FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 18, 2025

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Frontline healthcare workers at Telecare Riverside MHRC (Mental Health Rehabilitation Center) will hold a one-day informational picket on Thursday, Nov. 20, to demand solutions to chronic short staffing, unsafe working conditions, and management’s failure to address workers’ concerns during contract negotiations.

Caregivers say patients with mental illness need consistent, high-quality care, but staffing shortages make it nearly impossible to provide it. Workers report being forced to take on more patients with fewer resources, leading to unsafe workloads, delayed care, and severe injuries, with inconsistent support from management. As a result, burnout is rising among caregivers who are stretched thin.

“Enough is enough. Our patients, our community, deserve better, and so do we,” said Rosie M. Carrillo, a lead recovery specialist at Telecare Riverside. “Frontline healthcare workers are consistently on medical leave due to injuries sustained at work. It’s time to stand together, speak out, and demand change at Telecare Riverside.”

This is the first contract this unit is bargaining for since workers voted to unionize in September 2024. Telecare Riverside is a mental health facility in the Inland Empire that workers say frequently struggles with short staffing and caring for patients with complex mental health needs.

Caregivers joining the protest represent a wide range of job classes, including recovery specialists, rehab therapists, social workers, licensed vocational nurses, peer recovery coaches, rehab activity leaders, and other frontline staff.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
mediarelations@seiu-uhw.org

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.