We ratified contracts with raises and no concessions
This week, with more than 50% of the members covered by the agreements casting ballots, we voted overwhelmingly to ratify NUHW contracts at Keck Medical Center at USC and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. NUHW is on a roll!
In both cases, we won three years of raises with no concessions on health or retirement benefits. At USC, we won raises of 9.75 to 33 percent over three years. At Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, we won 7 percent raises across the board over three years.
You might ask yourself, given the retirement and health benefits concessions SEIU-UHW has accepted at CHW, Daughters of Charity and at Kaiser Permanente, how did we win our outstanding contracts with NUHW?
The answer to that question is simple. United in NUHW, we demanded that our employers bargain a fair contract with us from the first day of negotiations to the last.
SEIU does the exact opposite. For example, SEIU never talks about Kaiser’s profits—$6 billion in the last three years—or Kaiser’s obscene executive pay. In fact, SEIU has told healthcare workers to expect concessions and cuts at the bargaining table while Kaiser is making money hand over fist!
Dave Regan, President of SEIU-UHW, even said, “We can’t just say no to Kaiser.” That’s hogwash.
We won raises with no concessions (click for a leaflet to download and share) at Keck Medical Center at USC and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital precisely because we said no to our employers’ demands for takeaways.
If you are a Kaiser worker, please join 4,000 of your Kaiser co-workers who are already members of NUHW and Just say NO to cuts to health and retirement benefits at Kaiser Permanente.
United in NUHW, healthcare workers are showing what we can accomplish when we stand together.
Jo Obermayr, Imaging Scheduler, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
Noemi Aguirre, Respiratory Therapist, Keck Medical Center of USC
National Union of Healthcare Workers