Workers at Lakewood Regional Medical Center and 10 other Tenet Healthcare hospitals in California have authorized their bargaining committee to call a one-day strike as they seek improved health and safety protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
They are demanding the hospital chain bargain in good faith as caregivers “continue to risk their lives” treating patients who have the virus.
The authorization vote — with 96% in favor — covered 4,300 workers who are members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. If the committee opts to call a strike, it must send a 10-day notice to Tenet.
SEIU spokesman Steve Trossman said a strike probably wouldn’t happen until after the November election. It would initially be a one-day walkout, he said, although that could be extended if the two sides reach an impasse.
Employees are asking the hospital chain to go beyond minimal federal guidelines of masks, gloves, social distancing and other protective measures to ensure the most comprehensive protections are in place.
“For the most part, they have rejected it all,” Trossman said. “They said they will basically stick by whatever the most basic government guidelines are.”
Tenet spokesman Todd Burke said every protocol in the company’s COVID response has been built around the safety of patients and staff in compliance with CDC guidelines and state orders.
The union’s information, he said, is misleading.
“We have been negotiating in good faith since May and have made considerable progress,” Burke said in a statement. “Last week the parties reached agreement on over 40 non-economic items and we are awaiting the union’s response on over 30 proposals.”
Crystal White, a respiratory therapist at Lakewood Regional, said workers in her unit were issued N95 masks early on during the pandemic. But they weren’t told how to properly use them.
“You’re only supposed to see one patient wearing these masks, but I would see several patients a day before throwing it away,” the 45-year-old Long Beach resident said. “After three months they told us our masks were expired. And they told us we were using them incorrectly. They didn’t say that before.”
Gisella Thomas, a respiratory therapist at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, is equally concerned.
“We are scared to come to work knowing we are at great risk of exposure to COVID-19,” Thomas said in a statement. “We want to work with management at our hospitals to increase protections for our health, our patients’ health, our families’ health and the health of our communities.”
Thomas said the employees crafted a pandemic safety proposal that addresses issues employees are concerned about, including, personal protective equipment and increased COVID-19 testing for employees.
Burke stressed that negotiations have not broken down.
“Should the union proceed to notify us of a strike, our hospitals will remain fully operational and patient care will continue uninterrupted,” he said. “We are disappointed the union has used this tactic in an attempt to put pressure on our hospitals when our focus remains on caring for our communities during the pandemic.”
If a strike is called, it would occur at the following facilities:
- Lakewood Regional Medical Center in Lakewood
- John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio
- High Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree
- Los Alamitos Medical Center in Los Alamitos
- Doctors Hospital of Manteca in Manteca
- Doctors Medical Center in Modesto
- Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs
- Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo
- San Ramon Regional Medical Center in San Ramon
- Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton
- Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock
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October 28, 2020 at 07:29AM
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Tenet Healthcare workers threaten 1-day strike over COVID safety measures - LA Daily News
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