My SEIU story (VIDEO)
Last year, SEIU-UHW officials gave away our retiree health coverage to their friends in Kaiser management. Then they let Kaiser lay off 1,000 of our co-workers.
My name is Leslie Suderno and I’m one of those workers.
This is my story:
I have worked 34 years for Kaiser and I feel that I’ve been a faithful employee. Due to Kaiser and SEIU, my job has been deleted.
I have serious medical issues that will be very expensive in the years ahead. With SEIU’s agreement to cap our retiree health coverage, what’s going to happen to me?
I’m not alone. A thousand of our co-workers have lost their jobs because of SEIU’s close relationship with Kaiser, and all of us have lost our retiree health benefits.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Ten thousand NUHW members have now joined forces with 85,000 registered nurses with the CNA, including 18,000 who work for Kaiser. Together, we are standing up for healthcare workers and our patients.
Because NUHW-CNA has chosen to stand up for its members instead of partnering with our bosses, not a single NUHW member at Kaiser has been laid off.
In fact, at hospitals all over the state like Keck Medical Center of USC and Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, NUHW members have won contracts with raises and no benefit cuts, while every contract that SEIU has negotiated since taking over our union has resulted in reductions.
Please watch this video and share it with your co-workers. Then print and share this leaflet with my story. (Spanish.)
Sincerely,
Leslie Suderno, Lead Clerk, Kaiser Downey
National Union of Healthcare Workers