Caregivers at O'Connor Woods Nursing Home Vote to Keep Union and Raise Standards...

Caregivers at O'Connor Woods Nursing Home Vote to Keep Union and Raise
Standards for Care

STOCKTON, Calif., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Caregivers at O'Connor
Woods nursing home and assisted living facility will stay united in SEIU
United Healthcare Workers-West, after a decisive vote on Friday by more than
210 LVNs, CNAs, activity aids and dietary and housekeeping workers. The
victory comes despite a concerted anti-union effort by O'Connor Woods
management.

The vote ensures that caregivers will have a formal say in decisions that
affect patient care. "We won because we stayed focused on our commitment to
each other and to improving care for our residents," said Deborah Armenta, a
5-year employee at O'Connor Woods.

Healthcare workers hope to negotiate with O'Connor Woods to create
safe-staffing committees to advocate for better patient care. Workers have
already won safe-staffing committees at other Catholic-run facilities,
including St. Joseph Medical Center in Stockton, Catholic Healthcare West in
Bakersfield, and Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. Said Shannon McPherson,
part of the organizing effort at the facility, "Now it's time for management
to work together with us to make O'Connor Woods a better place for seniors and
a facility our community can be proud of."

With more than 150,000 members, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West is the
fastest-growing healthcare union in the United States. We represent healthcare
workers in all job classifications and all healthcare settings, including
hospitals, homecare, nursing homes and clinics. Our mission is to achieve
high-quality healthcare for all.

CONTACT: Jonathan Asmerom, Email jasmerom@seiu-uhw.org, 510.387.2934 Cell

SOURCE SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West

Jonathan Asmerom of SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, Cell:
+1-510.387.2934, jasmerom@seiu-uhw.org