Nearly 600 of our sisters and brothers recently won their first contract at Tahoe Forest Hospital, giving them a stronger voice at the medical center and allowing them to continue providing quality care to patients in a fair work environment.

Both AFSCME Local 3254—which represents a number of licensed professionals including nurses, occupational health therapists and clinical lab technicians—and Local 3965—which represents workers such as clerks, cooks and medical assistants—won a 9% raise over three years.

They also won new language that strengthens their ability to have breaks throughout the workday, something that often gets overlooked at many hospitals.

Protecting things as simple as meal and rest periods is one the reasons why it’s so important to have a union in the workplace.

There had been cases where the hospital was not consistently giving employees sufficient breaks. Winning a good contract can help break that bad habit.

“What’s interesting is that people were trying for years to put that in the contract,” said Juan Abarca, a respiratory therapist who is an executive board member for Local 3254. “The only reason we were successful this time was because of our strong AFSCME bargaining team and member support.”

The victory is important because it shows that, when working people stand together, public services can be protected and strengthened. For our members at Tahoe Forest Hospital, it also means that workplace culture can be changed.

When new management teams were brought in several years ago, the hospital began to implement a number of unwelcome policy changes. Employees who had worked at the hospital began to feel less appreciated. Longer hours and inconsistent schedules started putting a strain on the workers and their families and affected their ability to provide the same, high quality care that patients were used to.

The workers eventually decided to affiliate with AFSCME in 2017, which gave our sisters and brothers more input in the direction of their jobs and the hospital.

“We live here. We take care of our families and neighbors, and we all deserve the best care, whether it’s in the hospital rooms or at the negotiating table,” Eileen Riotto, a pre-admittance nurse, said at the time.

Now that they have a stronger contract, our members said they feel more secure in their jobs and they feel like they’re getting a fair return for their work.

“Having the union has been clutch,” Abarca said.