We’re standing up, and we’re leaving SEIU

NewsAugust 31, 2012

We have great news. Today after SEIU-UHW organizers realized that the vast majority of us have rejected them and are ready to regain our voice in our workplace by joining NUHW, SEIU pulled out of our election at Mission Neighborhood Health Center.

For three and a half years we suffered under SEIU-UHW with its poor representation and employer-friendly approach to bargaining. At the end of the day, all SEIU had was threats, and SEIU knew that no amount of bullying or lies would make us vote for them.

We’re overjoyed that 63 of us in San Francisco will be the newest members of NUHW when we vote on September 5.

We’re not the only ones taking our union back from SEIU.

At Seton Medical Center near San Francisco, after narrowly losing to a campaign of bullying and lies in January, workers stood up to SEIU by filing charges against them at the labor board last spring.

Now, the government has ordered a full hearing before a judge to go over 20 charges of illegal misconduct at Seton by SEIU and management including “unlawful surveillance and interrogation” of voters, “assault and battery” and “threatening” physical harm to voters, unlawfully providing gifts, and illegal threats of “reprisal and loss of wages.”

If the judge rules that SEIU broke the law at Seton, the labor board could throw out the results of the election and order a new one. You can read the full report here, but one thing rings clear. Once again, SEIU stands accused of breaking the law and workers are standing up for their rights and fighting back.

In fact, in Los Angeles, in a separate labor board action, workers at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center have won a legal victory after charging that SEIU broke the law by taking photographs of NUHW supporters, interrogating workers and even threatening to have an NUHW supporter fired.

As part of the settlement, SEIU-UHW agreed not to “restrain or coerce bargaining unit members from engaging in their rights,” or “threaten bargaining unit members with” getting fired, and also agreed not to “coercively interrogate” workers regarding their protected right to support NUHW.

All over the state, the government is finding, over and over again, that SEIU-UHW has broken the law and violated workers’ rights. And all over the state, healthcare workers are standing up to SEIU’s bullying and lies and voting to join NUHW.

Sincerely,


Erika Lopez, Medical Assistant, MNHC
Noemi Acevedo, Medical Assistant, MNHC
Icela Hernandez, Medical Assistant, MNHC
National Union of Healthcare Workers