Workers at Dialysis Clinics in San Diego, Fontana Vote to Form Union, Join Seven Other Clinics in Historic Unionization Wave
Workers at Dialysis Clinics in San Diego, Fontana Vote to Form Union, Join Seven Other Clinics in Historic Unionization Wave
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 18, 2023
CONTACT:
Renée Saldaña, [email protected]
OAKLAND, Calif. — Dialysis workers at four clinics in San Diego and Fontana have voted to stand together for improved patient care, working conditions, and wages by uniting in SEIU- United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW).
Part of a historic wave of unionization efforts in dialysis clinics across California, the employees in San Diego and Fontana join workers at seven additional dialysis clinics in Blossom Valley, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Francisco, Brentwood, Antioch, and Camarillo, where workers voted to form a union last month. The workers at the eleven clinics are the first unionized dialysis clinic workers in the state. More dialysis clinic workers are filing to hold their own union elections.
“We are making history for dialysis clinic workers in California! For the first time, we will have a strong voice to improve patient care, safety, and working conditions,” said Joann Malicdem, a registered nurse at Fresenius Gateway East in San Diego. “We care for some of the most vulnerable people in our health system, but for too long, we’ve been struggling under heavy workloads because of short-staffing and low wages. As more and more dialysis workers go union, we will have the power to make a change.”
Seven of the 11 dialysis clinics where workers voted to form a union are owned by Fresenius Medical Care. In 2021, Fresenius made $1.3 billion in profits and paid its CEO nearly $6 million in compensation.
These votes are part of a national wave of unionization across the country in sectors as diverse as Amazon warehouses and Starbucks, where workers are taking a stand against poor working conditions, low wages, and exorbitant corporate profits and executive pay.
The workers who voted to unionize include registered nurses, patient care technicians, certified clinical hemodialysis technicians, administrative assistants, and unit secretaries.
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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.