This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA.
For those of us lucky enough to be in a union, it plays an important role. But we can’t just rely on the union – we have to play an active role in struggles ourselves if we want to win. This layoff fight is a perfect example.
The union serves many important functions, though it is mostly focused on contracts and legalities. If you’re a loud advocate for yourself and your coworkers, the union can have your back when AHS breaks the contract. It can file grievances and involve a lawyer if the boss refuses to follow the rules. It can also file unfair labor practices when AHS bargains in bad faith, making certain workplace actions like strikes “legal.” All these functions are necessary.
But contracts and legal processes are not the whole fight. If we want to stop these layoffs, we’ll need more than paperwork. The bargaining table is where agreements get signed, but real pressure comes from workers organizing on the floor. Workers are the ones who run this hospital. We know what works, what’s unsafe, and what patients and staff actually need. When we’re organized, we have real leverage.
Struggles aren’t won on legal technicalities, they’re won when workers speak out and act out. So don’t sit and wait for the union to come up with all the solutions. Talk with your coworkers and share your ideas – no collective action is too small. Testify at board meetings, reach out to the community, share information, post on socials, make a plan for how you will stand up for other workers in your department. We have real power when we act together!
Click here to read the article printed in the 01-21-26 Healthcare Newsletter
