A New Year message from our Prime Bargaining Team

January 2, 2024

2023 was a challenging year for us. Even after three plus years of the worst pandemic in our lifetimes, and even though they earned $326 million in profits in 2021, Prime executives have refused to settle a contract with us that includes wages that keep up with inflation. We are falling further and further behind other hospitals in our area, which means that we are losing good healthcare workers to better jobs elsewhere, with no hope of attracting new caregivers to replace them.

We feel this every day as we struggle to keep up with the overwhelming workload on the floors that are constantly out of ratio. It’s disheartening, and it’s terrible for our patients.

Standing up for what’s right isn’t easy. But Prime’s chronic understaffing – and their unwillingness to do what it takes to hire more qualified healthcare workers – has hurt our patients for too long.

That’s why hundreds of us made the difficult decision to go without a paycheck for seven days and stand on the strike line. It was a tough sacrifice during the holiday, but the media attention and support from elected officials we received let us know that we did the right thing. The patients in our communities count on us – we owe it to them to keep fighting for their right to quickly and safely get care at our hospitals.

Prime’s reaction has been unfortunate but unsurprising. Instead of listening to their frontline workers, they have dug in their heels. They even terminated nine healthcare workers simply because they had the nerve to bring their concerns to Prime corporate headquarters.

Prime’s illegal actions will not stand and they will not silence us. In fact, they make us even more determined to fight. We are resolved to continue this fight into 2024 and as long as it takes until we have a contract that is fair to workers and provides safe staffing to our patients.

We will not be silenced: Trying to keep us quiet only makes us louder—and stronger.

December 27, 2023

Since we started bargaining months ago, management’s strategy has been clear: to intimidate us into remaining silent about the short staffing crisis in our facilities. We just proved once and for all to the executives at Prime Healthcare that we are not scared and we will never be silenced.

As we close our five-day strike at Prime Healthcare, our demands have not changed, but our voices have grown louder. Elected leaders from California to Washington DC along with statewide media are paying attention to our fight. Now it is up to management to stop breaking the law and bargain in good faith.

Together we must hold Prime accountable to our patients and coworkers. That means standing up in our facilities just like we did on the strike line. Purple up to support our bargaining team and click below to call out Prime’s intimidation and retaliation on social media.

It’s time for Round TWO!

Strike December 20 – 26, 2023

Even after everything we went through during the pandemic, Prime is still bargaining in bad faith over solutions to the short staffing crisis, and the safety of workers and patients is on the line. They’re not listening, so now it’s time to go out on strike again! We will be walking out at 7am on 12/20 and returning 12/27 at 7 am. Sign up for your strike shifts today!

We took it to Prime HQ!

On November 30, we traveled to the Prime Headquarters in Ontario, CA to show them that they can not ignore us! If Prime doesn’t come back to us with a fair contract proposal with wages and benefits that will keep good caregivers working at Prime, then we are prepared to go on strike again over the Holidays.

We will not be silenced!

We Did it! 5 Days, 4 Facilities! Thousands of us made the sacrifice of walking off the job and onto the strike line to stand up for ourselves, our families, our patients, and our future.

Elected officials joined us on the line, and news outlets from across Southern California covered our strike, amplifying the voices of those of us they used to call “Healthcare Heroes”.

We truly made history this week and gave Prime executives a powerful lesson on how to treat us. We will not be silenced. Stay tuned for updates and keep your head high as we return to our jobs!

Press Coverage:

Healthcare workers kick off 5-day strike at four hospitals over staffing shortage, labor practices

October 9, 2023

Los Angeles Times 

Features quote from UHW member Mayra Castañeda

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-09/health-care-workers-kickoff-5-day-strike-across-four-hospitals-over-staffing-shortage-unfair-labor-practices

Workers launch strike at 4 Prime Healthcare hospitals in Lynwood, Inglewood, Garden Grove and Encino

October 9, 2023

L.A. Daily News (And 8 other SoCal News Group papers in Greater L.A.)

Features quotes from UHW member Rayleen Gentry, a respiratory therapist from St. Francis, images from all four of the strikes

https://www.dailynews.com/2023/10/09/workers-launch-5-day-strike-at-4-prime-healthcare-hospitals/

Prime Healthcare Workers Launch 5-Day Strike

October 9, 2023

LAist / KPCC (NPR LA)

Features quotes from UHW member Mayra Castañeda

Unos 1,500 trabajadores en cuatro hospitales en Los Ángeles declaran una huelga de cinco días (1500 Workers in Four Hospitals in LA declare a 5-day strike)

October 9, 2023

La Opinion

Features quotes from UHW members Mayra Castañeda and Jessica Ontiveros of Prime St Francis

https://laopinion.com/2023/10/09/unos-1500-trabajadores-en-cuatro-hospitales-en-los-angeles-declaran-una-huelga-de-cinco-dias/

