Dear 121RN Member:
Yesterday was a big day of action for SEIU healthcare workers employed at HCA hospitals. There were car caravans, rallies, delegations and more—all across the country.
And you all really let your voices be heard! You demanded what we tried to propose last week, when management walked away from our negotiations: safe staffing, adequate PPE and other important safety measures.
LOS ROBLES
You delivered nearly 400 signatures on this petition to hospital management—"We demand change to provide safe patient care!" That was incredible!
RIVERSIDE
At Riverside, you focused on the retaliation the hospital is engaging in after your 10-day strike for safe staffing. You delivered to management a binder full of the "your position is now eliminated" letters with your years of service written on them. Oh, and the binder also had this letter in it. And remember all that press you got during your strike? Well everyone who covered the strike just got this press release yesterday!
WEST HILLS
Today is National Whistleblower Day and your own Jhonna Porter was honored and featured for her role in alerting her colleagues (you!) at the beginning of the pandemic. She made sure you knew about COVID-19 exposure risks that your supervisors failed to tell you about, disregarding OSHA requirements.
You can watch Jhonna here; and be sure to check out what she says at the 4:57 and 7:54 marks. It's epic!
And speaking of whistleblowers, please sign this petition today that will go directly to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (with a copy to HCA CEO Sam Hazen) asking him to look into HCA's practice of trying to silence us when we speak out for patient safety.
All of these things are a great show of strength and also show your determination to make important improvements to they way your hospitals operate—during a pandemic and always!
Stay tuned. We will let you know as soon as there are updates about negotiations.
Questions?
Speak with a Bargaining Team Member, Union Steward or your Union Rep/Organizer: LOS ROBLES—Corey Clark, (805) 253-2357, clarkc@seiu121rn.org RIVERSIDE—Jennifer Sanchez , (626) 437-6976, sanchezj@seiu121rn.org WEST HILLS—Shamora Freeman, (626) 841-6431, freemans@seiu121rn.org
In Unity, Rosanna Mendez Executive Director, SEIU Local 121RN