SVMH Workers Ready to Strike
Last week, NUHW members at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital gave management official notice that 650 workers will engage in a 24-hour strike on October 18 should the hospital continue to refuse to bargain in good faith toward a fair contract that safeguards quality patient care and that leaves caregivers’ benefits intact. The walkout will be the second one-day strike by SVMH workers this year.
SVMH has spent tens of millions of dollars on out-of-state consultants and executive salaries and pensions while refusing to agree to proposals from caregivers to staff the hospital adequately and to treat workers fairly.
Members of the hospital’s Board of Directors have been plagued by scandal and mounting evidence of corruption for the better part of a year. For more detail on the hospital board’s sordid history, see our press release.
Last week, the hospital tried to force an illegal gag order on caregivers as a non-negotiable condition of settlement. NUHW members at SVMH have rejected management’s shameful proposal.