March 17th, 2009
Caregivers win historic first recognition of National Union of Healthcare Workers
With majority support, more than 350 nursing home workers become first to leave SEIU and win representation with NUHW
SACRAMENTO—Workers at three Sacramento-area nursing homes and one Pacifica-area nursing home have overwhelmingly chosen the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) as their union. North American Healthcare, Inc., which operates the facilities, has agreed to recognize the union and begin contract negotiations with NUHW’s elected bargaining team. NUHW and North American Healthcare also agreed to continue the terms and conditions of the current collective bargaining agreement while caregivers negotiate a new labor agreement with their employer.
Despite an aggressive effort by SEIU to intimidate workers and deny them a free choice of which union they wanted to represent them, caregivers rejected SEIU and chose NUHW as the representative of North American Healthcare workers.
March 16th, 2009
Hartford Courant: ‘Free choice’ must mean switching unions, too
Although the loss of the secret ballot may expose workers to various forms of intimidation, there is something attractive about the notion that it could be as easy to get union representation as it is to get legal representation. But that notion would only make sense if accompanied by another: It should be as easy to replace an ineffectual union as it is to replace a lousy lawyer.
Employee free choice means nothing if workers cannot dump an inept union. But for more than 50 years, the National Labor Relations Board has used an obscure rule — the so-called “contract-bar” doctrine — to strictly limit the ability of workers to trade in an incumbent union for a more attractive competitor.
March 13th, 2009
Fresno homecare workers march on SEIU UHW-W
On March 12, Fresno homecare workers rallied and marched on the SEIU UHW-W office to protest SEIU’s retaliation and interference in union elections. Check out this slideshow of their action.
March 12th, 2009
KPFK interview with John Borsos and Danielle Estrada
Maria Armoudian on KPFK’s “Insighters” interviews John Borsos of NUHW’s founding executive board and Danielle Estrada, a healthcare worker at Kaiser Baldwin Park. Source: KPFK
March 12th, 2009
Video: Fresno homecare workers announce petition to join NUHW
On March 2, homecare workers filed petitions for 10,000 to leave SEIU and join NUHW.