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Labor Relationships

The Misinformation Campaign
The leaders of Oakland-based SEIU United Healthcare Workers West have engineered a systematic, multi-faceted, misinformation campaign against the organizations that comprise the not-for-profit Sutter Health network of hospitals and doctors. Many of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West’s tactics are counter to the union’s purported role of representing caregivers at Sutter affiliates and go against the best interest of patient care.

"Death of a thousand cuts”

Frustrated over its lack of success in attracting new union members through traditional organizing efforts, SEIU United Healthcare Workers West tries in myriad ways to disrupt patient care and embarrass caregivers across our network. One union leader described this type of campaign as "death of a thousand cuts rather than a single blow."

The goal of the SEIU United Healthcare Workers West campaign is to grow union membership and dues, at any cost. The union is attempting to force Sutter Health leaders to recognize and endorse SEIU United Healthcare Workers West as the union of choice for employees throughout our network. This would add $7.8 million a year in new union dues for UHW from employees within the Sutter Health network.

"We're putting more of our members' resources into organizing new workers. . . to increase strength and power,” SEIU United Healthcare Workers West president Sal Rosselli told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005. A year earlier he told the same publication, “We spend a lot more of our members' dollars struggling with Sutter than Sutter workers pay in dues," The union represents about 4,600 of the 45,000 employees within the Sutter Health network. Members pay about $750 per year to the union.

Sutter Health's affiliated organizations are fundamentally opposed to choosing a particular labor union for their employees. Because of our unwillingness to force this particular union on employees, Sutter Health and its affiliates continue to be the target of a focused campaign by SEIU United Healthcare Workers West.

As part of this destructive and costly campaign, SEIU United Healthcare Workers West

Aggressively opposed many critical projects proposed by Sutter-affiliates, including a new medical campuses in San Carlos, Novato, Santa Cruz and Sacramento. Ironically, each of these facilities include new, rigorous seismic safety standards to better protect patients and employees – including the union’s own members.
Called upon the State of California to revoke Sutter Health’s tax-exempt status.
Tried to stop Sutter Health from accessing the bond market to make repairs and improvements to a number of Sutter-affiliated hospitals. The union then sent news releases to discourage investors from buying the bonds.
Sent letters to individuals who have donated money to Sutter-affiliated hospitals and urged them to not contribute.
Forced the cancellation of a Sutter Delta Medical Center-sponsored community event intended to raise money for critical breast cancer diagnostic equipment.
Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to prevent Castro Valley’s Eden Medical Center, Sonoma County Hospital, Oakland’s Summit Medical Center and San Francisco’s St. Luke’s Hospital from joining the Sutter Health network. Affiliation with a health care system was critical to the continued operation of these hospitals and all remain open today, as more stable operations offering new programs and services.
Mounted a publicity campaign to discourage leaders of a struggling sole community provider hospital (Del Puerto, July 1997) in the San Joaquin Valley from becoming part of Sutter Health. The hospital chose another system partner and was immediately closed down. The union took credit for helping to affect the decision, but kept quiet when the hospital closed.

Labor Relationships | SEIU United Healthcare Workers West’s misinformation campaign | What others have to say | The truth vs. SEIU United Healthcare Workers West’s allegations