The National Labor Relations Board certified the election of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) as the bargaining unit for Kaiser's Los Angeles Medical Center. NUHW was formed in January 2009 as a reaction to activities of the SEIU.
The Kaiser win is a major victory for NUHW. The employees overwhelmingly voted for the NUHW to represent them. Nurses voted 746 for NUHW, 36 for SEIU. Health care professionals voted 189 for NUHW and 29 for SEIU. 717 psychiatric and social service workers voted for NUHW with 92 voting for SEIU.
The new union faces challenges - a small membership base which must bargain against large health care companies and a fight with the SEIU. Now, health care workers are engaged on two fronts - with the employers and with two unions fighting for membership. Like all businesses, organized labor goes thru times when new competitors arise and the market determines new roles for all of the players.
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