NEWS&PRESS

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal: 1,500 Kaiser workers join NUHW

By Elizabeth Kim About 1,500 Kaiser mental health professionals and optical workers in Northern California have voted to leave the Service Employees International Union and join the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the union reported Friday. The National Labor Relations Board concluded the ballot count with a final tally of 603 for NUHW to 196 […]

Kaiser Mental Health and Optical Workers Vote to Join NUHW

Kaiser workers reject SEIU’s fear campaign and join with their co-workers in Southern California

Oakland, Calif.—Approximately 1,500 Kaiser mental health professionals and optical workers in Northern California have voted to leave the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concluded the ballot count today with a final tally of 603 for NUHW to 196 for SEIU in the Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) unit, and 154 for NUHW to 142 for SEIU in the optical unit.

“This is a victory for democracy. Now we will have a real voice regarding issues of patient care, staffing and workload,” said Spencer Gross, a psychologist at Kaiser Pleasanton for 23 years.

Kaiser’s Northern California mental health and optical workers will join 2,300 psychologists, social workers, dietitians, audiologists, speech pathologists, health educators and nurses in Southern California Kaiser hospitals and clinics who voted overwhelmingly to join NUHW in January.

“We’ve waited a long time to be united in NUHW with our co-workers in Southern California,” said Maria Padilla-Castro, a 10-year therapist at Kaiser Sacramento. “Now we’ll be able to work together to improve the standards of care for our patients.”