EDITOR: It saddens me that the management of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital continues its policy of trying to block the rights of workers to form a union.
I’ve often visited a friend at the hospital. It’s an impressive institution, most of all because of its employees. All the people who work there deserve to be treated with respect — and that should include respect for labor rights.
For several years, the hospital management did what it could to obstruct and delay a vote on unionization. Finally, in mid-December, an election happened, with more than 500 workers voting. The election was close, and when all the votes were counted, victory went to the National Union of Healthcare Workers.
Now, the Memorial Hospital management is trying to get the National Labor Relations Board to nullify the election. That move is the latest in a long series of shameful anti-union tactics.
NORMAN SOLOMON
Point Reyes Station
(This letter, headlined "Anti-Union Tactics," was printed in the January 23, 2010 edition of The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California.)