Strike at California Pacific Medical Center

Workers represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West Local 250 walked out of the three "campuses" (since when was a hospital a kind of school?) of the Sutter Health owned medical center yesterday. Union leader Sal Roselli told the media that CPMC was chosen for the walkout because it had agreed to a federal mediator's proposal and then backed out. Other Sutter hospitals where contract talks were also stalled were spared strike action, for now.

Artist Lenore Chinn retired last summer from working at Franklin Hospital/Davies, a facility absorbed into the CPMC-Sutter empire. She writes:

I was a laboratory assistant in the clinical lab and specifically in the Dept. of Pathology at Davies. In fact, I was essentially the only representative from that department on a daily basis, which is now under another umbrella category (so much mindless bureaucracy) called Client Services. That group rules over the Clinical Laboratories on all three CPMC "campuses" and I have heard that their managers are now making the rounds of St. Luke's to get them with their program....

During the late 90s time frame there were already allegations of Sutter's antitrust tactics in its acquisition of many facilities throughout California and Davies was trying to hold on to its autonomy in the area. Like Chinese Hospital, it was fighting to stay alive and was one of the last to succumb to an unwelcome marriage of convenience....

I remember the old Italian pathologist who trained me, who died several years ago, was visibly depressed when he saw the old signs coming down and the monstrous one going up. He shook his head in disgust because he knew what it meant....

We had our troubles under Franklin and Davies but at least we knew what quality care really meant, back in the day....

Chinn went back to today to record her friends walking the line …