[caption id="attachment_3982" align="alignleft" width="300"]The SEIU Bargaining Team for Kindred South Bay (left to right): David Hoagland, RT; Jimese Phillips, RN; Cynthia Marquetti, RT; Edgar Padilla, RN; and Felicia Clayton, CNA.[/caption]

About 100 Registered Nurses at Kindred Hospital South Bay in Gardena voted 85 percent in favor of joining together in SEIU Local 121RN on April 25.  The RNs (and all of the Kindred South Bay workers) have already elected their Bargaining Team and started bargaining their first contract.

At the same time, 220 other healthcare workers at Kindred Hospital South Bay and Kindred Hospital South Bay Tri-City voted to join SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW). They include licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, monitor technicians, phlebotomists, housekeepers, respiratory technicians and food service workers.

“Caring for our patients is a big source of pride for us and we’re determined to give them – and the rest of the community – the best possible care,” said Melito Lustre, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Kindred South Bay Tri-City in Hawaiian Gardens. “By joining the union, our experience and voice as healthcare workers means a lot more in making decisions that affect patients every day.”

More than 800 Kindred employees in Glendora, Livermore, Redding, Salinas, San Francisco, San Marcos, Santa Cruz and Stockton are already members of SEIU-UHW.