FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 26, 2024

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CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Healthcare workers at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center have voted to improve patient care and jobs by joining SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), a union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers across California. The election took place on April 24-25 and covers more than 1,100 frontline workers who will now join contract bargaining with 1,600 workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital and Sharp HospiceCare who voted to join SEIU-UHW last year.

“San Diego is quickly becoming a union county for healthcare workers,” said Rose Matuu, a Unit Clerk at Sharp Chula Vista. “San Diego is the most expensive city in the country, and many of us are barely getting by because our wages aren’t keeping up. We pour our hearts into caring for our patients every day — and now that we’re union, we’ll have the strength to win safe staffing, better patient care, and good jobs for this community.”

“It’s great knowing that more union elections will be happening soon at other Sharp facilities,” added Ryan Ladao, a Respiratory Therapist at Sharp Chula Vista. “It’s going to be another ‘hot union summer’ here in San Diego!”

For years, healthcare workers throughout Sharp HealthCare have struggled with staffing shortages, safety concerns, and wages far below market for this region — even though these caregivers risked their lives to serve the community throughout the pandemic.

The victory was decisive: 58 percent of the workers voting supported joining SEIU-UHW. The vote applies to a variety of job classes, including Certified Nursing Assistants, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Respiratory Care Practitioners, Pharmacy Technicians, Patient Transporters, Radiologic Technologists, Surgical Technologists, Lab Technicians, Nursing Unit Clerks, and numerous other frontline healthcare workers.

These workers at Sharp Chula Vista are the eleventh group of San Diego-area healthcare workers to unite in SEIU-UHW recently. In addition to the 1,600 workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital and Sharp HospiceCare, 550 Planned Parenthood workers and seven groups of dialysis workers in the region have voted to join SEIU-UHW.

SEIU-UHW members at Sharp Grossmont Hospital are currently in contract bargaining with Sharp HealthCare management. Union members are hopeful that Sharp will begin to take negotiations more seriously with the addition of these 1,100 Sharp Chula Vista workers.

“It seems like Sharp management has been stalling at the bargaining table so they can turn around and tell the workers at Chula Vista that they won’t win a contract if they go union,” said Jonilyn Vargas, a Phlebotomist at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. “Well, now we’re nearly 3,000 union members strong across Sharp HealthCare, we’re united, and we’re ready to take action together to win the contract we deserve.”

Sharp Healthcare made net income of over $1.17 billion in 2020-2021, according to its own financial disclosures. Sharp has received $273 million in federal, taxpayer-funded COVID-19 funds, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Sharp HealthCare’s CEO made $2.4 million in compensation in 2022.

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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers.