Caregivers at Doctors San Pablo win certification with NUHW
On Friday, the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) officially certified the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) as the exclusive bargaining agent for nearly 300 caregivers at Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo.
The PERB’s announcement follows the Board’s dismissal last Wednesday of objections to last year’s election filed by the workers’ former union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU’s objections forced workers to wait more than a year and a half for official recognition of their membership in NUHW after having voted for the new union by a 7 to 1 margin in May of 2009.
“We made our choice a year and a half ago to join NUHW, but SEIU leaders didn’t care what the workers wanted,” said Roger Allen, a 31-year environmental services worker at Doctor’s Hospital. “They kept us trapped in legal limbo just because it suited their political agenda.”
“Our wait is finally over, and we’re excited to be able to move forward as NUHW members and bargain for improvements to our wages, benefits and job security,” Margarita Munoz, a 16-year EVS worker.
NUHW’s newest members include housekeepers, cooks, pharmacists, radiology technologists, clerical workers, respiratory therapists, licensed vocational nurses and other healthcare workers at Doctors San Pablo.