joking with someone and delivered the "children" comment as a joke. Is he a real Father with a dying daughter or a plant?

Normally I would assume he was telling the truth, but there has been so much deception from Sutter (parent company of CPMC) that I do not know what to believe. We did decide to not use bull horns at some entrances before 7:00AM. However when we are quiet the CPMC spokes woman says to the press that they are committed and that CPMC will win. What should we do?

My coworker "Terry" has been a breath of fresh air. She had 5 years of experience in the Psyc ward but was forced out The RN ratio was changed. While fewer patients per RN is a good public health move, many AIDES were forced out of there jobs when the ratio law was enacted. Sutter sends money to Sacramento to try and get the ratio law repealed. Fewer nurses means more short term profits. Although every university and government study in the u.s. and Europe show a good RN to patient ratio reduces injuries and death.

She came wearing a giant piece of purple fabric. Think a 30 foot purple scarf. Terry goes to Burning Man every year and makes her own costumes --except when she can convince her Mormon Mom to do it. 5 Years of Psyc training comes in handy.

Once she was warm enough, she used her scarf as a giant wind sock. She recruited people to hold the other end and made the Purple (exact same shade as the SEIU shirts)scarf dance. Terry and someone made it dance in front of the SCAB entrance and the guards called the cops on her. If a scarf is illegal, is it an accessory to a crime?

Terry & I consulted the union lawyer. We figured out why hospitals bring SCABS through the Emergency Room. You can't block an Emergency Room. The interpretation of "blocking" is held to a higher standard. Essentially, the ER patients are human shields so the SCABs can not be blocked too vigorously. Yesterday we did delay them for hours but that will not always work.

It was Terry's day. She also called someone who was just hired and wrongly thought he was too new for strike pay. He had crossed the line. Terry grabbed her cell phone and commandeered a VP from the union and convinced him to strike tomorrow. We'll see.

The purple thing is kind of cool. It reminded me of the orange revolution in the Ukraine. I think the use of color can be useful and beautiful. The purple scarf was like a banner with out words. At first the old street activist in me thought "what a waste--no words" but it was some how more effective. It danced in the wind making a new shape or statement with every breeze. It was the same color as the SEIU T-shirts which do have words.

Terry says she has a white and purple bunny costume. However she needs to wash it. Once again, Laundry is the scourge of the movement.

Some people freak out and yell at the union. I often think it is the idea of servants misbehaving. Some people are more compassionate. Another Psyc Tech goes "Zen" on them. She approaches them and calms them until they leave. Can we scrape together enough money to send her to the White House. Good Bye W.

Andy Stern, Head of SEIU, is coming to SF later this week. I lost the flyer but I think some of you might have other plans. It is a 24/7 strike so if anyone suffers from insomnia or has free time there are 3 campuses. Mine is at Buchanan and Sacramento.

I need to get some rest. Perhaps tomorrow I can match Terry's spirit if not her scarf.

Strike 3 – and we're still out

Day 3 started late for me. The bad (unusually cold) weather has had me sick every morning. Instead of showing up at 9:00AM, I arrived just before 3 in the afternoon. Don't worry, my morning sickness is the cold/flu variety and not the "Oh my Gawd, the stick turned blue variety."

The union is really organized this time. As I was walking to work my cell phone rang and a union rep was making sure I was showing up.

As usual, they were surprised that I knew my name was on page 36. But since i don't get strike pay with out signing in and OUT (6.5 hrs later), I don't quite understand the surprise.

SEIU has brought in "organizers" from around the country. Because I have been marching in the cold for more than 7 hours, I can't remember all of our problems with the organizer model. One I do remember is that many professional organizers did not work in the professions they "organized". This time I have noticed a difference.

Nate, my hospital's union business rep, is a former hospital transport worker. He worked in the Minnesota area and then went to work for his union as an organizer.

Mike, who still lives in Minnesota, works for SEIU and is here for the strike. He entered labor politics by trying--not so successfully to organize a retail store where he was employed.

In my past strikes (particularly the nursing home strike), the paid organizers were 22 year old college grads who hadn't had their share of crappy jobs. However, they were big on theory. They were graduates of the OI (organizing institute). As a former AIDS activist, OI always meant "Opportunistic Infection". The irony was not lost on me.

However I feel much better about the newer OI grads. I am not sure if the program is different or the recruiting profile changed. Even the one who is a recent Harvard grad is pretty cool. While she might have been cool on her own, I think being surrounded by worker turned organizers creates a different culture than just being surrounded by professional organizers.

In our circle, we have had criticisms of SEIU Local 250 (now called SEIU-UHW). Some of it has been around their conflict with CNA (the California Nurse's Assoc) and their allegiance to the Democratic Party.

Interestingly enough, the organizers from around the country gush over how great SEIU-UHW is and how they want their local to be just like it. They claim it is so much better than what they have in the Midwest.

The SoCAL people claim to like the merger of Local 250 (NoCal) with Local 399 of Southern Cal. One claimed that a particular Kaiser contract became much better. Kaiser allegedly came to them and offered them terms they had been fighting for almost 20 years. The merger made them a formidable presence.

A Sacramento organizer talked about successfully organizing CHW hospitals (Catholic Healthcare West. However Sutter remains an obstacle for them. If Sutter isn't tamed they will not get much more progress in the other hospitals.

Apparently the Sacramento area Sutter hospital is claiming its "charity care" is building a theatre for children with Cancer. While that is a cool thing, Charity Care (I hate that phrase) is supposed to be about providing health care to the under served and not more services to the genuinely sick children of the insured. The union has gotten some competitors to provided TB screening clinics and other services.

