WHY I’M VOTING TO KEEP SEIU - AND WHY YOU SHOULD, TOO.
By Julie Silva
“War, repression, maliciousness, disparity of wealth, and aggression are systematic problems buried deep in the instincts of homo sapiens.” Thank God somebody knew what they were doing when they decided that part of being a Democracy meant separation of powers so that no one person, group of people, or entity could place their interests above those of the general population.
People become greedy and power hungry when placed in a position of unchecked power and authority. There are many scientific studies that support this. And in fact, many of you have experienced this first-hand as employees of other companies! (All my retail jobs come to mind…followed rightly by the word “oligarchy”…)
I am SUPER THANKFUL to finally be working for a company that appreciates my quirkiness and allows me to pursue my interests for the betterment of the larger population (Did you know GLC recently paid for me to attend a yoga conference so that our Sunday morning group could evolve into a more relevant, accessible program? How cool! Maybe one day, Kevin will come by and try it…)
I love our company, and I love our management team. I truly believe that they want what is best for the clientele we serve. I also understand that they each hold stressful positions within the greater company and represent the bridge between the actualities of health care (nursing staff, Recreation, PT/OT, etc.) and the ideals of health care (everybody that breathes down Ken’s back - whoever they are).
I believe our department heads and administrators are RIGHT to say that communication between them and us, the “floor workers” (by which I mean nursing staff, Recreation, PT/OT, etc.) should be OPEN. There’s nothing I love more than open communication. It is ideal. The more honesty, the better. We will fail if we cannot at least attempt to stay on the same page with one another about resident care and the future of the company.
However, we have seen what happens when companies go privatized. Think of all your old retail jobs again. How terrible were those working conditions? The attitude was, “If you don’t like it, you can leave. And we will replace you within the hour.” Especially in a flailing economy, I would suffer to be working for a company that feels that way about its employees.
I’M QUIRKY. THIS IS A PROBLEM SOMETIMES.
But, I believe that I contribute a great deal to this company. Not only to its face but also to its heart and soul. My work ethic is strong. I am dedicated to the administrative success of my department (ask Margie). I am committed to quality resident care (ask Station 3 PM shift and all the times I’ve helped soothe distraught residents). And I demonstrate compassion to our families, visitors, and fellow staff (have I ever been unkind to you? And if I have, have I not apologized or owned up to it?)
Having a union is Democratic in nature. We live in a pluralized society, and the DIVERSITY is something to cherish. We are better off challenging ourselves to understand as broad a spectrum of this life’s rich experiences as possible. There is strength in our differences.
But sometimes those differences result in miscommunication. The fact of the matter is that we each express ourselves slightly differently. The fact that we can communicate anything and have anyone understand us at all is an effin’ miracle, quite frankly. But I believe that everyone involved has good intentions.
My fear is that without a union, I go back to working in fear of being replaceable. I am unique. And I do contribute to this company. My heart IS in the same place as yours for these residents and for this company. And my ideas are GOOD! They are different from yours - necessarily! - but they are equally as valuable and they are as diverse as our beautiful Fresno population.
My fear is that stress from the levels of GLC management whose faces I do not know will trickle down into the treatment of floor staff without the intervention of a neutral party. My fear is that corporate GLC will become more concerned with profit (or whatever else) than with employee satisfaction and resident care. I truly believe it is beneficial to have a union in a position of power that comes head to head with corporate GLC.
The union is there to make the statement that our employees are diverse. And that we like it that way. We don’t all think the same way, act the same way, express ourselves the same way. And we are each valuable in our own ways. We do not have to contribute to the functioning of the corporate machine the way we did working in retail or other non-unionized positions. WE HAVE OUR OWN, UNIQUE, BEAUTIFUL VOICE.
Without that voice, powers greater than Ken can come forth from the elusive closets of upper management and dictate how we do our jobs (which is absurd considering how far removed they are from the actualities of health care). WE ARE ON THE FLOOR. WE KNOW OUR RESIDENTS. Are we perfect? No. Is our management team perfect? No. But we need to work together to set realistic goals for the company and create a powerful/beautiful environment for both the employees and the residents.
For all of these reasons, I am pro-union. So why SEIU and not NUHW? Simple. I’ve seen Stanley about a thousand times over the last six months alone. I have yet to see a single representative of NUHW. If representation of NUHW is not available to me during one of the grossest union battles I’ve come to witness, why should I believe that I will ever see representation from them after this awful election is over?
America. She is my country, and she is my first love. To borrow words from a writer more eloquent than myself, I love her like a parent loves his child: I want to see her be good, and I want to see her do good. I feel the same way about GLC.
