At a Glance:

SEIU-UHW represents nearly 1,400 workers at El Camino Hospital and 180 workers at what is now called the “Silicon Valley Medical Development” (SVMD) clinics. These caregivers include medical record clerks, surgical technicians, certified nursing assistants, and a variety of other vital roles.

El Camino Hospital consists of two non-profit hospitals created in 1961 to serve the El Camino Healthcare District, which includes Mountain View, Los Altos, and parts of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and Cupertino, along with satellite clinics.

When SVMD, a wholly owned subsidiary of El Camino Hospital Board, purchased five clinics in the South Bay from Verity Medical Foundation, they chose to bring workers in through temporary staffing agencies, causing workers to lose key benefits like health insurance. They are also making offers that aren’t comparable to the wages and benefits these experienced caregivers earned under the previous owners.

SEIU-UHW is fighting to ensure accessible healthcare for everyone in the healthcare district and good jobs for the caregivers who have dedicated decades to providing quality care.

 

News

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Rena’s Story

“My name is Rena Schwartzberg and I’ve been a patient services representative at Good Samaritan Clinic in San Jose for 29 years. But my clinic isn’t just where I work, it’s where my mom gets care too. When you work at a clinic like ours, you get to know patients really well. I know when they’re expecting a grandchild or when they have a trip planned to Disneyland. Knowing that my mom is in the hands of caregivers like that is reassuring for both of us.

But that security for our patients, our security in our jobs, it’s all in crisis.

Our clinic is one of five of clinics that just went through bankruptcy and a sale to El Camino Hospital. We worked through a temp agency at our own clinics, getting offers that aren’t close to the standards we previously had or even worse, a lot of my coworkers, people who’ve been there more than 20 years like me, haven’t been offered their jobs back at all.

I have medical issues that require ongoing care and medication. I worry about the cost of  insurance premiums and copays. Will I be able to afford the care I need? El Camino said wages would be competitive but so far nothing has changed.

We want the El Camino Hospital Board do the right thing. What so many of us experienced caregivers bring to the table you can’t just teach. It comes from years of doing this work.

Help us do our jobs better by making us fully valued employees of your hospital.”

Rena Schwartzberg

Patient Services Representative