Kaiser Permanente Workers Choose SEIU Over Rival Union NUHW
Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West will continue to represent about 45,000 Kaiser Permanente nursing aides, janitors and other employees in California, winning a "bitter fight" against a rival union, the Sacramento Bee reports (Kasler, Sacramento Bee, 5/3).
The National Labor Relations Board announced the results late on Thursday, after counting mail-in ballots over two days.
Election Results
According to SEIU-UHW, it won 19,000 -- or 58% of -- employee votes. The union said that rival National Union of Healthcare Workers captured 41% of the vote, or 13,000 ballots.
About 1% of election participants voted for no union.
SEIU-UHW's win will allow it to represent Kaiser workers at more than 30 hospitals and hundreds of clinics in the state (Terhune, "Money & Co.," Los Angeles Times, 5/2).
Response From NUHW
In a joint statement, officials from NUHW and the California Nurses Association charged that SEIU-UHW has agreed to benefit cuts for employees (Kleffman, Contra Costa Times, 5/2).
Lisa Tomasian -- a radiology technologist at Kaiser Santa Clara -- in the statement said, "We have never in the history of Kaiser been so united. We're going to take this unity and use it to put a stop to Kaiser and SEIU-UHW's joint plan to reduce workers' benefits to increase corporate profits" (NUHW release, 5/2).
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