Public awareness, community support key to union organizing effort in Fresno

An organizing campaign led by Fresno healthcare workers to bring 2,000 new members into UHW is gaining attention in the Central Valley as workers intensify their efforts to unionize. Workers at Community Medical Centers, the largest non-union hospital system in Fresno, are organizing to improve patient care and other standards at their hospital. This campaign is a major part of UHW's aggressive efforts to build upon a proven track record of growth, having organized more than 65,000 new members since 2001.

From the Fresno Bee, March 16th:

Ken Jacobs, chairman of the center for labor research and education at the University of California at Berkeley, said union campaigns are becoming more public, and SEIU happens to be one of the best at staging them.

He said successful organizing drives have several elements: "Strong organization of the workers. Strong community involvement. And public campaigns that address the employer in a wide variety of ways."
...
Fresno City Council Member Cynthia Sterling, Fresno County Supervisor Bob Waterston and 55 others last month put their names on the union's newspaper ad, which called for "a free and fair election."

Sterling said she sees no problem asking the hospital to agree to basic ground rules.

"I wouldn't have signed it if I didn't feel this way,"