A rare occurrence yesterday in the Morongo Basin—a union picket line in front of the Hi-Desert Medical Center sign on the highway. Reporter Eric Knabe has the details…
Yesterday, staff of Hi-Desert Medical Center held an informational picket line in front of the Hi-Desert Medical Center sign along the highway. Union rep Juan Vasquez said that from what he heard prior to Tenet Healthcare affiliation, the employees had few labor disputes. Since then, he said, workers have had to deal with short staffing, lack of resources, and stagnated wages, which he said has affected quality of healthcare and hinders finding new staff. According to Vasquez, Tenet has not expressed an interest in including Hi-Desert Medical Center in the Tenet Healthcare master agreement that it has with the other Tenet facilities. Vasquez said Tenet has not responded directly to the picket line, but management has since agreed to a bargaining date starting in the latter half of May.
PICKETERS URGE TENET HEALTHCARE TO UNIONIZE HI-DESERT MEDICAL CENTER
