January 2023 PULSE
In January, NUHW members in Hawai’i entered their six month on strike to improve mental health care at Kaiser Permanente. In California, NUHW members won big raises at a major Providence hospital, held a successful picket at UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland, celebrated the anniversary of last year’s strike to make Kaiser recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid holiday, and welcomed more new members employed by Sutter Health.
Check out the stories below including a profile of NUHW member Natalie Rogers who recently became mayor of Santa Rosa. And visit NUHW on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
Natalie Rogers: “I like to be a voice for the voiceless”
After walking picket lines with her colleagues during what was the longest strike ever by mental healthcare workers, the Kaiser therapist made more history last year by becoming the first Black mayor of Santa Rosa. Read more.
NUHW members picket UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland, seeking to keep care in East Bay
Joined by parents and community leaders, hundreds of workers called on UCSF to agree to contractual provisions that would safeguard jobs and medical services in the East Bay. Read more.
Kaiser strike in Hawai’i now in sixth month
Several U.S. senators have written Kaiser CEO Greg Adams calling on Kaiser to settle a contract with its mental health therapists. Read more.
NUHW Tarzana members approve new contract with big raises
Raises will average 40 percent over four years under the agreement, which also includes making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a paid holiday. Read more.
Workers at Sutter Care at Home Sacramento Hospice vote to join NUHW
The vote by RNs and therapists marks the latest organizing victory for NUHW in the Sutter system. Read more.
Recalling NUHW’s strike to make Kaiser honor MLK Day
In a sit-down interview, Sabrina Chaumette, a Kaiser therapist in Oakland, reflects on last year’s strike by NUHW-represented clinicians in Oakland and Richmond that forced Kaiser to finally honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. Read more.
Workers fight back again against Providence (St. Joseph Health) payroll errors
After fighting to win penalty pay for payroll mistakes last summer, NUHW members at Providence hospitals acted fast to prevent the healthcare giant from illegally doubling payroll deductions after another payroll error. Read more.
NUHW celebrates Black History Month
Our movement is rooted in the ongoing shared struggle for equal rights and full equality. And, our work will never be complete until we create an anti-racist healthcare system that fully supports caregivers and patients of color and provides all patients with culturally-responsive care. Be sure to visit our webpage to read our profiles of Black change-makers. Read more.
NUHW receives record new organizing inquiries in 2022
NUHW experienced strong growth in 2022 as well as unprecedented interest from healthcare workers interested in unionizing. Read more.
Find out how much you’d save with Medicare for All
The Sacramento Bee recently ran a commentary about a tool designed by Healthy California Now and NUHW letting Californians calculate how much money they’d save if the state adopted a single-payer Medicare for All healthcare system. Find out how much you’d save. Read more.
NUHW education and training reources
NUHW offers trainings and resources to empower member leaders with to protect and enforce their rights in the workplace, including a new course on FMLA and hours worked issues on February 8. Learn more.
News of the Month
Read our roundup of the latest labor and healthcare news from top media outlets.