1 min read

Season 6, Episode 205

Strike Threat at Sutter Health Leads to Contract for Healthcare Workers

AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_SEIU_healthcare

 

Guest Name:


Michael Pineda

Guest Website:


SHMC 

Guest Social Media:


Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

LinkedIn

Supportive Documents:


Michael Pineda, chief steward at Sutter Delta Medical Center and executive board member of SEIU-UHW, discussed the recent contract negotiations with Sutter Health on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast. The interview covered the strike authorization vote, key contract details and community support for healthcare workers.

After Sutter Health implemented numerous delay tactics to stall negotiations, workers at eight facilities voted 96 percent in favor of authorizing a strike. This decisive action prompted Sutter to engage in meaningful bargaining, resulting in a tentative two-year agreement, Pineda said. The contract includes a 14 percent wage increase, maintains current healthcare benefits without premium increases and improves staffing language to address burnout concerns. Pineda emphasized the importance of preserving healthcare coverage and securing better staffing provisions to ensure quality patient care.

The union's strategy included rolling pickets at all eight facilities, which garnered significant community support. Local residents, labor councils and politicians demonstrated solidarity with the healthcare workers. This public pressure played a crucial role in pushing Sutter Health to negotiate seriously, Pineda said. He also noted the stark contrast between executive compensation, with Sutter's CEO earning $11 million in 2023, and the company's initial reluctance to invest in staffing and patient care.

The new contract introduces a crisis incentive pay provision to address staffing shortages. This measure requires Sutter to provide additional compensation when staffing falls below core levels, incentivizing the company to maintain adequate staffing, Pineda said. The agreement covers 4,800 SEIU-UHW members across Sutter Health facilities and is expected to be ratified by union members, marking a significant victory for healthcare workers in their fight for fair compensation and working conditions.

Listen to the full episode for more insights on healthcare workers' rights and union activism.


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.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

SUBSCRIBE ON:

Group 342

Group 341

Group 343

Group 339

Group 397

Group 397

 

Strike Threat at Sutter Health Leads to Contract for Healthcare Workers

Michael Pineda, chief steward at Sutter Delta Medical Center and executive board member of SEIU-UHW, discussed the recent contract negotiations with...

Read More

EPI President Heidi Shierholz Exposes Trump's Anti-Worker Policies and Economic Deception

Heidi Shierholz, President of the Economic Policy Institute and former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, joined the America's Work...

Read More