Union leaders say the initiatives are legitimate efforts to improve the access to and quality of care. “What we're saying to the hospital industry is we want to … work with you to raise quality and lower cost to make sure that Californians get healthier,” said Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW. “If we are not able to do that in a collaborative way, then we are going to pursue our objectives through political and administrative forums.”
But many observers see this as the latest attempt by the SEIU to pressure hospitals to be more open to its efforts to unionize workers such as nursing aides, pharmacy technicians, cafeteria workers and janitors.
In May 2012, the California Hospital Association struck an agreement with SEIU-UHW in which the association agreed to set up meetings between union leaders and hospital executives. In return, the union agreed to drop two proposed ballot initiatives at the time that would have capped hospital charges and required providers to dedicate a portion of all revenue to charity care.
Last week, hospital association spokeswoman Jan Emerson-Shea said she was disappointed the union had decided to move ahead with two similar ballot initiatives in 2014 despite successful collaboration since then. She said the groups had successfully worked together on projects to roll back cuts in state Medicaid rates, reduce the incidence of asthma and promote healthy lifestyles.
But the partnership apparently didn't accomplish what the union wanted in terms of outreach to hospital executives.
