CASTRO VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley will continue full, uninterrupted inpatient and outpatient operations despite a strike called by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 250, which represents service and clerical employees at the hospital’s Castro Valley campus. The strike begins at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2004.
The union represents employees in the areas of dietary, housekeeping, transport, linen services, licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants, medical records and clerical staff. The strike notice includes approximately 300 employees from all shifts, as well as on-call, per-diem and part-time workers. This work stoppage does not include registered nurses, therapy and technical staff or physicians.
“Eden Medical Center will continue to provide quality patient care and will conduct business as usual,” said Eden President and CEO George Bischalaney. “We anticipate a large number of employees will cross the picket line and come to work, and we have hired some qualified replacement staff for the most affected areas.”
In preparation for the open-ended strike, the medical center will shift staff to cover some areas such as the telephone operators and cafeteria cashiers, and will hire replacement staff in the following areas:
* Clerical staff: 6 employees * Food Services: 5 cooks 15 dishwashers * Environmental Services: 18 housekeepers * Medical Records: 4 clerks
Eden Medical Center has been negotiating with SEIU’s service workers unit for approximately two years. Recent progress in negotiations gave hope for a settlement, as the hospital agreed to terms recently adopted at other Sutter Health hospitals.
The union refused further bargaining over four areas: (1) paid time for union shop stewards; (2) the collection of back dues from employee paychecks; (3) union organizing issues at the San Leandro Hospital Campus; and (4) combining the contracts of the service workers with the clerical workers to create one common contract and expiration date. (See full grid of bargaining agreements below).
“A strike benefits no one,” Bischalaney said. “We would like to avert the strike before Tuesday and reach agreement on these last remaining issues.”
Eden Medical Center is a 387-bed hospital with campuses located in Castro Valley and San Leandro. Eden is the designated Trauma center for Southern Alameda County.
SEIU Proposal Eden Response Organizing/Election Procedures Accept: Eden agrees to union proposal surrounding union organizing and elections procedures at Eden. Wages Accept: wages competitive with market for both clerical and service group contracts Modified Staffing Arbitration Accept: Eden agrees to CPMC template that allows for binding arbitration by third-party arbitrator Eden-specific training fund Accept: jointly administered training fund. Eden to pay 0.25% of payroll on top of current tuition reimbursement Tuition Reimbursement - $1,000 Improve: Eden maintains offer of $1,200 annually per employee Expiration of contract - 6/30/08 Accept: same expiration as other Sutter affiliates with ratified agreements Retiree Health Care Account Accept: Eden current offer includes retiree healthcare account valued at up to $25,000 per employee No Subcontracting Accept: already banned in current contract; would extend to clerical contract Health Insurance: Full coverage/ Accept: continue current plan. Full no premiums paid by employees coverage for employees and dependents with no employee premiums Education Leave - 40 hours Accept: contract provides 40 hours paid per year per employee Adoption of contract by Accept: protect employee positions successors in event of sale or merger Pension Enhancements Accept: enhanced Sutter Health Retirement Plan New classifications and revised Accept: same language adopted by job descriptions California Pacific Medical Center employees Paid time for bargaining team Accept: current language better than SEIU proposal. Paid time for five employees per session Paid time for Shop Stewards: Counterproposal: allow stewards 4 hours per month for 16 to use education leave for steward stewards training Collection of back dues Decline: asking Eden to take money out of employee paychecks and give it to the union until back dues are fully paid, totaling about $500 per person in the service unit at $1800 per person in the clerical unit
Eden Medical Center
CONTACT: Cassandra Phelps, +1-510-727-2720, for Eden Medical Center
Web site: http://www.sutterhealth.org/
