FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
January 6, 2026

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SAN DIEGO, CA — Healthcare workers across Rady Children’s Hospital have voted to improve patient care and jobs by joining SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), a union of 120,000 healthcare workers across California. The election took place from December 11 to January 6 and covers over 1,500 frontline workers at Rady, including staff at both the main hospital campus and numerous other Rady facilities throughout the region.

“We voted to unionize for the same reason thousands of other healthcare workers across San Diego have done so — to improve patient care, staffing levels, and jobs in this community,” said Aurora Alvarado, a patient care assistant at Rady Children’s Hospital. “We pour our hearts into caring for children every day at work, but we need more staff to deliver top-tier care. Then when we get home, we’re struggling to provide for our families. We live in the most expensive city in the nation and Rady Children’s Hospital is a major employer here — but wages at Rady are way below what other healthcare workers in this area earn. Now that we’re union, we’ll have the power to win for the children and families we serve and our loved ones.”

A majority of the workers voting supported joining SEIU-UHW. The vote applies to a variety of job classes, including environmental services attendants, patient care assistants, patient access representatives, food service workers, medical interpreters, and medical assistants.

Throughout the San Diego area, healthcare workers are unionizing in record numbers, with 8,500 frontline staff voting to unite in SEIU-UHW since 2023. In addition to these 1,500 Rady workers, over 6,000 workers across Sharp HealthCare, 550 Planned Parenthood workers, and over 400 dialysis workers in the region have done so recently. More groups of San Diego healthcare workers are expected to vote in union elections soon.

Last year, SEIU-UHW members across Sharp HealthCare won one master union contract, which includes average pay increases of  23% over three years, affordable medical benefits, and a strong voice for workers in staffing, safety, and patient care.

“We’re so proud to join the 6,000 Sharp workers in SEIU-UHW — and we’re committed to negotiating a strong contract like they did,” said Jose Barrios, a medical interpreter at Rady Children’s Hospital. “We can’t wait to sit down across from Rady executives at the bargaining table to win better patient care and better jobs for San Diegans.”

Rady Children’s Hospital made net income of $734 million in 2023–2024, according to its own financial disclosures. Rady’s CEO made $1.74 million in compensation in 2023.

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 SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 120,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers.