This week as you prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday,
we ask that you please pray with us for longtime National Union of
Healthcare Workers (NUHW) organizer, Antonio Orea, whom we lost to
Covid-19 last week. We pray for his family, his co-workers, and the
NUHW members who are so missing him right now. We at CLUE are
devastated by this huge loss, and are deeply grateful for Antonio's
sacred work helping build a powerful, leader-ful movement for economic
justice in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
May his memory be a blessing.
Remembering Antonio Orea,
a champion for working
people
NOVEMBER 19TH, 2020
On November 17, we lost a dedicated staff leader and beloved member
of our NUHW family to COVID-19. Antonio Orea lived an exemplary life.
He grew up in Mexico, journeyed across the border at age 16, worked in
a sweatshop, took classes, became a U.S. citizen, and devoted his life
to helping people earn a decent living and work with dignity.
As many NUHW members in Southern California can attest, Antonio was
a tough defender of workers rights during his 17 years with our union
and one of the hardest-working people we’ve ever known. Antonio
believed in the power of people organizing, and he had a gift for
bringing workers together and making them feel comfortable challenging
their employers and standing up for their rights.
One of Antonio’s greatest accomplishments came two years ago when
he led the successful drive to bring in-house 80 dietary workers at
USC Keck. By pressuring USC to stop subcontracting out those jobs, our
members received raises of up to 50 percent, employer-paid retirement
contributions, better health coverage, and tuition assistance for
their children.
Antonio was a loving father to his twin sons, Gabriel and Daniel.
He also remained very close to his family in Mexico. He was in Mexico,
visiting them when he first developed COVID-19 symptoms. Antonio
rapidly deteriorated and had been intubated for two weeks before his
passing. He was 63.
As we mourn Antonio, we will also honor him by continuing his
struggle. On Monday, November 23 subcontracted dietary and EVS workers
at Tenet hospitals in Fountain Valley, Lakewood and Los Alamitos will
join with other NUHW members at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital to
kick off a campaign to win fair contracts that include bringing all
subcontracted workers in-house. They will also announce their list of
demands for Covid testing and safety protocols to protect them and
patients from the virus. It will be a somber start to a tough fight.
But, it’s a fight that Antonio has shown us we can win.
At Rev. James Lawson's most recent Nonviolence &
Soul Force workshop, he offered a prayer for longtime National Union
of Healthcare Workers organizer Antonio Orea.
