Over 200 Community Hospital workers and their allies attended a press conference on August 27th to announce a union organizing drive to improve working conditions and salaries. Lydia Martinez, a licensed vocational nurse at Community Medical Center, said "it is not right that there are many of us that work at these hospitals who can not afford health insurance for our families. . . there are people who give care all day long, but can't afford the same care for their own families."

But, Martinez said her support for the union was not just about the money and benefits. She said "we're standing up today because we need a voice in making the right decisions for patients at these facilities. By forming a union, we'll be able to come together to advocate for our patients in partnership with management here."

Several local elected officials also spoke at the press conference. Fresno City Council member Cynthia Sterling said she was there to "ask Community Medical Center to respect the rights of its care givers to choose for themselves whether to be a union." Bob Waterston and Susan Anderson from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and Fresno City Council member Mike Dages hit on the same theme of calling for fair elections that will give the workers an opportunity to decide whether or not to join the union.

"Whether to form a union is a decision for the workers alone to make," said Anderson. "We're here today in support of a fair election agreement and to say to Community Medical Centers that we expect its leadership to respect workers' right to organize."

Photos and article here