Union Issues Statement After Nurses Vote Not to Join

On Friday, July 26, union president for UNAC/UHCP, Ken Deitz, RN, provided the following statement in response to a July 19 news release from Southwest Healthcare System that stated nurses at Inland Valley and Rancho Springs medical centers in Wildomar and Murrieta had voted against unionizing.

In the statement, Deitz refers to UHS, which is Universal Health Services, the company that owns and operates Southwest Healthcare System.

Here is the statement from Deitz:

It was difficult for the nurses at Inland Valley and Rancho Springs to cast their votes in the climate of fear created by UHS.

In fact, earlier this month the National Labor Relations Board decided to prosecute UHS for threats, intimidation and surveillance of these nurses during the run up to an earlier-scheduled election date in January.

Still, we respect the voices of nurses and will honor their vote. Just as we call on UHS to cease its opposition to the nurses at Corona Regional Medical Center, who voted to join UNAC/UHCP in December.

We also call on UHS to listen to their nurses and other voices in the southwestern Riverside community who are calling for improvements to patient care—like the paramedics and firefighters who have called for a dedicated emergency room dispatch nurse at Inland Valley.