Healthcare workers in California are beginning to see the fruits of working together to make important improvements for themselves, their families and their patients. This week we report on progress in ongoing worksite, political and policy initiatives in our local and across our national union.
In a major victory for California's 250,000 In-Home Supportive Service (IHSS) workers and the 440,000 seniors and people with disabilities who rely on IHSS for daily care, the Obama Administration has ruled that proposed cuts to the IHSS program violate the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ruling came after the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its California affiliates, UHW-SEIU, SEIU Locals 6434 and 521, requested an opinion from Health and Human Services on whether California's proposed cuts violate the maintenance of effort clause of the ARRA.
The cuts that would lower the State's contribution from $11.50 to $9.50 per hour are scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2009. However, under the terms of ARRA, states are blocked from reducing funding for existing services. "The Obama Administration has made it clear that the State cannot cut the homecare workers' wages. Now we need our counties to follow suit and take all the cuts off the table," said SEIU Executive Vice President and UHW-SEIU Trustee, Eliseo Medina.
To keep track of all the media coverage of this huge development, follow the coverage on www.ProtectFresnoHomeCare.org
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Monterey County Workers Reject NUHW
SEIU Local 521 members in Monterey County Unit J, consisting of roughly 1,650 general county workers, have resisted an attempt by NUHW to divide their union during contract negotiations.
NUHW circulated a petition among Unit J workers earlier this year and claimed to have enough signatures to hold an election to decertify SEIU. That claim was made in error, as county officials have announced that NUHW did not gather the minimum number of signatures required.
"The members have spoken," said Dean Carothers, bargaining team member and Unit J worker. "This is a clear indication that members want to stay united and focus on what really matters: Protecting our contract and maintaining valuable services to the public during a budget crisis."
Prior to the county's announcement, many county workers had complained about being misled by NUHW into signing the petition. "We have various Unfair Labor Practices that we filed because we don't believe NUHW followed the law," said Susan Ardisson, a county worker on the bargaining team. "It's just a basic thing that you can't use any deception or coercion. We have been told that many people signed cards without totally understanding what they were signing."
With NUHW's attempts to divide workers officially out of the way, Monterey County Unit J workers can now continue with the tough task of contract negotiations during difficult economic times.
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CHW Members Anticipate Wage Increases, Push to Improve Pension and Collateral Pay
This month the 14,000 UHW-SEIU members at Catholic Healthcare West hospitals will get pay increases of 3 to 7 percent, as guaranteed in their 2008 contract. While the contract is secure and closed, it also calls for negotiations to improve the pension plan and collateral pay system, allowing UHW members at CHW hospitals the rare opportunity to negotiate for improvements during tough economic times.
Some of our newest bargaining team members speak out about what these negotiations mean to them:
"I look forward to working side by side with UHW-SEIU members for improvements."
--Jonathan Abraham, St. Joseph-Stockton
"I've worked here for 31 years and joining this team is really important to me. We all need a seat at the table."
--Bob Lewis, St. Mary's San Francisco
"I want to represent members in this bargaining effort to show we have a positive influence on our future."
--Billy Taylor, St. Mary Medical Center of Long Beach
For more from the CHW bargaining team, click here to visit our homepage.
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UHW-SEIU Members at Sutter Step Up to Resume Bargaining
Sutter members are resuming negotiations hospital by hospital to secure strong contracts that protect jobs, patient care and wages. Member-led bargaining teams have already taken on management at CPMC, Solano and Eden to fight layoffs. At CPMC, members were able to reduce layoffs from 200 full-time employees to 12 and are continuing to negotiate over every lost job and hour.
At Solano, members are still negotiating over management's decision to do layoffs at all. At Eden, members voted and got management to agree to a process that protects' members seniority over 16 potential layoffs. At Roseville, members have been negotiating their contract for several months and are preparing to go head-to-head with management on their largest issue: subcontracting and consolidation of services. They are planning an action next week.
