I’ve been a nurse at Cottage Health since 2014. Before that, I ran Santa Barbara County’s Sexual Assault Response Team, where nurses’ compassion and dedication inspired me to become one myself.
Twelve years later, I’m proud of the oncology care my coworkers and I provide. I want that excellent care to continue for generations, which is why I’m helping organize our union.
Management says a union would come between nurses and our hospital and undermine our direct relationship. Yet Cottage executives have flooded our work emails with anti-union messages, and nurses have had their names recorded or pictures taken for asking questions or participating in union activities.
When a delegation of nurses and supporters approached management to ask them to stop interfering with our right to decide for ourselves, they refused to have a meaningful conversation. So much for the open door.
Nurses are the union. We are not a third-party, we’re the people administering medications, comforting families, and caring for patients during their hardest moments.
We want a meaningful voice in patient care decisions and a legally binding contract protecting what we’ve earned. When experienced nurses leave, patients lose their knowledge, experience, and relationships.
I love my patients and this community. I’m proud to stand with my coworkers because I believe a stronger voice for nurses will make Cottage an even better hospital.
