How Low Can You Go? Hospital Workers Locked Out

Despite its "non-profit" status, Sutter overcharges its patients for everything down to a pill of aspirin; its profits—$465 million in 2003, up 64% over 2002—and taxbreaks dwarf the charitable care provided by Sutter. Sutter charges insurance companies and other third-party payers a fraction of the inflated "full price" it charges and aggressively collects from uninsured patients. Sutter's huge profits are siphoned into a fat $1.8 billion investment portfolio and CEO pay bonuses. Meanwhile Sutter hospitals are at risk of losing accreditation, and nurses are forced to oversee extra patients on top of the statewide nurse to patient ratio.

On Dec. 3rd in the East Bay, workers rallied in the morning at Alta Bates after they were told they couldn't come to work, and pickets continued at all locked out facilities. Teams of rank and file members were shuttled to the homes of board members of Sutter hospitals around Northern California to deliver shame packages. In San Francisco, a spontaneous march formed down Market street and marched to the Sutter administrative building, where one to two hundred workers went up the elevators to the HR department demanding their pay checks. There were a few candlelight vigils and a community forum in downtown Oakland.

Here we bring you a few snippets of video from a packed forum including workers, union people, community supporters and local politicians. The first speaker was one of several with a severe case of the "lockout picketline flu". Watch this page for some more clips. Unfortunately this ragtag band of IMCistas ran out of tape but, we'll be back with more footage.. More importantly, we've barely even begun to hear from the caregivers. With Sutter executives apparently bent on the massive and rapid corporatization of our community's health care facilities, things could get ugly.. Stay tuned.