After 20 months with no agreement, a key health care employees
union approved a contract they say will improve wages and maintain
the quality of service at Saint Louise Regional Hospital and four
other California hospitals owned by Daughters of Charity.
After 20 months with no agreement, a key health care employees union approved a contract they say will improve wages and maintain the quality of service at Saint Louise Regional Hospital and four other California hospitals owned by Daughters of Charity.
The agreement between the Service Employees International Union, United health care Workers and DOC, was reached over the weekend.
It was negotiated by the 34 union members who serve on the SEIU-UHW bargaining team, and by a 95 percent margin among the affected union employees, according to a news release from the union.
The agreement is retroactive to May 2008, when the previous contract expired, and provides up to an 18 percent pay raise for union members employed at the five Bay Area hospitals. It also includes 6 percent back pay, and maintains health care benefits for union members.
The new contract applies to about 2,500 union members employed in a variety of positions including respiratory care practitioners, certified nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, radiology technicians, lab technicians and environmental services workers. About 200 employees at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy are included in the contract.
“We stayed united as SEIU-UHW members and showed management that we are serious about maintaining quality staff and quality care at our hospitals,” said Roberto Gallardo, a licensed vocational nurse at the St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood and a member of the bargaining team. “It’s exciting to reach an agreement that is good for everyone who relies upon our care.”
Also included in the contract are provisions that allow workers and management to work out issues and make sure the hospitals serve both patients and staff, the union’s news release said.
Workers at the hospitals went 20 months without reaching an agreement, and their contract campaign included picketing and a series of “unity actions” at each of the hospitals, according to the news release.
“It has been a long time coming, but this agreement will ensure that our hospitals continue their reputation as good places to work and good places to receive care,” said Tess Guinto, a certified nursing assistant in the surgical acute care unit at Seton Medical Center in Daly City. “We stuck together and in the end our voices were heard.”
The contract covers workers at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, Seton Medical Center, Seton Coastside in Moss Beach, and St. Francis Medical Center.
