For Immediate Release

February 10, 2021

 Contact:

Renée Saldaña

Oakland, Calif. – More than 80 healthcare workers at John Muir Behavioral Health Center in Concord voted to improve pandemic safety, patient care, and jobs by uniting in SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), a union of more than 97,000 healthcare workers across California.

“Our goal is to provide the best patient care while getting through this pandemic safely. Now we have a stronger voice to make sure that happens every day,” said Sara Eisenstaedt, a social worker at the facility. “Having a real say about patient care, staffing, and greater adherence to safety protocols will help improve care for the entire community.”

The vote count was overwhelming: 81 of the service and professional workers voting supported joining SEIU-UHW. The vote applies to a variety of job classes at the behavioral health center, including mental health counselors, social services clinicians, environmental services technicians, phlebotomists, psychiatric technicians, art therapists, licensed vocational nurses, and unit secretaries.

John Muir Behavioral Health Center is a part of John Muir Health System, named the nation’s most costly hospital system according to a 2020 study by the RAND Corporation.

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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is one of the largest unions of hospital workers in the United States, with more than 97,000 members.