[February 11, 2013]

Date Set in Kaiser Permanente Union Election for More than 45,000 Workers

An election among more than 45,000 members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) work for Kaiser Permanente to choose which union they want to represent them will be held in April, with ballots mailed to workers April 5, 2013 and the vote count set for May 1, 2013, the National Labor Relations Board announced today.

The election rerun is between the workers' current union, SEIU-UHW, and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). In October 2010, this same group of employees voted 18,290 (61%) to 11,364 (38%) to stay in SEIU-UHW. The remaining ballots were cast for no union or voided.

"We voted overwhelmingly last time to stay in SEIU-UHW, and we will vote to stay in our union by an even bigger number this time," said Verna Hampton, a receptionist in Patient Registration at Kaiser West Los Angeles. "We have negotiated two contracts wit 18% raises, and the best benefits, pension and job security in the hospital industry, and during that same time period NUHW has failed to bargain a single contract at Kaiser and is now facing a final offer from Kaiser with major givebacks."

"To most Kaiser workers, voting for SEIU-UHW is a no-brainer," she added.

In both 2010 and again in 2012, SEIU-UHW bargained contracts with Kaiser that contain a total of 18% in raises, fully employer-paid family healthcare with $5 co-pays, a defined benefit pension, job security with a year's protection in the event of a layoff, and annual bonuses worth thousands of dollars over the life of the contract.

In late December, Kaiser gave its "last, best, and final" offer to Kaiser workers who are members of NUHW in Northern California, with smaller raises, big increases in healthcare co-pays, no defined-benefit pensions for new hires, large new costs for retiree healthcare and no retiree healthcare for new spouses and new hires, and layoffs with just a two-week notice.

SEIU - United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is the largest hospital and healthcare union in the western United States with more than 150,000 members. We unite every type of healthcare worker with a mission to achieve high-quality healthcare for all. SEIU-UHW is part of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's fastest-growing union. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.

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