UHW leads in new organizing while assisting other local unions to grow

UHW has a proven track record of both new organizing in California and providing assistance to organizing campaigns in other parts of the country.

Between 2001 and 2006, UHW added more members - 64,826 – than did any other SEIU local in the nation, more than doubling in size in this period (excluding any growth from mergers).[1] In addition, in the year ending June 2007, UHW had the second largest increase in membership in the International Union, adding 9,684 members.[2]

UHW is also currently engaged in a number of key organizing campaigns. Just in the past few weeks nearly 700 workers at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and 400 Catholic Healthcare West clinic workers in Sacramento filed for elections to join UHW. In addition we have campaigns underway at St. Joseph Health System (9 hospitals statewide) and the largest non-union health system in Fresno, Community Medical Centers.

Recognizing that in order to build a truly national union we have to organize outside of traditional SEIU strongholds like California, UHW has also used our resources and employer relationships to help organize workers in other parts of the country. Our efforts include:

• In recent years we have sent more than 65 staff and member organizers to lead and staff organizing campaigns in Nevada, Florida, Oregon, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Colorado.
• In 2004, UHW used our bargaining relationship with CHW to negotiate an expansion of our organizing rights agreement to CHW’s Nevada hospitals and then sent staff to help organize and bargain a first contract for newly organized CHW workers.
  
• UHW is currently funding two organizing positions in Portland to work on an organizing campaign at Providence Health & Services.
  
• During the past four years, UHW members have contributed $32 million in Unity Fund dollars to fund organizing efforts in other states – not a dime of which was spent in California.