Health Care Workers Rally On Labor Day In La Mesa

LA MESA, CA — Hundreds of health care workers rallied for better work conditions on Labor Day in La Mesa.

The event at Harry Griffen Park was held to "address the current challenges faced by workers in California and highlighted the urgent need for improved working conditions, better support systems, and increased investment in the health care workforce," according to SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which organized the rally.

"Healthcare workers in La Mesa and across California spent Labor Day standing up for their patients and for better working conditions," Renée Saldaña, a spokesperson for SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, told Patch.

"Burnt out and exhausted from the trauma of working through a global pandemic, workers from Fresenius Kidney, Planned Parenthood, and Sharp Healthcare gathered at the Harry Griffen Park to call attention to the short staffing crisis in hospitals and clinics," Saldaña said. "They are fed up with the status quo and want their employers and local lawmakers to work with them to address the patient care crisis."

The event featured speeches from elected officials, labor leaders and health care professionals, including Brigette Browning, president of Unite Here Local 30, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, Carol Kim of the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council, and Lawson-Remer, vice chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Many of the health care workers who attended the rally were from San Diego area hospitals, medical facilities and dialysis clinics, including Fresenius Kidney Care in La Mesa.

"We are burnt out, stretched thin, and fed up after years of the pandemic and chronic short staffing," Tristan Amasa, a licensed vocational nurse at Fresenius Kidney Care, said in a statement.

"Corporate health care providers are failing workers and patients, and we are at crisis levels in our hospitals and medical centers. We all suffer when there aren't enough health care workers to provide quality care," Amasa added. "Large health care systems like Fresenius Kidney Care and Kaiser Permanente take in billions of dollars in profits, yet they refuse to safely staff their facilities or pay many of their workers a living wage. We are standing up for our patients and our communities so they can get the quality health care care they deserve."

Rallies were also held at Los Felix Elementary School in Los Angeles and Mosswood Park in Oakland. SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West represents more than 100,000 health care workers, patients and health care activists.