Saint Louise Regional Hospital employees picket in front of the hospital earlier this year before they decided to take their first one-day strike. The employees are considering another one-day strike to protest what they see as an unfair contract.
The prospect of small raises and increased insurance premiums has prompted healthcare workers at Saint Louise Regional Hospital to consider staging another one-day strike.
This comes on top of a strike that was held less than a month ago when more than 2,000 workers statewide walked off the job to protest unfair labor practices by the Daughters of Charity Health System, a ministry of hospitals that includes Saint Louise in Gilroy, O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Seton Coastside in Moss Beach, St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The union - Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers, which is about 190 members strong at Saint Louise and represents a variety of caregivers from certified nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and lab technicians to food service workers and hospital clerks - and DOCHS have been negotiating since the end of March to reach a mutually acceptable contract. The union's last contract expired April 30.
More than 100 union workers as Saint Louise walked off the job last month after negotiations hit an impasse. Then, they were striking over a manager's rights clause - which would allow the administration to make changes to anything that wasn't specifically spelled out in the contract without bargaining with union employees first - and job security. The bodies hadn't even discussed finances at that point.
Recent negotiations broached the topic of employee pay and benefits and union workers left the table more disappointed then ever. The union held a strike vote at Saint Louise Wednesday. A union flyer that was being distributed near the ballot box summed up the administration's most recent proposals: wage increases that lag behind competitors and insurance premiums that more than doubled some workers' monthly bills.
"Like many employees I will actually lose money under the DOCHS proposal," said Susan Reddell, chief steward for UHW at Saint Louise and a registered respiratory therapist. "With the low wage increase and the increase in my health insurance costs I will actually take home less in my paycheck in 2009 than I do now."
According to the proposal, union employees would receive a 3 percent raise upon ratification of the new contract and a 2 percent raise each subsequent year for the next three years. Meanwhile, non-contractual workers at Saint Louise, including the administration pharmacists and lab scientists, received a 5 percent raise in May, said Ernest Gonzales, a union steward at Saint Louise. Also, part time employees would have to pay up to $56 per pay period for a health plan that is currently free, and $279 per pay period for a plan that is currently less than half as much.
Although Saint Louise Chief Executive Officer Joanne Allen was on vacation and out of her office until Oct. 13 and Vice President of Human Resources Lin Velasquez and Director of Physician and Public Relations and Marketing Jasmine Nguyen did not return phone calls, a memo the administration distributed to union workers urged them to vote no for the strike. The notice defended the hospital's wage proposals as competitive with other area hospitals, arguing that future negotiations were planned and that a strike was uncalled for.
Sara Suddes Sara Suddes is the education reporter for South Valley Newspapers. Send her an email or (408) 847-7158.
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