FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 27, 2026
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Frontline healthcare workers from Rady Children’s Hospital will rally outside the hospital’s annual charity ball at the Hotel del Coronado on Saturday, February 28 at 5:30 PM. They are calling on Rady executives to stop blocking their union and come to the bargaining table to address chronic understaffing, low pay, and high turnover that workers say are eroding the quality of care at San Diego’s only pediatric trauma center.
More than 1,500 Rady workers voted to form a union earlier this year, but hospital executives have filed objections to block the process. Workers say that while executives host a black-tie gala at a luxury resort, the frontline staff who provide daily care to children and families are being ignored. They say they support the hospital’s mission to care for children and that’s exactly why they’re speaking out.
“We’re here because wealthy executives at Rady Children’s Hospital are raising money in a luxurious ballroom while ignoring the workers who are stretched to the breaking point caring for these kids,” said Gloria Jimenez, a patient care assistant at Rady Children’s Hospital. “If Rady Children’s Hospital executives truly care about these kids, they’ll stop fighting our union and start working with us to provide the best quality patient care and fix the staffing crisis. That would do more for patients than any gala.”
Workers at Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego’s only pediatric trauma center, have long raised concerns about chronic understaffing and low pay compromising the quality of patient care. More than 1,500 workers voted to form a union earlier this year to address these issues, but hospital executives filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board to delay the process, a move workers say is frivolous and designed to silence them.
An investigation in 2024 found that Rady Children’s Hospital reported nearly $1 billion in profits over five years, with the CEO’s compensation rising to approximately $1.7 million, and executive pay increasing 27% from 2021 to 2022.
The Rady Children’s Hospital workers’ concerns have garnered support from at least 29 elected leaders and organizations across San Diego, including a majority of the County Board of Supervisors.
The 1,500 Rady Children’s Hospital workers join approximately 8,500 San Diego-area healthcare workers who have voted to join SEIU-UHW since 2023, including 6,000 at Sharp HealthCare, 550 at Planned Parenthood, and more than 400 dialysis workers.
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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. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.