Ruling Would Permit Union Vote for Kaiser Staff in Southern Calif.
On Monday, a regional National Labor Relations Board opened the door for more than 2,300 workers at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California to vote on whether they would like to continue to be represented by the Service Employees International Union's United Healthcare Workers-West division or join rival National Union of Healthcare Workers, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
NUHW formed earlier this year after a political fight with SEIU leadership forced out UHW leaders who started the new union (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 12/2).
In April, a regional unit of NLRB rejected a similar effort for Kaiser workers in Northern California because of terms of the contract that currently is in place.Â
Monday's decision states that the Kaiser contract with Southern California workers does not include the same provisions.
SEIU/UHW criticized the decision and said it would ask the NLRB in Washington, D.C., to review the matter (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 12/2). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.