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January 30th, 2010

KPCC: Health care workers at Kaiser Permanente’s SoCal facilities drop SEIU, join upstart union

By Brian Watt, KPCC

Health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Southern California have voted to give their union the boot. The massive Service Employees International Union is out, and the small upstart National Union of Healthcare Workers is in.

More than 2,000 nurses and other health care professionals at Kaiser facilities in the Southland took part in the vote. They favored joining the National Union of Healthcare Workers by a margin of six to one.

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January 28th, 2010

La Opinión: SEIU pierde afiliados en LA

Tres mil enfermeras y otros empleados de Kaiser de California renunciaron esta semana a su afiliación al poderoso Sindicato de Empleados de la Industria de los Servicios (SEIU) y se incorporaron al NUHW, un sindicato en vías de formación y enconado rival de aquel.

La elección, que abarcó tres unidades en las se encuadran desde enfermeras y nutricionistas hasta trabajadores sociales del Centro Médico Kaiser en Los Ángeles y otras 90 unidades de la institución, fue supervisada de cerca por la Junta Nacional de Relaciones Laborales dadas las tensiones existentes entre las dos dos grupos sindicales. La dependencia dio a conocer que 1,652 se pronunciaron a favor de la NUHW Y 257 por SEIU.

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January 28th, 2010

Los Angeles Times: Kaiser Permanente workers vote to leave SEIU

In balloting by about 2,000 nurses and other professionals, employees vote by a 6-1 margin to affiliate with the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which promises better representation.

By Patrick McDonnell

Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers throughout Southern California have voted overwhelmingly to quit the giant Service Employees International Union and join a smaller rival union.

The National Labor Relations Board, which tallied secret-ballot votes cast earlier this month, said that about 2,000 nurses and care professionals voted more than 6 to 1 in favor of ditching the SEIU and affiliating with the rival National Union of Healthcare Workers, a breakaway faction that is challenging the SEIU’s dominance.

The defeat is a major setback for SEIU, the largest hospital and healthcare workers union in California, with some 150,000 members. The SEIU is engaged in a fierce battle for workers’ allegiance with the emergent NUHW, headed by former SEIU leaders ousted a year ago in a bitter takeover.

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January 28th, 2010

Green 960 Labor Report: Kaiser workers vote to join NUHW

The battle rages on between the SEIU United Healthcare Workers West and the NUHW, the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Ballots were counted on Tuesday for 2,300 workers in three bargaining units. And… the vote was to walk away from SEIU and join a union that was formed in January of 2009. I spoke with […]

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January 28th, 2010

Workers’ Independent News: Kaiser Workers At Three California Facilities Choose NUHW Over SEIU

In southern California the National Union of Health Care Workers won elections against the SEIU at Kaiser bargaining units. At Kaiser’s Los Angeles Medical Center, the vote among RN’s was 746 for NUHW and 36 for SEIU. Leila Valdivia – a nurse at the medical center active in the union since 1990 – says a lack of rank and file democracy in the SEIU is why she voted for NUHW.

[Leila Valdivia]: “Over the years it became evident that the direction of the SEIU was completely turning their back on democracy of any kind. In fact, it was very difficult over the years to watch our representation and voice just get dwindled away.”