NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD DISMISSES SHARP HEALTHCARE’S UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE CHARGES AGAINST SEIU-UHW

June 1, 2023 (La Mesa) -- Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed both unfair labor practice charges that Sharp healthcare filed against SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) regarding an election in which 1500 workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa voted to form a union. 

An NLRB regional director found that Sharp Healthcare failed to provide evidence to support its claim that the union engaged in intimidation or harassment. These are some of the same claims that Grossmont has based their objections to the election on, which they have used to delay negotiations over what the union calls “crisis-level staffing shortages” and low pay. 

“It's time for Sharp Healthcare to withdraw their objections to the election at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, stop the election denialism, and bargain with their employees to improve care for patients and the community,” said Habacuc Serrano, an emergency room technician at Sharp Grossmont Hospital. 

The election took place between February 1-3 and covers 1,500 frontline workers at the facility, making it among the largest number of workers at a California hospital to go union in a decade. The victory was decisive: 55 percent of the workers voted to support joining SEIU-UHW. 

For years, healthcare workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital have struggled with staffing shortages and wages below market for this region — even as these caregivers have risked their lives to serve the community through the pandemic.

Sharp Healthcare made a net income of over $1.17 billion from 2020 to 2021, according to its financial disclosures. Sharp has received $256 million in federal, taxpayer-funded COVID-19 funds, according to the department of health and human services; the company CEO was paid $1.68 million in 2020.