Nearly a thousand workers caring for patients at DaVita, Fresenius, Satellite and US Renal dialysis clinics launched a six-day strike, demanding an end to alleged violations of their rights by executives at these companies.
The work stoppage covers DaVita Valley Dialysis at 6840 Sepulveda Boulevard, Van Nuys, Ca; DaVita Dyalisis of 12126 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood; Fresenius Kidney Care Gateway East of San Diego; US Renal-Otay Lakes from Chula Vista; Fresenius Kidney Care – Elk Grove; DaVita Cathedral City Dialysis and Satellite Healthcare – Blossom Valley of San Jose.
Stationed on the sidewalks outside the clinics, dozens of dialysis health care workers said their greatest interest is caring for patients every day, but they went on strike because company executives are violating labor and health laws. their workers’ rights.
“My salary is similar to that of a McDonald’s worker. but our responsibility is greater,” Vadim Gelberg, a worker originally from Russia who works at the DaVita clinic in Van Nuys, told La Opinión.
“They abuse and squeeze the workers…we have given them opportunities to fix things, and I can say that it is not a pleasant job, because we do not have a contract and we do not have rights.”
Vadim Gelberg, married with two children, earns a little more than $19.00 an hour, but he has two other jobs that allow him to cover family expenses.
“They play with our lives,” he says. “They like to abuse us with their work rules.”
Workers reported that dialysis clinic managers have engaged in unfair labor practices, including threats, retaliation and even fights against supporters of forming a union.
“We want to work with dialysis executives to address critical issues such as staffing shortages and improvements to working conditions and patient care,” they said in a written statement supporting SEIU United Healthcare West (SEIU-UHW).
Dialysis caregivers are calling on executives at DaVita, Fresenius, Satellite Healthcare and US Renal Care to work with them to find solutions to chronic staffing shortages and their demands for fair wages, and to stop employing anti-union tactics in response to that workers exercise their rights to form their unions.
“Employers, including DaVita, Fresenius, Satellite Healthcare and US Renal, have been aggressively trying to stop workers’ efforts to form unions,” said SEIU-UHW union spokesperson Renee Saldana. “They have been violating the rights of health workers.”
In fact, the union has filed seven complaints with the National Labor Relations Board against DaVita Valley Dialysis in Van Nuys and the DaVita clinic in North Hollywood
The most recent complaint was for reducing employees’ work hours in retaliation for an employee participating in union activities.
DaVita violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by reducing employees’ work hours in retaliation for a worker who engaged in union activities.
In another case, DaVita violated the National Labor Relations Act when it disciplined a worker in retaliation for union activity after participating in a picket line.
“Management has been intimidating and harassing workers to stop their attempts to form their union. “All of this is illegal activity,” said Renee Saldaña.
Alice Isip, a patient care technician at the Fresenius Gateway clinic in San Diego, said frontline health care workers shouldn’t have to strike, “but when executives violate labor laws and retaliate, we have no choice. another option.”
He added that, instead of being treated with respect and having their concerns heard, “[las compañías] “They are illegally trying to break up our union to protect their profits.”
“We want to put an end to unfair labor practices and for our employer to respect our rights,” he said.
Millionaire profits
DaVita and Fresenius, the two largest dialysis corporations in California, spend significant amounts of money on anti-union efforts and report substantial profits.
“In 2023, DaVita reported $957 million in profits and paid its CEO $6.7 million in compensation,” said SEIU-UHW spokesperson Renee Saldaña.
Saldaña reported that from 2017 to 2020, DaVita spent nearly $7 million on anti-union consultants.
Similarly, at one Fresenius dialysis clinic in the San Diego region alone, management spent more than $650,000 last year opposing healthcare workers’ unionization efforts.
“We are being retaliated against and harassed just for trying to form a union to improve conditions for ourselves and our patients,” said Gerald Lorilla, a registered nurse who worked at a DaVita dialysis center in the north Bay city of Concord. San Francisco.
