In a move that could have implications for Adventist health care systems across the United States, residents and fellows at Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) in California have begun the process of unionizing.
The decision to unionize is only a reflection of the times in which we are living. Who would have thought that this would have been considered or attempted in an Adventist institution.
It is perhaps useful to point out that just because an institution is classified as a ‘not for profit’ does not mean that there are no profits. It simply exempts the institution from taxation. The plight of medical residents has been known for a long time and it is unfortunate that their needs have been neglected until the threat of unionization surfaced.
I’m frankly surprised this had not already happened. Administration tipped their hand with that quick a response.
Who would have thought that an Adventist institution would have working conditions that would require this sort of action by the workers you mean? It’s been 50 years since I was a resident there, and working conditions were problematic then.
Go unions!
Dropkick Murphys - Boys On The Docks
"Say Johnny me boy, you live no longer,
Others forgotten, your memory’s stronger.
Lets drink to the causes in your life:
Your family, your friends, the union, your wife.
"Say hey Johnny boy, the battle call.
United we stand, divided we fall.
Together we are what we can’t be alone.
We came to this country, you made it our home. "
I’m an Adventist teacher and I often think it would be worthwhile to unionize, though it would change the character of the school for sure, so there’s positives and negatives.
If there is any work faction that is underpaid and deserving of more work benefits, it’s the missionaries working in Adventist education K-12.
Notice, you use the title “missionaries.”
Only sarcastically. That’s the company line to defend against the poverty wages they are paid.
The anti-union position of the Adventist Church has been a bogus issue for years. I am 100% in support of this action by the staff of LLU Health Residents.
There is no biblical reason against unions, that is, unless you want to incorporate Jesus saying that “slaves are to obey their masters” (sic) [and be good little enslaved property of their owners] my words I am sure Jesus didn’t mean that people should own people, nor did He intend that owners, or those in control, should be allowed to take advantage of those who were employed by them. There is only EGW’s two paragraphs, which actually are not against unions but are against the violence that was associated with establishing unions in her day. It was violent, because those in power didn’t want to give up their total control of those they enslaved, not to mention 7-day work weeks and child labor. The EGW compilations, which the Estate cherry picked things she wrote and compiled them into later editions of her books, and which were written for the primary purpose of making more money selling books, they copied these two paragraphs over 30 times. They are verbatim quotes of these two paragraphs and that is the sole reason the Adventist Denomination is against unions. It is, in my estimation, sickening. Why else would we be against workers, who have no other power whatsoever to improve their working conditions, other than collectively organizing to improve those conditions? Otherwise, we could say that the Adventist Church is perfectly willing to support the owners, managers, and those in power, and continuing to give those in control, the power to essentially enslave their employees. It is a moral wrong we must make right. We also need to abandon the illegitimate doctrine of ant-unionism.
The church is “fine” with unions, as long as they are not in their institutions.
Not true…I was told years ago that I could not join the IBEW. That if I did, I would not be able to remain an elder. It had nothing to do with an Adventist institution.
I think it varies by region. I have had no trouble in a teacher’s union, not teaching in an Adventist school but the Adventist schools discourage their teachers from joining or form a collective bargaining unit.
Comment removed due to lack of ‘community’.
Dogtail, you seem to have your knickers in a twist and then jumped down a deep conspiracy rabbit hole.
To paint all unions as evil and then then double down and blame loma Linda as being responsible for millions of deaths is certainly someone who has gone off the rails.
For sure, not all unions have performed admirably but in general, most unions globally have stood up for the little man against the corporations who bully and squeeze them for all they can.
From all I’ve read, loma Linda stands out as a gem within the SDA Corp, many can and should learn from them and if there is s talk of unionising then we should listen to its employees as that could signal the leadership taking its eyenoff the ball.
But dogtail, try and relax, try not to stress too much.
I was shocked to learn that the residents do not have call rooms. This is likely on the tip of the iceberg.
When medical institutions become so big that they become virtual monopolies, managed by MBA types rather than MD types, something has to be done to level the playing field, not just for residents but physicians.
Our US medical system is broken, and it is not the fault of residents or physicians but the opaque financial dealings of 3rd party insurers and hospital administrators and government regulations. It is about time for those on the front lines to stand up for themselves AND patients, both of whom are currently victims of greed and callous medical industrial complex policies that get in the way of whole person care.
Perhaps you might want to give your findings to Tucker Carlson. I am sure that you could get the Sharman to pose for pictures of the great hypocrisy you are portraying. But for me I will simply say
that this is something I would step in when walking through the cow pasture.
this is a much more responsible take on the issue. I am not in medicine, but I have several doctors in my immediate family, and they are all focused on healing, not economically aggrandizing themselves.
We did have call rooms 50 years ago with a cluster of rooms sharing a bathroom and shower. But these rooms were tucked away on patient floors so that residents could be closer to their patients in case of emergency. I suspect that since hospital square footage is $$$$ that the money men decided that call rooms weren’t good for the bottom line.
This is 21st century in the United States! Times have changed. Neither the students, staff or faculty are 100% Adventist anymore. There is very significant competition for staff within a 90 minute drive now.