This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA.
With no updates from the county supervisors’ ad hoc committee, workers are desperate for news about what is happening with the planned layoffs that are now barely a month away!
Unfortunately the union “updates” leave us with more questions than answers.
Their last bulletin states that the union has proposed cost-saving measures but they won’t tell us what these measures are. How can we support their proposals if they’re all secret? Regardless, we have learned that their cost-saving proposals have been declined in negotiations.
AHS leadership is proposing furloughs (unpaid time off), cost-of-living reductions, and higher healthcare costs for workers. We can’t stand for this! How can they cut our pay while giving themselves bonuses?
We’d hope the union would come back with strong demands like no layoffs or no takeaways from our contract. Instead, they’re “demanding” updated seniority lists? That’s something you demand when you’ve already accepted that these layoffs are happening, and just want to make sure they happen in the correct order.
This is not acceptable! We need to keep up the pressure on the union to fight like they mean it and to keep us looped in so we can protect our jobs and our patients’ healthcare!
Click here to read the article printed in the 05-13-26 Healthcare Newsletter