“But instead of working with us, dialysis executives are violating our rights and making it harder for us to talk to and care for our patients. “We are united in this fight and we will not stop until they stop committing unfair labor practices.”
Dismissal without apparent reason
Before the work stoppage was declared, Rosa Juárez, a single mother of a child who lives in Arleta, was fired on Friday, after having reported normally to work at the DaVita clinic located at 12126 Victory Boulevard, in North Hollywood.
“They didn’t tell me any formal dismissal paper nor did they tell me the reasons,” Rosa Juárez told La Opinión. “But, we believe it was based on revenge.”
His dismissal is already being investigated by lawyers for the SEIU-UHW union.
“Your employment has ended,” were the alleged words of the clinic manager, Maritza Montemayor. “She handed me the paper.”
After several attempts to corroborate the information, Maritza Montemayor did not respond to an interview request from La Opinión.
Also unavailable for interviews was Eric Franco, DaVita’s vice president of finance. The corporation also did not respond to how they would respond to workers’ accusations of lack of staff and violations of their rights.
“For me it was a surprise. Obviously no one likes losing their job,” Rosa said. “In this clinic, José was the first one they fired.”
Juárez, 31 years old and mother of one child, said that for several months she had been part of the committee that was helping organize workers to form a union.
The now former dialysis technician said that those who run the DaVita clinic went against her “because they didn’t like it and they looked for a way to try to destroy all the efforts we have made to create a union,” she revealed.
“It seems unfair to us, because we know that DaVita has been breaking the laws, removing the signs that we have put up and I know that there have been charges against them for things [actitudes antisindicales]and for trying to destroy our unions. “That’s why we are on strike.”
Rosa Juárez announced that she, human resources personnel from the DaVita clinic and other employees “came up to us to try to scare us and told us that our jobs were not secure; Furthermore, that the union was not going to help us and that if we had any problem, it was better to talk to them because the union was not good and that they were only going to charge us fees.”
Letter from congressmen
On October 11, California congressmen Zoe Lofgren, Robert García, Katie Porter, Mark DeSaulnier, Norma Torres, Maxine Waters, Ro Khanna, Adam Schiff and John Garamendi sent a letter to the leaders of DaVita, Fresenius, Satellite Healthcare and US Renal Care where they express their support for workers and their federal right to organize.
In the letter, they indicate Michael Sen, Helen Giza and Jay Grussing, directors of Fresenius Medical Care; Robert Falhman of Satellite Healthcare; Pamela Arwar and Javier Rodríguez of DaVita Kidney Care, and Mark Caputo of US Renal Care that their constituents – employees of their facilities, including the registered nurses and technicians who provide dialysis care to Californians at dialysis clinics across the industry – continue to struggle with low wages, inadequate training, and chronic staffing shortages, issues that many California members of Congress have raised in previous letters.
“These working conditions often lead to high turnover as workers leave the dialysis industry due to burnout or to pursue other activities and higher-paying jobs,” the congressmen noted. “All of these issues deprive patients across our state of the quality experience and care they deserve and trust.”
Disappointed in the union
A DaVita spokeswoman said: “We have a proud history of supporting our teammates’ rights to join or not join a union. That said, the collective bargaining process has not begun at any DaVita facilities and this premature strike does nothing to expedite pending NLRB proceedings.”
The informant added that the company is “to serve our patients throughout their entire kidney care process. “Our focus remains on providing high-quality life-sustaining treatment.”
He stated that “any interruption to our patients’ treatment programs may increase the risk of complications, including death.”
“We are disappointed that the union is risking patient safety through orchestrated strikes in an attempt to boost its organizing drive,” he added.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to help ensure continuity of care for all of our patients and are grateful for our teammates who have taken on additional shifts, including traveling to new facilities, to provide care to our patients.”
The spokeswoman said DaVita has made accommodations so that all dialysis patients receive their life-sustaining treatment.
“If any patient has not heard from their care team about changes to their treatment, they should continue their care at their usual time and place,” he concluded.
However, he avoided answering whether DaVita administrators have harassed workers and also did not say anything about allegations of understaffing at the clinics.