Joining registered nurses who unionized five years ago, 560 vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, respiratory care, housekeeping and other employees at the Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California voted to be represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Although management continues to insist that employee concerns can best be addressed without a union---even as it promises to negotiate over a first contract in good faith---the majority of the workers involved in the election felt that they needed union representation to have a voice and win fair treatment. As the newly formed bargaining unit prepares to elect a bargaining team composed of employees representing every work group to begin negotiations with the hospital, one issue likely to take center stage is improvement of staffing levels.
See JENIFER RAGLAND, Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2003