Also one bit of gossip. Apparently one hospital claimed its "Charity" was providing free care to the SF Giants. I think it was a CHW hospital but I had brain Freeze from the bad weather.

We also had more rich Pacific Heights neighbors complain about our noise. They did not seem impressed with my comeback that being quiet hasn't gotten us anything.

One Pac Hts resident and a RN at the hospital, claimed is we woke her up at 6 in the morning again that she "would call the COPS and Shut You Down!"

The servants must not misbehave attitude is incredible although not surprising. We are going to be quiet but we have a new chant -- "Don't Call 5-0...Call Jack...Wanna stop the Noise...Six HUNDRED...SIX THOUSAND"

CPMC phone number is (415)-600-6000. People should feel free to call and ask Jack Bailey or DR Martin Brotman to JUST SAY YES to the Federal Mediators Proposal. JUST SAY Yes is a theme in this struggle. The spector of Nancy Reagan will never leave.

One cool thing is that we have portable propane heaters. You know those ones on patios at fancy restaurants. I have zero problem with my dues going to those babies. At 9:30 tonight they kept me warm.

At the Davies Campus they stormed the Hospital. Four people were arrested. What I heard third hand was that the 4 were union staff who blocked the "security" (read: goons) from catching the strikers. It had everyone jazzed.

Most of the supporters from the neighborhood were walking dogs. Do cool people get dogs, do dogs make people cool or is there another explanation? I am sure I will here a theory or two from some named people who receive this email.

Day 4

The constant chants, whistles and drum beats wear a person out. The noise is still getting to the residents of Pacific Heights, but more on that later.

At the end of Friday (sept 16, I just needed quiet time. On other days I came home, took a nap and went to another union rally at a different hospital. Last Night I really needed quiet time. I went to a cafe and read and came home and watched "The Incredibles". Right or Wrong, I loved both.

Some of the union members went to a dinner with Andy Stern the new Int'l president of SEIU. He is a controverial figure because of the split from the AFL-CIO. "Sarah" the Psyc Tech (Like a Practical Nurse for Psyc Wards) said his speech was really good especially because it was short. Interpret that as you will.

Sarah is an extremely warm and empathetic 60-something French woman. She was on emotional disability because of unsafe incident in the Psyc Ward. A man gouged his own eyes and she didn't have enough staff to restrain him. When he was restrained she tried to hold a bandage (or towel?) over his eyes out of fear the eye ball would fall out. For someone as caring as Sarah (or for anyone) that was too much. This is why the Union wants a say in staffing levels.

She said going to a nice restaurant (in a Union Hotel--naturally) made her feel human again. And when the strikers stood up, they received a round of applause. It would of been nice to be there but I just couldn't handle people last night.

Day 5

I arrived on Saturday the 17th at about 9:00AM. The wealthy residents of Pacific Heights had already thrown eggs at the striking workers.

To paraphrase Marie Antoinette: Let them eat Crepes!

The interesting thing for activists about striking is that you are doing a protest with your coworkers instead of your friends.

There is always someone who is the first to get arrested. Lily in the environmental Services Department. She always gets arrested at strikes and is taken to the closest precinct---where her son is a cop! In the past her coworkers would call him and say, "Guess who we've got?" And of course he would respond, "Not Again!"

There is the noise maker. One of them is Gloria. She is also from EVS. She has an unusual capacity to make noise. She sits on a box and bangs on one of those huge water cooler bottles with a stick while simultaneously blowing her whistle--for HOURS!!! She brings her whistle to the Porto Potty. I have heard of "whistling while you work" but that seems beyond the call of duty.

And there is the inspirational/creative ones. Terry is one of them She has brought props like the 30 foot purple scarf and the wax accordion. Today she and others went on Board Visits. She actually got into the house of the Chairman of the Board and talked to the guy. He took notes and gave her advice on how to talk to other board members--whom he said will be difficult.

Imagine if you went on strike, who would be the one taken by the cops, who would make a ruckus and who would the inspirational one (Okay, every striker is an inspiration). Visualize your coworkers. I can guarantee 2 out of 3 of your guesses would be wrong.

Kyle (Physical Therapy aide), me and a union staffer hit the homes of 4 other board members. three of ours weren't home and one pretended not to be home. He hid behind his wife and had her say he wasn't home. It was so obvious there were spaces in the middle of sentences while she awaited his instructions. They will never make Las Vegas. A good ventriloquist must drink of water while the Dummy talks. But I don't think she was the dummy, she just married one.

We all agreed, rich people have the nicest houses. We described in detail the mansions we saw. Terry not to outdone described the Tiburon Mansion she visited. When she described the private lake someone corrected her and said it was the Bay. Terry responded, "It was a man made lake designed so the family sit on their porch look across their lake with installed fountains and onto the Bay". It's just a guess but I think they can afford to give us a contract.

Interestingly enough, our training yesterday included another coworker who visited a board member earlier this week. He described a Board member who seems to have been badly informed by the executives at Sutter. He was opposed to demands we were not making. We are on record as accepting the Federal Mediators proposal which does not Have any excessively Strong union organizing language. The Board has been lied to about this fact. I have seen the statement issued by the mediator that he was asked by BOTH sides to make a proposal and we accepted it. CPMC is denying the proposal existed.

However the stress is really getting to me and everyone. Even with strike pay and generous offers from friends and family there is a feeling of no control. I want this strike over but it is important to win.

None of us has been able to visit our shop steward since the strike began. He is a patient in the hospital. We hope to see him soon. He is a member of the LGBT community and a long time advocate for quality healthcare in the hospital.

Call Jack---Six Hundred Six Thousand. (415) 600-6000 Tell Him to JUST SAY YES. And end the strike.