OAKLAND, Calif. and BERKELEY, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The following release is being issued by Health Care Workers Union SEIU 250:
Caregivers at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center who are members of SEIU have voted by 90% to reject an inferior contract offer by their employer, the corporate giant Sutter Health. The voting took place on Wednesday and Thursday and the vote was counted by a committee of employees last night. The rejection of the contract comes on the heals of an historic statewide master agreement that 14,000 other SEIU members just reached with Catholic Healthcare West. In the CHW agreement, employees achieved many improvements, including an equal voice with management in setting appropriate staffing levels and a $4 million training and education fund. Neither of these standards were included in Sutter’s contract proposal. The CHW agreement, along with the contract already in place at Kaiser Permanente, sets the standard for hospital care in California. Fearing that workers will now hold Sutter accountable to that standard, management resorted to illegal anti-union tactics in the lead up to the vote to try to force workers to accept an inferior contract. In a stark contrast to the comparatively amicable negotiation process at CHW, Sutter is spending hundreds of thousands of precious patient care dollars on this campaign, which includes expensive anti-union consultants, scathing workplace flyers and intimidation by supervisors and security guards.
“Sutter is the most profitable hospital corporation in the state, why can’t it accept the same standards as Kaiser and CHW?” asked Renee Harris, who is supporting 3 children and has been an Emergency Room Clerk at ABSMC for 8 years. “My co-workers are understaffed and underworked, and that means patients are not getting the care they deserve.”
“We want to work cooperatively with employers to make sure workers have good jobs, patients get the best care and all Californians have access to care,” said Sal Rosselli, President of SEIU 250. “CHW has come to realize that their hospitals run better when caregivers have a voice, but Sutter is still holding the industry back with its combative attitude towards employees. Sutter needs to know that the caregivers of SEIU are going to use all our strength and resources and do whatever it takes to hold Sutter accountable to the same standards that have been accepted by CHW and Kaiser.”
CHW has also agreed to partner with SEIU members to achieve legislative reform that will lead to secure, affordable, quality health care for all Californians. The first step towards health care reform will be defending SB2, the Health Insurance Act, which requires large employers to offer affordable health insurance to their employees. Sutter has refused to join in the effort to preserve this important health reform measure.
Run by beancounters out of its Sacramento headquarters, Sutter Health is a corporate giant that made $465 million in profits in 2003 alone. A so-called “non-profit” company, Sutter has a host of for-profit subsidiaries, including an insurance company in the Cayman islands. Sutter has come under intense and growing fire from elected officials, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), regulatory agencies, environmentalists and patient advocates for its unethical business practices which put profits ahead of all else.
Sutter has claimed that the contract proposal which was just rejected by SEIU members was a “final” offer. However, in 2000/2001 negotiations, Sutter made several “final” offers which were then improved upon after they were voted down. The next negotiating session between Sutter and SEIU caregivers will take place on Wednesday, June 9.
SEIU 250 represents over 3,400 employees at Sutter hospitals throughout Northern California. With over 90,000 total members, SEIU 250 is the largest and fastest growing health care union in the Western U.S. We represent every type of health care worker, including nursing, professional, technical, paramedic and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high quality health care for all.
Media Contact:
Dave Bates 510-773-8950
SEIU 250
CONTACT: Dave Bates of SEIU 250, +1-510-773-8950
Web site: http://www.seiu250.org/
