SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Roughly 150 people today spoke out against federal government cuts to Medicaid during a "Families First" rally outside the county Administration Center downtown, a union spokeswoman said. Protesters demanded that Congress repeal the cuts and "hold billionaires accountable."
"Working families must come first,'" said Renee Saldaña, an official with Service Employees International Union and United Healthcare Workers. "This crisis is statewide and worsening, driven by a federal budget that prioritizes corporate profits over people."
Earlier this month, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed H.R. 1 — which included cuts to numerous programs, including Medicaid — on a party-line vote. President Donald Trump then signed the budget into law on July 4.
In late May, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, described the bill as "nation-shaping legislation that reduces spending, permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength and makes government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans.'' But Saldaña said health care workers ``shared how these cuts have already led to 315 layoffs at Sharp HealthCare, affecting hundreds of families.
Those still working are stretched thin, risking patient care,'' Saldana said. Sharp HealthCare on June 30 announced it was laying off 315 employees. Sharp's leaders said the job cuts were due to economic conditions having ``dramatically changed over the last five years,'' according to a statement from the company at that time.
In an emailed statement to City News Service on Saturday, a spokeswoman with Sharp said the reduction affected 1.5% of the workforce "across all levels of the organization -- including senior executive leadership — as well as reductions in hours and role adjustments for some positions."
"The vast majority of these positions are in non-clinical areas of the organization," Erica Carlson added.
Speakers at Saturday's union event included County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, former state Sen. Toni Atkins, Bridgette Browning of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, Fatima Ghoulam, a medical assistant at Sharp Healthcare and SEIU-UHW member, Rep. Sarah Jacobs, D-San Diego and middle school teacher Kyle Weinberg.
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