Strikes announced for June at six Planned Parenthood clinics across Central Coast region
CENTRAL COAST REGION, Calif. – On Friday, healthcare workers at six Planned Parenthood California Central Coast clinics have announced they will conduct a two-day strike on June 10 and 11 in response to alleged unfair labor practices and a staffing crisis.
"We don’t want to go on strike, but we feel like we have to," said Emily Medal, a Clinician at Planned Parenthood Santa Barbara. "We need management to stop bargaining in bad faith so that we can finally address short staffing. Our patients wait for weeks for an appointment, rearrange their whole day, often arranging childcare or missing work, and they can’t even get seen, or are rushed through. That's not care. That's a crisis."
According to a press release Friday from the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West which represents the striking workers, the union and employees have offered multiple solutions to improve both staffing and retention, but management at the reproductive healthcare clinics has rejected those proposals during the bargaining process.
"We are proud to serve our communities and defend reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare in the face of political threats," shared Rebekah Hosman, a Physician Assistant at Planned Parenthood Ventura. "But we shouldn’t have to worry about our own management refusing to bargain in good faith or shutting us out of decisions that directly impact our patients and our working conditions, especially during a time of budget cuts."
In response to Your News Channel inquiries, Planned Parenthood California Central Coast shared the following statement about next month's strikes:
PPCCC has been negotiating in good faith with the union for nine months in an effort to reach a contract that supports the needs of our patients and staff, while protecting the long-term sustainability of our mission.
We have participated in fourteen bargaining sessions and have maintained a respectful and productive working relationship, listening to our employees on the union bargaining committee and adjusting proposals based on their input and insights. This productive working relationship has allowed us to reach tentative agreements on 15 items, with just a few outstanding items.
We understand SEIU-UHW has an obligation to deliver for its members which can sometimes lead to divisive and retaliatory tactics. We also support the right of our employees to engage in a lawful strike. But the reality is, despite recent funding losses and serious ongoing threats to funding, PPCCC has continued to bargain in good faith, putting forth strong, supportive proposals to support our staff and try and reach an agreement with the union. Our hope is that we can continue to work together to reach agreement on the outstanding contract provisions – as we have done over the past nine months.
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