The NUHW contract booklet Maricar Trinidad carries looks “used and abused.” It has no cover.
“All the CNAs (certified nursing assistants) call it my bible,” she said with a chuckle. “I have it with me all the time. I know it from cover to cover. I can tell you what page something is on.”
Trinidad, who has worked as a nursing assistant at Sutter CPMC’s Davies Campus in San Francisco for 21 years, studied the agreement from cover to cover before agreeing to become a leader in her department.
“When I felt a bit more confident that I could give my time and do it, that’s when I said yes,” she said.
Since then, the now chief steward has been supporting and guiding her coworkers, including less experienced stewards, whom she trains to handle grievance procedures and resolve other issues.
“When I became a steward, it opened my eyes to reality,” Trinidad said. “Before, I didn’t know what management was like, the fact that they’ve been protecting the company a lot.”
Contract fight
Now, Trinidad will join the bargaining team to negotiate a new contract for the nearly 600 NUHW members at Sutter CPMC hospitals in San Francisco. Unlike past negotiations, this time CPMC workers will join forces with NUHW members at other Sutter facilities and divisions whose contracts also expire early next year.
A Joint Bargaining Committee has met regularly for two months to develop a strategy for a united front against Sutter. The committee aims to negotiate all contracts together while respecting each unit’s priorities. Trinidad fully supports this.
“We’ll have more people to take strong actions to improve conditions for patients and workers,” she said.
Wages are their top priority. Nursing assistants provide critical bedside care, but Trinidad and her colleagues are paid less than workers at major hospital chains in San Francisco, making it harder to hire and keep caregivers
Trinidad also wants to keep free medical insurance and improve retirement benefits.
Aware of the tough negotiations ahead, she is preparing coworkers for the fight by making sure everyone understands that they and their loved ones have a stake in the contract.
“When people see that what we’re proposing will help support their families and have the staffing needed to better support patients,” she said, “they’ll want to fight for it.”
