Seton Workers Secure Improved Health Benefits with New Contract

Healthcare Workers at Seton Medical Center Secure Improved Health Coverage

As the clock struck midnight, marking the end of 2023, employees at Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside faced the new year with a healthcare plan that many found unusable.

AHMC Healthcare, in breach of their union contracts, enforced a new health plan for 2024. This required all Seton workers, including NUHW members, to pay up to $6,000 annually to access their doctors and hospitals, or opt for a new employer-sponsored plan with limited doctor availability within San Francisco.

The free plan, chosen by most NUHW members, included only two hospital systems: John Muir Health in Walnut Creek and Seton. These facilities lacked pediatric and prenatal care, causing immediate dissatisfaction among workers.

“I’m worried that my family, my children don’t have basic insurance that works,” expressed Julia Vinogratsky, a respiratory therapist at the hospital with three children, to KQED. "The nearest doctors are about 45 minutes to an hour away."

Rachelle Ortua, a material management technician at Seton, shared with KPIX-5 that she had to delay her four-month-old daughter's vaccination because her doctor did not accept the new insurance, and the closest suitable hospital was over an hour from her Sunnyvale apartment.

In March, workers organized a two-day strike. When AHMC, the owner of the hospital and nursing care center, remained unmoved, the workers escalated their efforts through marches, petitions, and gaining support from notable local elected officials.

“We weren’t going to give up,” stated Suad Husary, a respiratory therapist with 27 years at the hospital. “It was too important for our families and our communities. Many of us are connected to Daly City and our facilities. We knew that if AHMC could eliminate health benefits for healthcare workers, they might make further cuts, depriving patients of the care they’ve relied on at Seton for generations.”

Employees, including medical technicians, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, food service aides, and licensed vocational nurses, achieved two significant healthcare wins in their new three-year contract:

• Enhancements to the employer-funded plan, broadening the scope of doctors and hospitals available.
• A significant reduction in costs for the paid health plan, enabling more workers to access a wider range of healthcare providers.

In addition to healthcare improvements, the contract also provides a 6% raise retroactive to January 1, 2024, followed by 5% raises in 2025 and 2026, and a $1,000 bonus to resolve a complaint over AHMC’s illegal reduction of benefits at the year’s start.

Workers also secured additional paid time off, clearer guidelines for educational leave, and a requirement for the hospital to negotiate any staffing pattern changes.

“Esta es una gran victoria,” said Melanie Montes Kok, who schedules medical appointments at Seton Medical Center. “Luchamos muy fuerte por este contrato no solo porque estábamos indignados por el trato que nos dio la gerencia, sino porque estábamos luchando por nosotros mismos y por nuestros pacientes. Todos los que reciben atención en un centro de Seton recibirán una mejor atención ahora que los trabajadores de la salud pueden quedarse en Seton sabiendo que nuevamente tenemos acceso a la atención médica nosotros mismos”.

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