NUHW Housekeepers at Los Alamitos Medical Center on the Picket Line
NUHW housekeepers employed by Hospital Housekeeping Systems (HHS) picketed Los Alamitos Medical Center today to urge the hospital to renew its contract with the subcontractor.
HHS-employed housekeepers are currently working for poverty wages at Los Alamitos Medical Center, without affordable healthcare coverage and without adequate staffing. Last month, workers negotiated a groundbreaking first union contract with HHS that provided a path out of poverty.
But after workers unanimously ratified the tentative agreement, the hospital announced that it may discontinue its contract with the subcontractor, costing HHS workers their collective bargaining agreement and possibly their jobs.
Even as the hospital contemplates jeopardizing workers’ livelihoods to save a negligible amount of money, it is pushing a controversial major planned expansion through City Council with a price tag of $40-50 million for the first phase alone.
Workers picketed this afternoon to tell the hospital to do the right thing and renew its contract with HHS.