On June 1, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed both of the unfair labor practice charges that Sharp Healthcare filed against SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) regarding an election in which 1,500 workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa voted to form a union.

An NLRB Regional Director reportedly found that Sharp Healthcare failed to provide any evidence to support its claim that the union engaged in any intimidation or harassment. These are some of the same claims that Grossmont has reportedly based their objections to the election on, which they are said to have used to delay negotiations over crisis-level staffing shortages and low pay.

“It’s time for Sharp Healthcare to withdraw their objections to the election at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, stop the election denialism, and bargain with their employees to improve care for patients and the community,” said Habacuc Serrano, an emergency room technician at Sharp Grossmont Hospital.

The election took place between Feb. 1-3 and covers 1,500 frontline workers at the facility, making it among the largest number of workers at a California hospital to go union in a decade. The victory was reportedly decisive: 55 percent of the workers voting supported joining SEIU-UHW.

For years, healthcare workers at Sharp Grossmont Hospital are said to have struggled with staffing shortages, safety concerns, and wages far below market for this region — even as these caregivers have risked their lives to serve the community throughout the pandemic.

Sharp Healthcare reportedly made a net income of more than $1.17 billion from 2020 to 2021, according to its own financial disclosures.

Sharp is reported to have received $256 million in federal, taxpayer-funded COVID-19 funds, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The company CEO was reportedly paid $1.68 million in 2020.

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