This is a level one trauma center
and this hospital provides ancillary services
to the community that it serves.
When these people are coming through the doors
at a disadvantage,
- and these ancillary services are supposed to be provided to them -
if you're taking them away from the community,
you're placing these Black and Brown people at a disadvantage
of being able to thrive and live and sustain in their communities.
So this is not only a hospital
but this is a transference of health care,
mental health, case management,
ability to revive and restore themselves economically,
put them in contact with agencies that are able to help
these communities sustain themselves. And if we're failing,
and you're failing the workers here,
then you're failing a whole community of people
that these workers serve, each day.
I'm Diva Wolf. I'm a labor and delivery nurse
here at Highland hospital.
The pandemic has really brought to light
all of the health disparities that we've been working with
here at Highland for years.
We just think that it's really time
that we make some actual structural change!
My name is Derek Boute
I'm the chair for social and economic justice for SEIU 1021
and I've been working here at Alameda Health System
at Highland hospital for 20 years.
We've been having a challenge with our employer not believing,
that the staff here is essential workers.
So the challenge has been very hard
as far as working under this administration.
We're looking for the County of Alameda
to take back over this hospital!
What changes has privatization brought?
It constantly picks administrations that's not from this
community or this environment or from Oakland aera.
The budget and the financing for the stability for the employees
is always layoffs and cuts.
We're always going through that on a consistent basis
and our demand is to rid this administration here.
Because they don't support the essential worker,
they don't support the need of this community!
So the challenge has just been overwhelming for workers here.
And to be dealing with the possibility
of making workers feel vulnerable of coming to work every day
and knowing that you're trying to do layoffs and cuts
- it just defeats the whole purpose
of us fighting Covid19's pandemic health crisis.
So, this administration has to go
and this is the whole process of us being out here today:
to push forth with that message to the Board of the County of Alameda
that enough is enough.
That employees are tired of the same actions being taken
by an administration that doesn't give...
give the support that this community needs.
Talk about retaliation. What happened to Sapper?
Well it's always been a a threat here from the employer
It always been a thread here from the employer:
If you're speaking about the truth
about what's going on inside of this medical facility.
It is going to be a challenge at times to hear from workers
what's actually going on up in here!
He's a great worker. He's been a dedicated worker
inside this medical facility for us as family,
because we're all up in here as familiy with one another
and we support him. We want him most definitely back to work.
It's an intimidation tactic that the employer is using
to scare people off of communicating about not having PPEs,
not having masks, not having the resources that is needed in here
on a consistent basis.
So it's hard and I know that it's hard on him right now with his family
but he has our support.
Isn't it illegal to retaliate against workers?
Of course it is! Just like it's illegal for harassment,
just like it's illegal for workplace violence.
All of that is the policy that AHS is supposed to stand by.
But AHS has an administration that became reckless.
They're not caring about the staff
and they're trying to figure out numerous ways how to keep you silent.
But we refuse to be silent.
Because we know that this community and we know that the workers
that work inside of this hospital are essential workers
and that they're needed every day here.
So this is our fight. This is what we're here for.
What about Cal/OSHA? (Gesundheitsinspektoren)
I'm sure that they have been in here, just for the simple fact of lack of resources.
Have I spoke to Cal/OSHA? - No.
Have any of the co-workers? Yes, there's a good chance.
Because we're dealing with a health crisis.
So OSHA is a part of that process of making sure that every staff member
inside of this medical facility
is protected and capable of doing their jobs.
So I would think that anybody that can speak
on the importance of making sure that health care is here,
making sure that the staff is safe,
making sure our patients are safe and this community is safe, -
I think that their voices need to be heard.
There are less than 200 OSHA inspectors in California.
Look at it like this:
there's 2,272 Covid cases in the County of Alameda
with 162 deaths right now.
And the population of Oakland is 433,000 residents.
Do the math yourself! It's a scared situation.
Employees are very highly concerned
of becoming affected and taking that home to their families.
