Press Release
October 31, 2022
In new ad, doctors and patients urge SEIU-UHW to stop putting dialysis patients’ lives at risk with ballot measure extortion
Stop Yet Another Dangerous Dialysis Proposition
For immediate release: October 31, 2022
Contact: Kathy Fairbanks (916) 813-1010
kfairbanks@bcfpublicaffairs.com
In new ad, doctors and patients urge SEIU-UHW to stop putting dialysis patients’ lives at risk with ballot measure extortion
“Please stop,” “enough is enough,” and “please leave dialysis patients alone” say dialysis patients and doctors
Sacramento – Today, the No on 29 coalition launched a new ad featuring doctors and patients urging the SEIU-UHW union to stop harming dialysis patients by funding dangerous ballot measures that put dialysis patient lives at risk. The ad will run statewide on broadcast, cable and digital.
“It’s completely reckless and totally heartless for the leaders of SEIU-UHW to continue to put dialysis patients’ lives at risk in order to achieve a political agenda,” said DeWayne Cox, a dialysis patient from Los Angeles. “Patients have had it! We urge union leaders to stop with their ballot measure extortion scheme.”
This is the third ballot measure in as many elections bankrolled by SEIU-UHW. Editorial boards in California condemned UHW saying it “has become a repeat user of California’s initiative system,” and that Prop 29 “…could kill kidney dialysis patients.”
Voters resoundingly rejected UHW’s last two failed ballot measures – Prop 8 in 2018 by 60%, and Prop 23 in 2020 by 63%. Every editorial board that has weighed in on Prop 29 has urged voters to reject it.
More than 80,000 Californians with failed kidneys need dialysis treatments three days a week to stay alive. Missing even a single dialysis treatment increases patients’ risk of death by 30%.
Care in California dialysis clinics consistently beats the national average. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on average, California outperforms the rest of the nation on quality of patient care and patient satisfaction.
Prop 29 would force every dialysis clinic in California to hire new, unnecessary administrators to be on-site at all times – even though they would not be able provide direct patient care. The independent, non-partisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office said this provision alone “would increase each clinic’s costs by several hundred thousand dollars annually on average.” (page 4)
This unnecessary requirement would cost hundreds of millions statewide, forcing dialysis clinics in California to cut back services or shut down, making it harder for patients to access their treatments — putting their lives at risk.
The Prop 29 initiative shakedown is just a continuation of UHW’s broader corporate union organizing campaign against health care providers. Since 2012, SEIU-UHW has wasted $107.6 million of its members’ dues money on 63 ballot initiatives across the country either directly or through its 501c4. In California alone, UHW has filed 33 state and local initiatives at a cost of $72.7 in wasted dues money.