All members across Sutter are encouraged to get involved. Our strength will be in our numbers! For more information, call 510-869-2229.
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Raises, Rewards, Respect for UHW Members in Modesto
UHW-SEIU members who work for Hospital Housekeeping Systems at Tenet's Doctor's Medical Center of Modesto just won big improvements to pay, benefits, and respect on the job. The rank-and-file members of our bargaining team stood together with their co-workers and won a great new contract. Last week, the membership voted overwhelmingly to approve a new contract with raises of 3.5 to 7.5 percent and much more.
UHW members also bargained for a series of "firsts" in this new contract, including a wage scale that rewards experience, call-in pay, new shift differentials, and improvements to the call-off and cancellation system.
To hear more from members, click here......................................................................................................
Staying Strong and United: Back to Work at St. Joseph
When Providence St. Joseph Medical Center management sent layoff notices out to nearly 100 workers, UHW-SEIU members sprang into action. By standing strong together and enforcing our contract, we were able to get members back to work full-time, and got administrative pay for everyone to help fill in the gaps while we fought for these jobs.
"God bless the union. Because we're united, we all still have a job!"
--Elsa Navarrete, TCU
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UHW-SEIU Members at Chinese Hospital Resume Bargaining
Members of UHW-SEIU at Chinese Hospital have been working under an expired contract for more than a year. But bargaining has resumed in recent weeks after having been neglected by the union's previous leadership, and work site leaders from a variety of departments have joined together to represent their co-workers' interests. Through unity and dedication, they are committed to winning a new and better contract for all.
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News from SEIU...
SEIU joins Obama Administration in Proposing Major Health Insurance Reform
On Monday, May 11, 2009 SEIU President Andy Stern, along with Dennis Rivera, joined President Obama in announcing a significant proposal from AdvaMed, American Hospital Association, PhRMA, America's Health Insurance Plans, American Medical Association, and our union to take aggressive steps to cut healthcare costs that could save the country $2 trillion over ten years and save each American family roughly $2,500 a year. These cost savings measures are another step on the road to meaningful healthcare reform that guarantees everyone access to affordable, high quality coverage.
As the nation's largest union of healthcare workers, we understand that reducing costs is critical to promoting health and preventing illness. The only solution to truly reduce the growing cost of healthcare is for all the key stakeholders to be at the table and be part of the solution. That's why for years SEIU has partnered with diverse organizations that represent hospitals, physicians, providers, and manufacturers to find solutions that address America's growing healthcare crisis.
For media coverage of this developing story follow these links:
Click here for coverage from the Huffington Post.
Click here for coverage from Congressional Quarterly.
For more information on SEIU's Healthcare Reform proposals, click here.
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Vote No on 1A on May 19th
What Arnold Means by "Reform" (Another Power Grab)
Everyone knows our budget system is broken, and California is broke -- again. But Prop 1A does nothing to solve these budget problems and makes them worse in the future. Prop 1A is just another power grab from the Governor.
A lot of people are angry about this election. They don't like their choices... but skipping the election is what the Governor and his allies want you to do. Send them a message by voting No on 1A: no more cuts to the people and services we care about! Check out the 10 Reasons to Vote No on 1A to see what it really does to the services we rely on.
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An SEIU Member Investigates the Effects of a Spending Cap in Colorado
After watching a video about the effects of a spending cap similar to 1A in Colorado, an SEIU Local 1021 member decided to take a closer look. Read more about it on the SEIU blog.
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Prop 1C Means More Revenues to Prevent Cuts
The Governor and his allies are trying to confuse the ballot issues with threats about more cuts if their "whole package" of measures is defeated. This is simply NOT true. Prop 1C is the only measure on the ballot that would bring in new revenues without harming healthcare. 1C would bring $5 billion (some estimate more) to prevent deeper cuts to healthcare, home care, and other vital services. Read SEIU's complete list of endorsements here.
SEND THEM A MESSAGE and VOTE on May 19!
