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| "SEIU Local 399, Organizing workers all of the time!" Local 399 (Local 250's equivalent in S. California) had their own singer-songwriter performing on stage to celebrate their success in organizing new members in S.Cal. How can you compete with healthcare workers who live in the Entertainment Capital of the World? You can only applaud them, so we did. |
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SEIU Local 250 President Sal Roselli welcoming Union members to the 2004 contract conference. Describing the changes in the healthcare industry since the founding of Kaiser Permanente in the 1930's, Sal noted that Kaiser and SEIU have evolved together. As a result, Kaiser has set the industry standard for employee wages, benefits, and a voice in the workplace. It is a standard that the rest of us are trying to meet. The current corporate atmosphere in the healthcare industry poses new challenges to Labor. Corporate-wide union busting actions require new strategies from Unions such as the "Fast and Fair" campaign in the Bay Area and "right to organize" language in Union contracts. The answer is still ORGANIZE, and that is what Sal is exhorting us all to do. "We must use our political power and moral authority to fight for comprehensive healthcare reform!" Sal urged. "Cost, access and quality are the three challenges of healthcare!" It is SEIU's goal to make healthcare a central issue in the 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign. |
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| Steve Mathews, VP of SEIU healthcare workers Local 399 and VP John Borsos of SEIU Local 250 share the podium to discuss what we're fighting for in 2004. Citing the worst bargaining climate in ten years due to high unemployment and what promises to be a harsh State budget, John spoke of the concessions many unions are being forced to make. "We are here, however, to talk about going forward!" he said. |
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| Going forward to lunch. |
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| Darnell Carter worked at Methodist Hospital until 0500 hours, slept an hour, and then drove with her children to Oakland to participate in the conference. CHW employees now have an extra incentive to become Union activists, as CHW announced plans in February to lay-off the equivalent of 1000 FTE in their hospitals around the state. The Union requires that all such changes be bargained, and that is what we are learning how to do. |
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| The Mercy San Juan Medical Center table alive with Union activists. |