About 120 health care workers at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks have joined SEIU Local 121RN to push for increased staffing and better pay, according to a statement from the union. Nearly 65 percent of pharmacists, clinical laboratory scientists, social workers and other licensed health care professionals at the hospital opted to join the union, which represents more than 700 registered nurses at Los Robles Health System. The next step for workers will be a certification vote by the National Labor Relations Board and then members will start the bargaining process for a contract, according to a report from the Ventura County Star. “A group of employees at Los Robles Health System recently voted in favor of being represented by SEIU 121RN,” the hospital said in a statement. “Los Robles is committed to reaching an agreement with the union that is both fair and in the best interests of our patients and the community.” “My department is responsible for analyzing hundreds, sometimes thousands of blood tests at a fast pace. Just one mistake could lead to a misdiagnosis, which could be deadly,” Elizabeth Chernin, clinical laboratory scientist at Los Robles, said in a statement. “Now that I have a union, I’m confident that I can speak up about issues that affect our patients’ safety.” Union leaders will be hammering out a contract with officials at Los Robles, which is owned by for-profit HCA Healthcare in Nashville, Tenn. HCA’s system includes 185 hospitals and 119 surgery centers in the United States and United Kingdom.
