Unite Here, a large labor union, has been ordered to pay nearly $17.3 million in damages for defaming Sutter Health and its affiliated hospitals. A jury in Placer County, Calif., found Unite Here acted with “fraud, malice, or oppression” when it mass-mailed postcards to women of childbearing age in northern California, suggesting that Sutter used linens that were inadequately cleaned by an outside commercial laundry service used by scores of northern California hospitals. The alarmist postcard incited phone calls to Sutter Health hospitals from anxious patients. At the time the postcard was mailed, Unite Here, which represents hospitality and laundry workers, was in a labor dispute with the laundry service.
“We are pleased that leaders of Unite Here have been held legally accountable for recklessly frightening patients and the public through outrageous and false allegations,” Michael Roosevelt, chair of the Sutter Health board of directors, said in a statement. “We truly hope this decision encourages labor unions like Unite Here to think twice before using shameful scare tactics that ultimately hurt patients in an attempt to advance a political agenda.” A spokesperson for Unite Here told the San Francisco Business Times that the union intends to appeal the decision. “We see this as an attack on labor unions and our ability to protect workers,” said the spokesperson. “We are very confident that we will prevail on appeal.”
