Sequoia Hospital workers strike in Redwood City

Jackie Garcia, a surgical technician who has worked at Sequoia Hospital for over 22 years, wants a fair contract that resolves staffing issues and health care premium increases. She said a clause in their current contract about health care allows management to raise health care premiums by 2.5% yearly, with no way to lower or stop it.

Garcia said that the rise had been a significant issue with workers for several years, with Dignity Health management only offering to stop the premium increase temporarily. She argues the 2% increase Dignity Health offered in pay would be wiped out by the 2.5% increase in health care premiums allowed each year.

“The main thing I am fighting for is health care,” Garcia said. “It’s not fair at all.”

Also raising the stakes is inflation, which grew 9.1% in the past year, with the Bay Area already dealing with high living costs. Garcia said offering better wages will attract more qualified people and reward people on the front lines during the pandemic who currently face difficult working conditions.

Negotiations have been ongoing for four months, with workers calling on management to work with them to find a solution. Garcia works Monday through Friday but also takes emergency surgery calls on the weekends to make ends meet for her mortgage living in the East Bay. She said while she could leave and find another job elsewhere closer to where she lives, she loves the job and her co-workers and wants to stay. During the pandemic, she was furloughed for three months, and many essential workers faced difficulties working during COVID.

“We are heroes, and now we are being treated like zeroes,” Garcia said.

The workers are represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 829. The group includes around 300 workers like nurses’ assistants, aides, surgical techs, respiratory therapists, housekeepers and cooks, but does not include registered nurses. According to a Dignity Health spokesperson, Sequoia Hospital will maintain its operations to continue serving the community and patients during the strike. According to the union, workers voted to strike July 7 and do not plan to stop until their ability to provide effective care improves.

Yvonne Haynes, a nurses’ assistant, said she and other assistants often work on the cardiac floor of the hospital and manage 20 patients at a time, with short staff causing some to have to do two or three jobs worth of tasks. She said management had not addressed the issue despite several years of asking, and she is fighting for her worth and calling for fair wages. Haynes has worked at Sequoia Hospital for 42 years and said the hospital once had 70 to 80 nurse assistants but now has 35.

“They can give us a fair share,” Haynes said. “We wouldn’t ask if they couldn’t do it. This is a nonprofit hospital.”

Haynes lives in Fremont and said increased gas costs and bridge tolls make it hard to commute and continue living in the Bay Area for her and many others. Haynes picketed on Monday with other workers who have had enough, with the group planning to take the pulse of membership to see how long they want to strike. She noted the day had an incredible turnout, with a lot of strong support from throughout the county.

“We are standing together in unity and power,” Haynes said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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