More Tenet Workers Unite for a Stronger Voice in 1199SEIU

January 1, 1970

Some 555 registered nurses, technicians and assistive staff at West Boca Medical Center/Tenet in Boca Raton, Florida, voted to on October 4 to unite in 1199SEIU. The RNs voted 183 to 44 in favor of 1199SEIU; the combined unit, 140 to 39.



Gail Diedrick, a Registered Nurse in the labor and delivery department, linked the benefits of joining together with her colleagues to better patient outcomes. “If nurses and other workers at the hospital are treated fairly, and recognized with higher pay and better benefits,” she said, “morale will go up—and ultimately patients will benefit. It’s like dominoes.”



This election adds the voice of West Boca workers to the 6,000 other Tenet workers who are already united in SEIU Healthcare, including the 1,600 in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee who voted earlier this year.



“It only makes sense to unionize because it brings more balance and fairness for everyone,” said Patrick Harriott, a transporter at Florida Medical Center, a Tenet facility in Broward County where 300 service and technical workers voted by a 5-to-1 margin to unite with 1199SEIU in May 2011.