Workers at La Clinica de la Raza, who offer culturally appropriate healthcare services to diverse and underserved populations across the East Bay, have been bargaining with management for months to get a fair new contract.

After rallies across worksites in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties and countless bargaining sessions, workers say they’re running out of patience (while the number of patients they serve continues to rise). That’s why they recently held a multi-day strike vote, which resulted in a 98% vote to authorize the bargaining team to call a strike, if necessary.

La Clinica management has been slow and unresponsive to the workers’ concerns. The main issues are a terrible recruitment and retention situation that is driving high turnover, large vacancy rate, and overwork and burnout for the employees who remain. 

The vital work they do helps thousands of people every week in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties. Unfortunately, La Clinica is badly understaffed, and workers there are falling far behind the cost of living in this region.

Nearly half the SEIU 1021 members at La Clinica make below the living wage for single adults in Alameda County, and 72% of them make less than the county’s living wage for families with two children. Meanwhile, the CEO and CMO each take home salaries of more than a quarter-million dollars every year.

Garrick Hong, a Dentist 1 at Fruitvale Dental for 19 years, serves on the bargaining team. He said, “I think this vote makes a statement. After months of bargaining, management isn’t hearing us. We’ve come to them time after time over the months we’ve been bargaining, telling them that the last three years have seen massive inflation, and our members and their families can’t keep up.

“We need La Clinica management to respect us and what we’re saying. We need better communication and understanding, and a 98% YES vote speaks for itself. Management hasn’t been listening, so now we have to speak with our strike.”