Oakland, CA – In anticipation of future budget cuts coming from H.R. 1, Alameda Health System management will be delivering more than 200 layoff notices to SEIU Local 1021 members on Christmas Eve. 

The system is in budget currently and has not yet explained why cuts are necessary before the losses have been sustained.

These layoffs are system-wide, and will cut jobs including attending physicians, cafeteria workers, physician assistants, immunity health outreach workers, patient care assistants in the ICU, and many other positions that directly support the patients who depend on Alameda Health System. As Alameda County’s safety-net healthcare system, AHS serves an overwhelmingly Black and brown, lower-income population which has no other healthcare options.

Veronica Palacios, an eligibility specialist at Oakland’s Wilma Chan Highland Hospital, said “We are shocked and appalled that AHS management would issue layoff notices on Christmas Eve. Not only are these cuts premature and unnecessary, we believe they are illegal, and we will pursue all available options to stop them. We will fight to keep every single job so that our community does not have to go without safety-net medical care.”

SEIU Local 1021 represents over 60,000 employees in local governments, non-profit agencies, health care programs, and schools throughout Northern California, including more than 3,500 workers across Alameda Health System, Alameda County’s safety-net medical provider. SEIU Local 1021 is a diverse, member-driven organization with members who work to make our cities, schools, colleges, counties, and special districts safe and healthy places to live and raise our families. We nurse our sick, educate our children, clean our schools, and care for our seniors and developmentally disabled. SEIU members at AHS include nurses, laboratory workers, eligibility workers, food service workers, custodians, housekeeping and maintenance workers, pharmacy workers, and dozens of other jobs across the system.

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