Helping healthcare laundry workers
clean up a dirty business

In the spring of 2005, UNITE HERE turned to Abernathy Associates for help with a contract campaign against Angelica Textile Services, the largest healthcare linen service provider in the United States.

We first traveled across California – the state with the largest concentration of Angelica plants and the focus of UNITE HERE’s contract campaign – interviewing and photographing workers and their families. Then we created a series of “hero” postcards featuring the workers’ stories. The postcards were sent out to thousands of influentials across the state – labor, business and civic leaders; media; heads of allied organizations, religious and community groups; and to Angelica shareholders and customers. Newspaper advertisements featuring the workers and their families were placed in targeted communities.

Using the postcard and newspaper advertisement components as a foundation, Abernathy Associates next took the campaign to the media. Through a series of telephone conference calls with union leaders and press events on the ground with workers, we helped UNITE HERE introduce the strike threat with a strong, united message. In newspapers and on television stations across the country, Angelica workers were pictured standing together, ready to strike.

When the May 5 strike date arrived, Angelica balked at the strike threat and entered into high level negotiations with the union. One month later, the workers had new contracts including pay raises, pensions and health and safety protections. UNITE HERE also won the right to organize the company’s nonunion workers using a fair and neutral process.

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