After an historic strike garnering the support of California’s top three gubernatorial candidates, thousands of workers across Riverside County returned to work today wearing “Stronger Than Ever” stickers, and those working in Riverside’s especially dangerous flagship hospital walked back into work equipped with pepper spray. As of today, Riverside County continues to refuse to participate in a fair and transparent process where both patient and employee safety can be properly addressed, forcing workers to rely on pepper spray for their protection at work.
SEIU 721 Vice President Linda Dent, fellow union members, and staff welcomed striking workers at worksites across the county, handing out pepper spray to health care providers at the RUHS facilities and informing workers throughout the county about their rights as they return to work.
Striking workers were reminded that if at ANY point they feel harassed or intimidated because of their strike action, they should IMMEDIATELY invoke their Weingarten Rights and contact their union! Riverside County employees represented by SEIU 721 have every legal right to participate in concerted activities over Riverside County’s Unfair Labor Practice Charges.
SEIU 721 Members are encouraged to contact Member Connection immediately at (877) 721-4YOU if any intimidation or harassment takes place. SEIU local 721 has set up a special Task Force to assist members experiencing any and all forms of retaliation – SEIU 721 will have ZERO TOLERANCE for it!
Riverside County workers took a powerful first step in flexing their collective might, and SEIU Local 721, representing over 7,000 Riverside County workers, urges Riverside County officials to return to the bargaining table. Whether we go back to the negotiating table is ENTIRELY up to the County. The ball is in their court. The SEIU 721 bargaining team is ready and willing to begin around the clock negotiations to move Riverside County in the right direction.
Stay tuned for updates as we continue to push County officials to Raise Up Riverside!