Hundreds of SEIU health care workers are on strike now at some of Sutter Health's top hospitals, the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC).
The strike has national implications for the power of the SEIU and Stern's strategy of leaving the AFL-CIO and forming a new progressive coalition.
Sutter has nixed a mediators compromise offer, though Pelosi, Boxer and Gavin Newsom
urged them to sign the agreement.
An issue that affects patients is staffing. The SEIU writes:
Caregivers want to establish patient care committees comprised of equal numbers of managers and workers to set appopriate staffing levels. A neutral health care expert would settle disputes
There is more information on this flier.
Most of the issues are about giving workers a democratic voice in the workplace. Similar programs have been instituted at major hospitals throughout California.
Andy Stern is quoted :
"This is not complicated,' Stern said. "Kaiser gets it. Catholic Healthcare West gets it. Every single hospital in California gets it.
The national SEIU has contributed $250,000 to a strike fund.
Ways to support them are below...
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