Ass-Kicking and Numbers-Taking

Tasty hears that NUHW's members have been kicking ass and taking numbers. On Wednesday, almost 700 NUHW members staged a one-day strike at USC University Hospital as part of their contract fight against the Los Angeles hospital. Check out NUHW’s website for media coverage and more photos.

And on Thursday, 650 NUHW members at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital won a victory when hospital execs backed down in the face of a second strike and agreed to pay workers $184,000 in wages for locking them out after a work stoppage in June. Tasty hears that Salinas workers’ fight, which grabbed national headlines, has already forced the boss to back-track big time at the bargaining table.

Finally, check out this great video from NUHW's recent statewide strike at Kaiser Permanente… the first in Kaiser's history. The video includes a bullhorn speech from Academy award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, who walked the picket line with NUHW members at Kaiser’s biggest hospital in Southern California.   Keep it up, NUHW members!

Michael Moore: Bowling for Kaiser!

Remember Michael Moore, the Academy-award winning filmmaker of “Bowling for Columbine,” “Sicko,” “Roger & Me” and other famous films?

Well, check out his website! It’s got a front-page piece from Lisa Engles, a rank-and-file NUHW leader at Kaiser Permanente, called: “What do Kaiser Permanente and Verizon have in Common?"

Lisa calls Kaiser Permanente onto the carpet for pocketing billions of profits while jacking up prices on teachers and trying to cut the benefits of Kaiser's own frontline staff.

Oh… and check out this interesting detail: Kaiser CEO George Halvorson has eight pensions from Kaiser but is trying to eliminate Kaiser workers’ only pension plan. Hmm... sounds like George bunks with Verizon CEO Lowell McAdams when they attend those fancy CEO seminars in Monte Carlo.

Tasty especially likes this part of Lisa's piece:

Why am I telling you this? It’s simple. We need to stand together. Teachers, Healthcare workers. Verizon workers. All of us. Our greatest strength is our solidarity. When we stand together, we can accomplish great things.

Don’t expect to hear much from SEIU on this front… Tasty hears that Dave Regan is so deep in bed with Kaiser’s execs that his head rarely pops up from underneath the comforter. In fact, Regan and SEIU are actively trying to break the strikes conducted by Kaiser’s workers. Why? Because workers are striking to fight the benefit cuts that Regan and SEIU have already secretly accepted.

Go to Michael Moore’s website to take an action in support of Kaiser workers and California's teachers. Way to go, Lisa!