Congrats to 550 NUHW members for ratifying a new three-year contract
with Providence Tarzana
Medical Center
in Los Angeles! The settlement
boosts workers’ pay and benefits… and offers a razor-sharp contrast with
SEIU’s style of concessionary bargaining. Here are the details:
Last week, NUHW’s members ratified a contract that provides
2% wage increases during each of the next three years, improvements in their
retirement plan and a ban on subcontracting. Quite an accomplishment,
especially considering that the hospital lost $80 million during the past
three years.
What about SEIU? It represents 600 RNs at the same hospital.
In July, SEIU
negotiated a two-year wage-freeze for the RNs without even letting the
membership vote on the issue, according to this
SEIU leaflet. SEIU also gave up its members’ job security and
subcontracting protections.
So how cozy is SEIU with
the company’s executives? SEIU’s
leaflet to Tarzana RNs actually quoted management’s lead negotiator, allowing
him to explain to SEIU members why they should accept a 6% cut to their wage
scales.
Tasty hears that news of NUHW members’ settlement at
Providence Tarzana is flying through Kaiser. Here’s an email that Kaiser workers sent out last week:
-----Original Message-----From: honestmembers@yahoo.comDate: Tue, 20 Dec 2011To:Subject: As NUHW grows STRONGER, SEIU officials are having a panic attack....Congratulations NUHW,What a resilient display of member to member strength coupled with the best negotiating experience in the healthcare industry. Your progressive actions moved more than 550 members interests at the Providence Tarzana Medical Center to settlement despite the current lackluster contract bargained by the so called powerful SEIU union that is currently in place for its members at the "same facility".In Unity,VOTE SEIU OUT
