Working dreams and operating results. Since the beginning, 70 years ago, this has been the motto that has guided the actions of professionals who have taken on the challenge of transforming the lives of thousands of health workers. The foundation of Sinsaúde Campinas e Região, on October 28, 1938, was the first transformative action for the category that was treated in the image of philanthropy. Despite the relevance of the social responsibility of philanthropic work, health workers in the 1930s were not made up of gentlemen and ladies of society who could donate their money and time to the less fortunate. In common with philanthropy, professionals who worked in offices, clinics, laboratories and hospitals had only love for others. They were formed, in their entirety, by men and women who depended on the salary for their own sustenance and also for their families.
Commanded by a group of approximately 20 people, the workers saw their class entity being born and, with great difficulty, recording results. Over these 70 years, the history of Sinsaúde can be divided into three major cycles.
The first cycle started exactly with the foundation of the entity. Its directors, linked, at the time, to the Communist Party, suffered setbacks and the entity was even placed in the illegality.
The second remarkable period in the existence of Sinsaúde coincides with the military coup of 1964. By action of the government, intervention in the entity is determined and a worker in the area, Doraci Nelson Silva, is appointed as an intervener to occupy the presidency of the Union. This period of political turmoil represented a setback for the evolution of professionals who continued to receive low salaries and were subjected to an exhausting daily journey. The assistance union prevailed, focused on offering its members social benefits in the areas of health, culture and leisure.
The labor struggle took a back seat, which resulted in the demobilization of the category.
The big turning point, the beginning of the third cycle, took place in 1984. This year, the category was reorganized with the election of a new board that presented new and revolutionary proposals. Guided by the motto of valuing the health professional, the new board proposed banners of struggle that included professional recognition through fair wages and reduced working hours. The main objective was the humanization of health work.