December 19th, 2009
Los Angeles Times: Upstart union wins a plurality in Sonoma County hospital vote
An upstart union challenging the giant Service Employees International Union won a plurality Friday in a disputed and closely watched union vote at a Sonoma County Hospital. … The result was a crushing defeat for the SEIU…
December 19th, 2009
Labor Notes: NUHW is Decisive in Santa Rosa, SEIU Tries to Postpone Defeat
By Mark Brenner
Workers capped a six year campaign to organize Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital tonight, with 283 voting to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) against 263 votes for “no union.”
But SEIU—with a paltry 13 votes—is trying to postpone the victory party, stonewalling efforts to resolve the additional 17 challenged ballots cast in the election. If an absolute majority is not reached, NUHW will be forced to re-run the election, this time without SEIU on the ballot.
This closely-watched election was the largest private-sector contest to-date between the upstart NUHW and the organization they left behind earlier this year, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). NUHW was formed when SEIU’s national leadership forced the dissident statewide local United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW) into trusteeship last January, prompting members and leaders to establish a breakaway union.
December 19th, 2009
Press-Democrat: Memorial workers vote to join NUHW
After almost six years of labor organizing, health care workers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital voted for representation by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, according to the union.
The two-day vote was a showdown between the breakaway healthcare union, and the much larger Service Employees International Union.
The decision affects almost 700 employees at Memorial Hospital, including radiology and respiratory technicians, nurse’s aides, housekeepers and dietary workers.
St. Joseph Health System of Orange County, which runs Memorial, had strongly opposed the organizing effort.
“We are all so excited to finally have a voice to make our hospital a better place to work and better for our community,” said Nancy Timberlake, a telemetry technician at the hospital. “We stuck together for six years and we finally did it. I’m so relieved and so happy that we won.”
December 19th, 2009
Memorial Hospital workers vote to join NUHW after six-year struggle
Caregivers reject a rival organization that stood in their way
Santa Rosa, Calif.—Caregivers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital voted to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) today in an election victory that caps their six-year struggle to win a voice at work.
“We are all so excited to finally have a voice to make our hospital a better place to work and better for our community,” said Nancy Timberlake, a telemetry technician at the hospital. “We stuck together for six years and we finally did it. I’m so relieved and so happy that we won.”
The vote was 283 for NUHW, 263 for No Union, and only 13 for SEIU, a rival organization that tried to interfere in the election. Despite SEIU’s devastating loss, as of 7:00 p.m. Friday night they were still trying to stop the labor board from certifying the results. Seventeen ballots were cast by workers not on the board’s list of eligible voters, and SEIU wants those ballots counted in the hopes there will be enough “No Union” votes to trigger a runoff.
December 19th, 2009
Memorial Hospital workers vote to join NUHW after six-year struggle
Santa Rosa, Calif.—Caregivers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital voted to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers today in an election victory that caps their six-year struggle to win a voice at work.
“We are all so excited to finally have a voice to make our hospital a better place to work and better for our community,” said Nancy Timberlake, a telemetry technician at the hospital. “We stuck together for six years and we finally did it. I’m so relieved and so happy that we won.”
The vote was 283 for NUHW, 263 for No Union, and only 13 for SEIU, a rival organization that tried to interfere in the election.