Hundreds of Sharp HealthCare employees are preparing to protest this Friday after more than a year without a contract. The workers, who unionized last year and are represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, are facing issues such as staffing shortages, safety concerns, and low wages relative to the cost of living in San Diego.

The union has organized separate bargaining units at various Sharp centers, but the company states it cannot combine these units into a single contract. Sharp HealthCare maintains that it has negotiated in good faith and that delays are due to union tactics, such as late proposal submissions and charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

Approximately 5,000 Sharp HealthCare employees represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, including lab assistants, ultrasound technicians, nursing assistants, pharmacists, and other roles outside registered nursing, report facing staffing shortages, safety concerns, and low wages relative to the cost of living in San Diego. “Our goal is to be able to live here, feed our families, and survive,” said Elena Johnston, who works in central supply at Sharp Grossmont. Respiratory therapist Veronica Gonzalez noted that she lives an hour away from work because she cannot afford to live closer said to a media outlet via its website.

Meanwhile, San Diego’s largest health system states that it is making its best effort in negotiations, but working with multiple union groups has presented challenges. A statement from Sharp read in part: “Despite delaying negotiations with Sharp Grossmont and Sharp HospiceCare, the union has taken the time to organize separate bargaining units at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and more recently at Sharp Metropolitan Medical Campus.

It is important to know that Sharp cannot combine these separate bargaining units into one large unit, as SEIU-UHW demands. The law is clear: when separate filings are made for bargaining units, each unit is distinct and will have its own contract.” However, employees believe that the number of groups only highlights their needs. The march on Friday will start at 9 a.m. and will be followed by a demonstration outside Sharp’s corporate offices in Kearny Mesa. Protests will continue weekly at various Sharp locations throughout August.