Stanford Hospital Workers to Vote on Union

Stanford employees will vote anew on representation after an administrative law judge ruled last week that Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 715 failed to prove to Stanford hospitals that it still represents the employees.

United Healthcare Workers (UHW) leaders disagreed with the ruling, saying that SEIU had been planning since 2006 to bring all health care workers under the UHW banner.

Stanford and Lucile Packard Hospitals abruptly withdrew recognition of their workers' union last month, claiming a merger of SEIU Local 715 with United Healthcare Workers-West dissolved their responsibility to bargain. Hospital guards physically barred Assemblywoman and Speaker Pro Tempore Sally Lieber (22nd Assembly District) and union members from entering the hospital to deliver a letter to administrators. Assemblyman Ira Ruskin (21st Assembly District) also attended the demonstration in front of the hospital.

Stanford plans to increase its medical center by over 1.3 million square feet over the next 10 years and build a hotel at the nearby shopping center, but has not offered to build any housing on its own land for new workers. In an attempt to explain its position regarding last month's barring of the Assemblywoman, a spokesperson said entering the hospital was "disruptive to patient care." As part of a campaign leading up to the September vote on union representation, Stanford is trying to convince employees that they will receive "the same rights, pay and benefits whether represented by a union or not".