But that doesn't stop the dedication of workers
coming here every day to give their all.
And to know that an administration is doing all they can
to not support you and put you in a situation where
cuts and layoffs are their threats every day?
It's ludicrous! It really is.
How does outsourcing affect treatment of the patients?
Outsourcing is a major impact, because you got a lot of patients
that come up in here, that only has medicare coverage.
And it's hard for a patient to walk up in here with a medical condition
knowing that they're going to possibly not be able to get taken care of,
because they don't have the strong insurance that they need.
So all of those are issues that can be corrected,
that can be put out here to make sure that people
do have the qualifying healthcare.
This facility right here is the number 1 trauma unit in northern California.
To not be advertising
or making sure that this community is
provided with the health care resources that is needed
it's like, it's very blundering.
And it's confusing to each and every one of the workers that's here.
Because the dedication that workers give every day
to not know that they're being supported
is a very frustrating matter!
So you're asking the board of supervisors to take it down?
Yes. That's our demand.
That the board of supervisors come back into this hospital
and take control and give us the leadership
and the guidance that we need.
Start investing into the staff that's here.
Making sure that the staff can be having longevity.
Right now they want to lay off seniority workers
that have been working here for a long time!
But we're the people that when new employees come in here
we have to train them, we have to educate them,
we have to put them in a position of knowing how to do their job.
Right now they got agencies up in here
and they're bringing in a lot of nurses.
Nurses from outside of the state.
We accept all the assistance that we can have.
But at the same time take care of your staff that's here!
Don't don't tell us that you can't provide the resources
that we need to take care of our families,
but you're paying agencies to come up in here!
You think it's profiteering?
Of course it is!
This administration: the bottom line is Dollars.
There's capitalism going on all through the nation righ now.
We're in a position where we're pushing back!
AHS has gave us no other alternative but to come out here and demand justice.
My name is Andre Spearman and i'm a field representative with seiu 10-1.
I'm out here because it is important that we stand together
with Black Lives Matter.
We know that african americans have underlying health conditions
and so the Covid 19
hits us very hard and working families, not only african-americans,
low-income families.
But considering essential workers have to go to work every day
it's important that we stand up for justice and stand united.
So that folks who use this hospital
get the service they provided and they need.
The workers here are providing services and we need the employer
to make sure they have great working condition which leads to great outcomes
for everybody.
We're asking that this hospital
be brought back on the Alameda county governance
because there's a lack of transparency here at this hospital.
Every time we go to them in a bargaining
and we say look we need you to provide services
and the first thing they do is they want to cut the services
but yet they don't cut the top management.
To me by having on Alameda county there's transparency.
The money comes from the county anyway
and often this place doesn't even collect the money they should be
collecting for the service they provide.
So it's a mess as far as i'm concerned, - a worker's concern, right?
So, it's important!
And PPE, is that a problem?
Yeah, you know in the beginning everybody had a problem with PPE
and it continues to be a problem.
I think it's nationwide.
I don't know how aggressive this hospital is,
but they're competing with a lot of people
so we know that that's problematic.
But it requires an everyday aggressive type of act
I have no idea if they've gotten to the point where they can say:
"We have enough PPE to cover everybody."
for all the conditions that they're necessary,
particularly talking about folks who are asymptomatic.
We don't know if they are positive or not
and so you have to provide workers with protection.
We know right now that AHS does not want to make sure
that the workers have masks to do their jobs.
They want you to wear the same mask.
They want you to not have PPE.
They want you to put in your health, which we are doing as workers on the front line,
to put your families at risk.
But that's not stopping the workers here
from making sure that this community
is provided with health care resources!
We're here dedicated to this community.
The employees at San Leandro Hospital,
the employees at John George,
the employees at Fairmont Hospital,
the employees at Newark, Eastmont,
they're all dedicated workers to their communities.
And they bring that to work every day.
So why we can't be supported by AHS administration?
What kind of power? Union power!
Who got the power? We got the power!