Frontline healthcare workers at San Diego’s largest private employer, Sharp Healthcare, have called for a strike authorization vote, citing unfair labor practices and concerns over staffing levels. The announcement, made Thursday, covers 5,000 workers at facilities that include Grossmont Hospital and Sharp HospiceCare and follows a previous picket line action from August, according to FOX 5/KUSI.
Dave Regan, president of unions SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, expressed members’ frustrations with Sharp’s management, "Sharp executives refuse to acknowledge how much patient care has deteriorated or how much the frontline healthcare workforce and patients are suffering because of the Sharp short-staffing crisis," Regan told SEIU-UHW. Meanwhile, one Sharp healthcare assistant, Jesus Lopez, highlighted the tangible consequences of understaffing, recalling instances of neglect, "I remember finding a patient sitting in their own urine because there wasn’t enough staff to care for them," Lopez shared in a poignant testimony given at a press conference.
The union's claims of unfair labor practices are part of a larger issue healthcare workers argue is leading to dramatically long wait times and potential for medical errors, yet Sharp Healthcare has contested these allegations. In a statement obtained by FOX5/KUSI, a Sharp spokesperson defended their staffing levels and made note that many of the union’s complaints had been dismissed or withdrawn for lack of evidence, saying, "San Diegans should know that our hospital staffing levels are safe and actually among the highest in the state." The spokesperson also emphasized Sharp’s proposal for a generous wage package, including an average 21% wage increase over three years.
Further escalating the dispute, the union detailed their decision to move forward with the strike vote on social media, stating they've "had enough bad-faith bargaining and neglect by Sharp executives," and were prepared to end the unfair labor practices allegedly affecting solutions to the staffing crisis, this according to SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West a post from their Facebook page. The vote, scheduled from Oct. 29 through Nov. 1, will be a key indicator of the workforce’s resolve and could potentially culminate in significant industrial action at multiple Sharp Healthcare facilities.
Sharp Healthcare's response to the impending strike vote remains to be seen, while the healthcare workers’ position seems clear as they push for changes they believe will ensure better patient care and worker conditions. The vote results are expected to be shared publicly after 7 pm on Nov. 1, which could set the stage for the next chapter in this labor dispute.
