Baltimore City Council Supports Union Elections For Hospital Workers
Wednesday, October 7, 2009(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Baltimore’s City Council unanimously approved a resolution
Monday night endorsing “free and fair union elections for all hospital and
nursing home workers in every facility throughout the city,” reports SEIU 1199
Communications Director Stacey Mink. The resolution said that unionized health
care workers are best able to protect quality patient care and work with
employers toward shared goals, such as expanding training and education
opportunities. “In the past, local health care employers have hired
high-priced anti-worker consultants and diverted patient care dollars into fear
campaigns to silence caregivers,” says Mink. “These anti-worker campaigns
not only waste health care resources, they ultimately take the focus off patient
care.” Noting that one in five Baltimore jobs are in health care, the
resolution says that improving health care jobs will “expand the city’s
middle class, bolster the city’s economic health and help foster an economic
recovery with shared prosperity.” With just nine percent of Baltimore’s
health care workers currently unionized, “many struggle to provide for their
families on low wages with no affordable health care or opportunities to
advance,” Mink added. – SEIU members rally to support the
passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in March; photo by Adam
Wright