Workers at the San Benito Health Foundation held a candlelight
vigil Monday evening in the hopes of garnering community support
after they said their attempt to unionize was thwarted by the
Foundation’s administration.
Hollister – Workers at the San Benito Health Foundation held a candlelight vigil Monday evening in the hopes of garnering community support after they said their attempt to unionize was thwarted by the Foundation’s administration.
Organizers accused the administration of using taxpayer dollars to hold mandatory anti-union meetings during working hours and sending anti-union memos to all employees to discourage unionization over the past month, said Sergio Sanchez, organizer for the Service Employee International Union.
“I believe that shouldn’t happen,” Sanchez said. “Residents of the county and anyone who contributes to the Foundation should know that they’re spending staff time to talk workers out of a union. I’m a taxpayer, and I think that’s wrong.”
The Foundation’s Executive Director Rosa Vivian Fernandez did not return phone calls Monday.
But in an interview in mid-August Fernandez said the Foundation was “not interfering with their ability to unionize.”
Board chairperson Priscilla Riberia would not comment on whether the Foundation is using funds to denounce the union because she said she is the spokesperson for the board of directors, not the clinic. Fernandez is the spokesperson for the clinic, she said.
But Riberia said the Foundation has allowed the workers to show their union support if they choose.
“Employees should understand everything that they’re getting into, because ultimately they’re the ones who will feel it, not us,” Riberia said.
Almost 30 health care workers at the nonprofit clinic approached SEIU organizers almost two months ago to gain representation to address concerns about unfavorable working conditions, Sanchez said.
Workers’ concerns include inadequate wages, shoddy benefits, favoritism, disrespect and intimidation by management, Sanchez said.
Workers converged on the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets to let the community know they need its support, said outreach worker Christina Gonzales.
“We serve the community – it’s a community clinic,” she said. “We’re asking the community to support us in helping us to get our vote.”
An election had been set for mid-October to determine whether enough workers wanted a union, but was canceled late last month when the Foundation filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union through the National Labor Relations Board, Sanchez said. The Foundation claimed the union threatened the Foundation with legal action if it used any state funds to express its views in support or against the union, he said.
“It’s all an excuse not to allow the workers to have an election,” Sanchez said. “If they were responsible employers, they would let (the employees) choose for themselves. They’re using the time to beat up on the workers with anti-union meetings and memos.”
The unfair labor charge was filed after Sanchez sent a letter requesting the Foundation to comply with a government code under the California Neutrality Act that said the Foundation was not allowed to encourage or decry union sentiments during working hours and spending taxpayers dollars to do so, he said.
However, the law is being litigated in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after a ruling was recently issued that said portions of the law are invalid because they preempt the National Labor Relations Act, Sanchez said.
The labor act says that employers can talk to employees about the pros and cons of a union on company time, Sanchez said.
Sanchez said he asked Fernandez to remove the charge but she refused.
“(Fernandez) claimed it was a threat to restrain them from talking to employees… and as long as there is the charge there’s no union election,” Sanchez said. “I have no problem saying we shouldn’t have used it now that the law has been declared invalid. She said no.”
Riberia said the union hasn’t approached her or anyone she knows about lifting the charge, and believes the Foundation isn’t impeding the worker’s right to organize.
“There’s a legal process for everything. We’re going through the process,” she said. “They wear pins and they have been able to post signs during their lunch hour as appropriate.”
The workers hope if the community gets involved administrators may change their mind in keeping the charge active and hindering the election process, said Enedina Medina, a registered dental assistant.
“We want it open to the public so the public knows what’s going on and what we want,” she said.
Family nurse practitioner Denise Houssein, who is not one of the workers attempting to unionize, said all employees received anti-union memos attached to their paychecks and has witnessed the administration voicing its anti-union views to employees.
While she said the administration has its own views that she may not understand, she said she doesn’t see why the workers can’t organize a union if they choose to.
“If it will make them happy then it would be in the best interest to work with the union,” Houssein said. “It would make it a more peaceful environment verses a hostile environment, which is what we want because we’re caring for people.”
If the Foundation continues to keep the charge in place, the workers would have to wait until the circuit court decides whether the ruling that invalidated the portion of the law that declares employers can use taxpayer dollars to either support or denounce union activity will be upheld, Sanchez said.
At a minimum litigation will last six months, but in reality it could be years until a decision is finally made, he said.
“They want to be able to have the right to use taxpayer dollars to beat up on the workers. It may be legal, but it’s not appropriate,” Sanchez said. “My question to them is, what are they afraid of?”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety and healthcare. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
