Bay Area Speak Out Socialists Organizing Meeting (Sun, Apr 12)
May 1 is International Workers’ Day. It is a day to celebrate the power of the working class, which makes the whole system run. This year it is a day to stand up across the country and show our opposition to the attacks of this regime, their wars abroad and their wars at home. Let’s […]
Layoffs Delayed to June 30th!
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. AHS workers have been showing up and speaking out against the cuts to services and layoffs planned throughout our healthcare system. We organized with each other, reached out to the public, and made our voices too loud to […]
County Supervisors Call Out AHS Leadership
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. Workers packed the Board of Supervisors meeting last week to tell county officials about the absurdity of AHS’s proposed layoff plan. Yet again, workers and the community spoke of the importance of AHS services, and the detrimental impacts […]
AHS Workers Honor Those Murdered by ICE
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. Last Monday, January 26th, workers and community members gathered outside of Highland to commemorate Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who was killed in the streets of Minneapolis by ICE agents. In only a day, AHS workers organized a […]
Beilenson Hearing: Wednesday February 25th at 2pm
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors finally announced the scheduling of the state-mandated Beilenson Hearing, after significant pressure from workers, the union, and the community. California state law requires that healthcare facilities provide detailed information to the public […]
Highland Closes Weekend Cafeteria Service
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. In yet another act of cruelty towards Highland Hospital workers and patients, Alameda Health System executives have decided to end weekend cafeteria service at the hospital. The recent layoffs have left hospital workers understaffed and overworked, coming in […]
ER Boarding at Crisis Levels
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. The Highland emergency department, although usually overcrowded, has recently been dangerously over capacity. With the hospital fully impacted with patients, there is nowhere to admit people waiting in the ER. This leads to patients who have orders to […]
We Need the Union, And Then Some
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. For those of us lucky enough to be in a union, it plays an important role. But we can’t just rely on the union – we have to play an active role in struggles ourselves if we want […]
Is AHS Trying to Privatize Our Hospital?
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. The rapidity and carelessness of these layoffs has made many of us question if AHS has had ulterior motives with these sudden cuts. Given we have been denied rational explanations for why certain positions and services were targeted, […]
AHS Workers Stand Up To the Board
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. Last week’s Board of Trustees meeting kicked off with over two hours of public comment about the recent layoffs, despite speakers being limited to one minute each. Speakers included AHS workers from across the healthcare system who stood […]
AHS is Breaking the Law
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. California state law requires that county healthcare facilities hold public hearings (known as Beilenson Hearings) before reducing or eliminating any services. The law requires that the board provide notice of all proposed reductions, how many community members will […]
Letter From an AHS Worker:
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. After 10 years of working for Alameda Health System, I was notified on January 6, 2026, that I would be laid off effective March 9th due to the so-called “big beautiful bill,” and this has had a devastating […]
Layoff Chaos
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. The layoff notices sent out by AHS were a total disaster. Some workers received layoff notices which were rescinded the very next day. Some workers were laid off and told to stay home on administrative leave, then told […]
Workers Tell the Board: No Layoffs!
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. Last week, more than 70 people spoke at the Board of Trustees meeting, urging board members to halt the layoffs and stop cuts to important patient services. Hundreds gathered at Highland to show their support for the workers […]
The Only Solution is Solidarity!
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. A hospital system relies on all types of workers to make it function – from therapists who ensure patients can safely swallow or move, to kitchen staff who cook and serve meals for patients and their families, to […]
So How Do We Organize?
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. The administration was trying to limit our ability to organize with our coworkers by doing this over the holidays, when workers are out of town or visiting family. They were planning on immediately taking away workers’ badge access […]
The Planet is Sick with Capitalism (poster)
Don’t Mourn, Organize! (Poster)
Speak Out Now National Newsletter: August 19, 2024
Download .pdf leaflet We Cannot Count on Harris and the Democrats The Democratic National Convention (DNC) historically is the time when the party’s presidential candidate would be officially selected. But a virtual roll-call has already been done. So the selection of Harris and Walz at the convention is a formality. Keynote speakers include Biden, the […]