Here's an article from
Steve Early, a labor journalist who's written extensively about the labor struggles in California's healthcare industry. The following is an excerpt from the
full article, published by Labor Notes.
“We were hopeful this time would be different than last
time,” said Roberto Alvarez, a 17-year Kaiser X-ray technician from southern
California. “In Orange County, we tripled the support for NUHW, so it was a
great leap forward for us there. We know what the future is with SEIU, so what
we have to do now is keep on fighting.”
That future, according to Alvarez and others interviewed
yesterday, will include further deterioration of working conditions, weak
enforcement of the “best contract in the country,” and, at some point, major SEIU
give-backs on pensions, job security, and medical coverage for active
employees. These takeaways have already been won by Kaiser competitors like
Dignity Healthcare and Daughters of Charity Health System.
“My theory is that SEIU has promised Kaiser a lot of stuff,
cuts that are coming down sooner or later, now that the election is out of the
way,” Alvarez said.
“We’ve got to stay organized, support each other, and remain
defiant,” said George Wong, who works for Kaiser in San Francisco. “There’s
going to be another day, and the fight will continue—because it has to.”
