The America’s Work Force Union Podcast welcomed Dennis Torres and Bonnie Oconer, patient care technicians and members of the Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West, who discussed their experiences in California dialysis clinics, revealing troubling findings regarding patient safety, chronic understaffing and hazardous working environments.
Torres and Oconor began by emphasizing what they believe to be an increasingly unsafe environment in dialysis clinics, which they say comes from chronic understaffing and poor working conditions. Oconer relayed that staffing levels have declined dramatically over her three decades in the field, shifting from a manageable patient ratio of three-to-one to a far more demanding five-to-one ratio, or higher, especially during staff shortages. Both Oconer and Torres described facilities with unsanitary equipment and frequent infection control breakdowns, which place vulnerable patients at considerable risk.
Next, Torres and Oconer discussed management’s response to staff complaints and union organizing efforts. Torres explained that repeated attempts to address safety and staffing issues internally were largely ignored, prompting workers to organize and seek assistance through the SEIU. Company responses frequently involved hiring anti-union consultants to intimidate and retaliate against organizing staff rather than addressing the systemic problems, Oconer said. Notably, some staff members, such as Torres's coworker, faced unjust termination; however, union representation has since helped secure their reinstatement.
Finally, both Torres and Oconer shared the importance of union advocacy and broader accountability. Both guests reported filing complaints with the California Department of Public Health, prompting investigations and some initial corrective actions. The improved minimum wage for dialysis workers in California, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, was cited as a recent victory made possible by relentless union organizing. However, Torres and Oconer insisted that much work remains to ensure patient safety and worker well-being, calling for nationwide attention and more robust oversight across the dialysis industry.
For more from Torres and Oconer and their work to unionize the dialysis industry in California, listen to the full episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
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