SEIU-UHW Wins Election Campaigns in 9 Facilities in Two Weeks as More Workers Reject NUHW

OAKLAND –260 caregivers at four facilities reaffirmed their support yesterday for SEIU-UHW over the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), the organization started by former SEIU-UHW President Sal Rosselli and other former union officials. Hundreds more are expected to make the same choice in the coming weeks.

The victories for members of the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) bring to 9 the number of facilities where workers have chosen SEIU-UHW over NUHW in the past two weeks. Since Rosselli and the others were removed from union office 15 months ago, 65,260 SEIU-UHW members have chosen to stay in SEIU-UHW – more than 95% of the members who have been given the choice.

With this threat to their organization and contracts eliminated, these workers are now returning their focus to patient care and the workplace issues that affect it.

“I’ve worked for Kyakameena for 36 years and I’m proud to be a part of SEIU-UHW. I know having a strong union in these tough economic times will help us keep good contracts, protect our job security and provide for our families,” said Willie Shakoor, a janitor at the Kayakameena Sanatorium.

Tuesday’s elections took place at Willow Pass Healthcare Center in Concord (80 workers), Elmwood Care Center in Berkeley (60 workers), Kyakameena Sanatorium in Berkeley (50 workers), and San Leandro Healthcare Center in San Leandro (60 workers). They are the front end of a wave of union elections that will take place in California throughout April and May (see list below).

Beyond these losses, NUHW has been facing unprecedented setbacks on multiple fronts in recent weeks. Earlier this month a Federal jury held the union and many of its officers and staff liable for $1.5M in damages for their conduct as they were removed from SEIU-UHW and formed their new union. NUHW’s recently filed annual financial disclosure indicates that they were $1.5M in debt even before the judgment. Also this month NUHW has given up rather than face defeat at St. Francis Medical Center, part of the Daughters of Charity Health Systems, in Lynwood (920 workers), Tiller Oakridge Care Center in Oakridge (100 workers), San Marco Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Concord (90 workers), and Avalon Chowchilla nursing home in Avalon (50 workers) . Workers at Prison Health Services in Dublin and Oakland appear to have chosen NUHW by a small margin in an election held there yesterday.

Caregivers at 22 other facilities with elections scheduled will be voting in the coming weeks, although it is highly likely that NUHW will continue to pull out of many of these elections rather than suffer humiliating defeats.

NUHW is still desperately trying to stop elections at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo, Sutter Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, and Centinela Hospital in Inglewood. In many cases NUHW is now challenging the composition of the bargaining units, even though they are the same bargaining units for which they themselves petitioned for the election.

SEIU – United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is the largest hospital and healthcare union in the western United States with more than 150,000 members. We unite every type of healthcare worker with a mission to achieve high-quality healthcare for all. SEIU-UHW is part of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's fastest-growing union. Learn more at http://www.seiu-uhw.org.

Source: SEIU-UHW