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MONTEREY PARK/RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Frontline healthcare workers at three AHMC facilities in Southern California have voted to authorize an unfair labor practice strike to demand their employer stop the threats and intimidation, and bargain in good faith with them over short-staffing, worker safety, and low-wages. The vote, with a margin of 96%, comes as a last resort after trying to address the facilities’ patient care concerns at the bargaining table. 

Beginning on March 11, caregivers at three AHMC locations, including Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park, Monterey Park Hospital, and Doctors Hospital of Riverside will strike for five days, if AHMC executives do not start bargaining in good faith with frontline healthcare workers.

“We want AHMC to stop threatening and intimidating healthcare workers and bargain with us in good faith for better working conditions and to solve their short-staffing crisis,” said Cheer Liv, a Respiratory Therapist at Garfield Medical Center. “We’ve been pushed to the limit and are calling on AHMC executives to listen and work with us to address the staffing crisis in their hospitals. Instead of using their millions in profits to invest in their workforce, AHMC is focused on trying to silence caregivers for raising concerns about patient care and worker burnout.” 

All of AHMC’s union facilities made millions of dollars last year, seeing a combined net income of more than $39 million dollars. Despite this, executives have failed to address the staffing crisis, leading to dire working conditions for frontline caregivers. Healthcare workers want AHMC executives to acknowledge and work with them to resolve the staffing crisis, and prioritize the well-being of both caregivers and patients.

Approximately 900 AHMC healthcare employees are members of SEIU United Healthcare Workers West at the three hospitals. They work in various jobs, including medical assistants, respiratory therapists, emergency room workers, licensed vocational nurses, lab assistants, housekeepers, and many other frontline staff.

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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.