Health care workers at St. Francis Medical Center, 3 other SoCal hospitals start 5-day strike

October 9, 2023

ABC 7 – Los Angeles

1,500 health care workers strike against St. Francis Medical Center

October 9, 2023

KTLA 5 – Los Angeles

Prime Strike

KCAL 9 /CBS 2 Los Angeles (also mentions Kaiser strike)

October 9, 2023

Features quotes from UHW member Mayra Castañeda

Hundreds of St. Francis medical workers prepare for 5-day strike

October 9, 2023

NBC 4 – Los Angeles

Cientos de trabajadores médicos de St. Francis inician huelga de cinco días (Hundreds of Healthcare Workers Start 5-Day Strike at St. Francis)

October 9, 2023

Telemundo 52 – Los Angeles

En Huelga Cientos de Trabajadores del Centro Medico St Francis (Hundreds of workers on strike at St. Francis)

Noticias Univisión 34

October 9, 2023

Hundreds of St. Francis medical workers strike Monday

October 9, 2023

FOX 11 – Los Angeles

Video features UHW member Mayra Castañeda

Prime Strike

October 9, 2023

KNX News Radio – Los Angeles

Features quotes from Mayra Castañeda, statement from Prime, Mayra rebutting Prime statement

http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=64a1a9c8-a666-433f-9f2c-3d2f74409e5f

Hundreds of St. Francis Medical Workers Plan to Strike Monday

October 9, 2023

KFI AM Radio – Los Angeles

Web: https://kfiam640.iheart.com/content/2023-10-09-hundreds-of-st-francis-medical-workers-plan-to-strike-monday/

Hundreds of St. Francis Medical workers go on strike

October 9, 2023

Spectrum News 1 – Los Angeles

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/health/2023/10/09/hundreds-st-francis-medical-workers-strike-monday

Prime Strike

October 9, 2023

KCRW Radio (NPR LA)

http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=d80da172-bf1a-4c3d-874e-cfa0ac3429c2

Prime Strike

October 9, 2023

Radio Free 102.3 KJLH – Los Angeles, CA

http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=1eced15a-51dd-4527-ba32-8692d3573da0

Prime Strike Vote 2023

Find the strike vote dates in your facility below.

Sign up for your strike shifts here

St. Francis Medical Center

Monday, September 11 6:30am – 6:30pm Cafeteria

Tuesday, September 12 11:30am – 3:00pm Cafeteria

Wednesday, September 13 4:00pm – 8:00pm Cafeteria

Garden Grove Medical Center

Tuesday, September 12 11:00am – 11:00pm Cafeteria

Centinela Medical Center

Wednesday, September 13 6:00am – 8:00am, 11:00am – 1:00pm, 2:00pm – 4:00pm, 6:00pm – 8:00pm Gazebo

Friday, September 15 6:00am – 8:00am, 11:00am – 1:00pm, 2:00pm – 4:00pm, 6:00pm – 8:00pm Gazebo

Encino Medical Center

Thursday, September 14 11:00am – 11:00pm Cafeteria

July 26, 2023

We’ve had amazing pickets so far in the month of July. We proved to Prime that we are serious about improving staffing and wages across ALL SEIU-UHW Prime facilities. Our member lead bargaining team made our bargaining proposals loud and clear at bargaining:

$25 Minimum Wage

Raises to keep up with inflation

Improvements to our benefits

Fixing the staffing crisis

Prime’s proposals include the following:

Centinela:

2% increase per year*

No increases for lowest paid workers except for those required by law

No wage increases for anyone above the scale

Garden Grove:

1% increase per year

No wage increases for anyone above scale

Encino:

2% increase per year*

No wage increases for anyone above scale

St. Francis:

1% for employees
at wage scale, no raises for those above wage scale

Let’s tell Prime we need real raises and answers to the staffing crisis. Join us at our next picket!

Centinela
8/8 12:30-3pm

June 29, 2023

As the last line of defense for patients and coworkers, we are elevating the importance of patient care. Healthcare must be about the people. We are committed to doing everything in our power as frontline healthcare workers to improve how patients and coworkers are treated. Join us to learn how to commit to picket and how we intend to win the best contract we can. 

Encino Hospital Medical Center: Cafeteria
7/6: 11:30am-3:30pm

St. Francis Medical Center: Cafeteria
7/12: 11am-3:00pm

Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center: Cafeteria
7/13: 11:30am-3:30pm

Centinela Hospital Medical Center: Cafeteria
7/18: 11:00am-7:30pm

June 05, 2023

June 2, 2023

St. Francis

May 21, 2023