We rejected SEIU’s backroom deals, now we’re voting NUHW
Dear Union Brothers and Sisters,
We have important news to share with California healthcare workers who have been following our fight to leave SEIU and join NUHW in Michigan.
Friday at Luther Manor—a skilled nursing facility in Saginaw, Michigan—we rejected SEIU’s backroom deal with our employer by a vote of 36-26.
Then last night in the tech unit at Mercy Health Partners, Hackley Campus—a hospital in Muskegon, Michigan where we petitioned to join NUHW in March—we rejected SEIU’s secret contract deal with our employer by a vote of 31-23.
We’re ready to vote to join NUHW and we won’t let SEIU’s lies and threats stop us.
At Luther Manor, we rejected SEIU’s rushed contract vote and protected our attendance and scheduling policies which SEIU had tried to change without any of us having a say. We want you to know that when our chance to vote to join NUHW comes up on September 23rd, we’re leaving SEIU behind and joining a union that we control at Luther Manor.
At Hackley, SEIU tried to ram through a contract that included significant takeaways to our health insurance that would have cost us hundreds of dollars per month. SEIU’s contract also eliminated our defined benefit pension. Sound familiar?
To force their secret deal on us at Hackley, SEIU held our vote at an offsite union hall and even posted a bouncer at the door. Even though SEIU turned away more than 15 of us who came to vote, we rejected SEIU’s health and retirement takeaways and can’t wait for our election to join NUHW.
It’s no different in Michigan than it is in California.
SEIU lies to our face, makes threats to our co-workers and cuts secret deals with our employers. We’ve seen through SEIU, it’s clear that all they want from us is our dues.
When it comes time to vote to join NUHW, we’re going to vote YES to joining 9,000 healthcare workers in a union that’s by and for workers like us. We can’t wait to say goodbye to SEIU.
Sincerely,
Olga Vasquez, CNA, Luther Manor, 17 years
Kim Vossekuil, Surgical Tech, Mercy Health Partners, Hackley Campus, 15 years
National Union of Healthcare Workers
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