By Miriam Raftery
December 21, 2024 (San Diego) – Our guests on our East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM this week were Brigette Browning, President of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, along with Ollivia Aguirre, a striking worker, mother of two young children, and psychosocial clinician currently on strike at Kaiser Healthcare in El Cajon. She is also a representative of the National Union of Healthcare Workers. We also spoke with Chris Chavara, a single father of three teenagers and member of the Ironworkers Local 229.
Our guests spoke about the Labor Council’s recent holiday food and toy drive, including how it helped their own families. A downturn in the construction industry and the healthcare strike impacted their households directly, yet both Chavara and Aguirre volunteered at the holiday drive to help give back to others, as well as receive much-needed help.
Browning, also president of UNITE HERE Local 30, also spoke about successes won by unions recently, including unionizing all Sharp Healthcare Workers and landing a historic contract for hotel workers following a strike at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel.
You can listen to our full interviews here and scroll down for more information.
Learn more, volunteer or donate at unionyes.org
If any worker in California is interested in unionizing in their workplace, they can start the process by filling out the form at unionizecalifornia.org
Here is the link to the NUHW Kaiser Mental Healthcare Workers’ strike and hardship fund:
| Newsmakers-LaborCouncil.mp3 |