Stanford: Press Release: Stanford Prohibits Assemblywoman From Entering Hospital

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Press Release: Stanford Prohibits Assemblywoman From Entering Hospital

Security Guards Bar Entry to Speaker Pro Tempore

STANFORD, Calif. – Security guards physically barred Assemblywoman Sally Lieber and union members from entering the hospital Thursday to deliver an “open letter” to administrators.

The letter, signed by 25 caregivers at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, urges management to remain neutral and abstain from intimidating workers seeking representation by the state’s largest healthcare union, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West.

“We went to deliver a letter asking Stanford to treat caregivers with respect and we got stopped by a wall of security guards refusing us entry based on our purple t-shirts,” said Lieber, who’s Speaker Pro Tempore of the California Assembly. “In the past, I’ve been invited up for lunch in the CEO’s office. Now, I can’t get past the double doors? Amazing.”

Earlier Thursday, UHW filed a request with the National Labor Relations Board for an election to formalize the representation that caregivers have indicated they want.

Stanford abruptly withdrew its recognition of the union on Tuesday, claiming a merger of SEIU Local 715 with UHW in 2006 dissolved its responsibility to bargain. The action by the hospital is the latest in a series of moves seeking to bust the union.

“Stanford is showing that it will stoop to the lowest level to deny caregivers their rights,” said nurse’s aide Caroldeen Tinay. “We deserve a voice on the job, but the administration is determined to silence us.”

Stanford and Lucile Packard caregivers voted for representation by SEIU Local 715 in 1998, but the hospital has been hostile from the start. When the union’s parent, the Service Employees International Union, merged five locals (including Local 715) into one, Stanford stepped up its anti-union activity.

Earlier this year, caregivers took it upon themselves to gather signatures on cards to formally authorize UHW as their representative. But Stanford has refused to recognize the union.

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The 150,000-member SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West is the largest and fastest-growing hospital and healthcare union in the western United States and represents every type of healthcare worker, including nurses, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high-quality healthcare for all.

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