“War, repression, maliciousness, disparity of wealth, and aggression are systematic problems buried deep in the instincts of homo sapiens.” Thank God somebody knew what they were doing when they decided that part of being a Democracy meant separation of powers so that no one person, group of people, or entity could place their interests above those of the general population.
People become greedy and power hungry when placed in a position of unchecked power and authority. There are many scientific studies that support this. And in fact, many of you have experienced this first-hand as employees of other companies! (All my retail jobs come to mind…followed rightly by the word “oligarchy”…)
I am SUPER THANKFUL to finally be working for a company that appreciates my quirkiness and allows me to pursue my interests for the betterment of the larger population (Did you know GLC recently paid for me to attend a yoga conference so that our Sunday morning group could evolve into a more relevant, accessible program? How cool! Maybe one day, Kevin will come by and try it…)
I love our company, and I love our management team. I truly believe that they want what is best for the clientele we serve. I also understand that they each hold stressful positions within the greater company and represent the bridge between the actualities of health care (nursing staff, Recreation, PT/OT, etc.) and the ideals of health care (everybody that breathes down Ken’s back - whoever they are).
I believe our department heads and administrators are RIGHT to say that communication between them and us, the “floor workers” (by which I mean nursing staff, Recreation, PT/OT, etc.) should be OPEN. There’s nothing I love more than open communication. It is ideal. The more honesty, the better. We will fail if we cannot at least attempt to stay on the same page with one another about resident care and the future of the company.
However, we have seen what happens when companies go privatized. Think of all your old retail jobs again. How terrible were those working conditions? The attitude was, “If you don’t like it, you can leave. And we will replace you within the hour.” Especially in a flailing economy, I would suffer to be working for a company that feels that way about its employees.
I’M QUIRKY. THIS IS A PROBLEM SOMETIMES.
But, I believe that I contribute a great deal to this company. Not only to its face but also to its heart and soul. My work ethic is strong. I am dedicated to the administrative success of my department (ask Margie). I am committed to quality resident care (ask Station 3 PM shift and all the times I’ve helped soothe distraught residents). And I demonstrate compassion to our families, visitors, and fellow staff (have I ever been unkind to you? And if I have, have I not apologized or owned up to it?)
Having a union is Democratic in nature. We live in a pluralized society, and the DIVERSITY is something to cherish. We are better off challenging ourselves to understand as broad a spectrum of this life’s rich experiences as possible. There is strength in our differences.
But sometimes those differences result in miscommunication. The fact of the matter is that we each express ourselves slightly differently. The fact that we can communicate anything and have anyone understand us at all is an effin’ miracle, quite frankly. But I believe that everyone involved has good intentions.
My fear is that without a union, I go back to working in fear of being replaceable. I am unique. And I do contribute to this company. My heart IS in the same place as yours for these residents and for this company. And my ideas are GOOD! They are different from yours - necessarily! - but they are equally as valuable and they are as diverse as our beautiful Fresno population.
My fear is that stress from the levels of GLC management whose faces I do not know will trickle down into the treatment of floor staff without the intervention of a neutral party. My fear is that corporate GLC will become more concerned with profit (or whatever else) than with employee satisfaction and resident care. I truly believe it is beneficial to have a union in a position of power that comes head to head with corporate GLC.
The union is there to make the statement that our employees are diverse. And that we like it that way. We don’t all think the same way, act the same way, express ourselves the same way. And we are each valuable in our own ways. We do not have to contribute to the functioning of the corporate machine the way we did working in retail or other non-unionized positions. WE HAVE OUR OWN, UNIQUE, BEAUTIFUL VOICE.
Without that voice, powers greater than Ken can come forth from the elusive closets of upper management and dictate how we do our jobs (which is absurd considering how far removed they are from the actualities of health care). WE ARE ON THE FLOOR. WE KNOW OUR RESIDENTS. Are we perfect? No. Is our management team perfect? No. But we need to work together to set realistic goals for the company and create a powerful/beautiful environment for both the employees and the residents.
For all of these reasons, I am pro-union. So why SEIU and not NUHW? Simple. I’ve seen Stanley about a thousand times over the last six months alone. I have yet to see a single representative of NUHW. If representation of NUHW is not available to me during one of the grossest union battles I’ve come to witness, why should I believe that I will ever see representation from them after this awful election is over?
America. She is my country, and she is my first love. To borrow words from a writer more eloquent than myself, I love her like a parent loves his child: I want to see her be good, and I want to see her do good. I feel the same way about GLC.