A group of outside referral coordinators (ORCs) at Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, Calif., are officially members of the Steelworker family after joining Local 7600.
The small yet determined crew reached out to the large health care local about joining, then met with Local President Micheal Barnett, Lead Organizer Joel Maya, and Staff Representative Rosie Gonzalez to talk about their goals. They also discussed the challenges they’ve been facing, including forced mandatory overtime, denied time-off, and wage disparities.
“We’re so proud of the ORCs staying united during this campaign,” said Barnett. “It was clear from the first time they reached out to us that they wanted better working conditions and a voice on the job.”
On Sept. 15, the group of essential workers met with District 12 Organizer Derek Swanson and signed their union cards that were read by an arbitrator.
On that very day, it was determined and certified that the majority of the 24-member unit voted to the join Local 7600. They are now members of the USW as well as the Alliance of Health Care Unions (AHCU).
Local 7600 represents approximately 7,400 workers at 72 Kaiser Permanente locations in Southern California in a wide range of job classes, from respiratory care practitioners to surgical technicians, engineers, pharmacy technicians and assistants, licensed vocational nurses, dietary aides, environmental service workers, medical assistants, appointment clerks, phlebotomists, and more.