Hollywood Pres RNs Rally for Safe Staffing

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1 First Quarter Hollywood Pres RNs Rally for Safe Staffing Hundreds of SEIU-member RNs and healthcare workers walked the sidewalk outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center on Vermont Avenue and Fountain in Los Angeles on March 4, calling for safe staffing and affordable healthcare for workers there. The joint SEIU 121RN and UHW bargaining team at HPMC began negotiations with management last November and they continue to hammer out details of their new contract. The team s focus has been on safe staffing, affordable healthcare options, a fair disciplinary process and procedures, and retention of experienced staff and recruitment of qualified staff to replace those who have left. However, management has not responded to critical Union proposals on wages, staffing and affordable healthcare, leading the Bargaining Team to call for the informational picket held on March 4. Prior to the picket, the teams had reached tentative agreements on a number of articles, either current contract language or minimal changes. Tentative agreements are those articles that both teams agree on, but they remain tentative until the entire contract is passed by the membership. Registered Nurses also recently submitted to management their Please see HPMC RALLY / Page 6 Members Exercise Their Rights, Facility Fined $1,300 Our Union takes health and safety concerns very seriously when we hear about a potential risk or hazard a member reports facing on-the-job. Once we hear from you about a possible health and safety issue, we then exercise several methods to investigate what s taking place, and follow specific laws to find a remedy. The most common first step we take is an information request. The requests we make are items covered by either the National Labor Relations Act or the Occupational Safety and Health Act, two of our frequently used labor laws. Under the OSH Act we (employees and employee representatives) have the right to request and receive a number of documents. One is called an OSHA 300 log. According to the law, 300 logs must be provided by the next business day when they are requested by either the employee or the employee s representative. These logs are injury and illness reports that, in order for the facility to be in compliance with the law, must be filled out in a very specific manner. Aside from reviewing the data contained on the logs to check for accuracy and trends of injuries and illness, we are also looking closely to see that the facility correctly filled out the logs. When a facility, for whatever reason, doesn t accurately maintain these logs, or turns them over to us with missing data, they are in violation of California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Sections We have found that many times recordkeeping violations are not always intentional and could simply be oversights by the employer s staff charged with maintaining these records. It is to that end that we try first to help the facility get to compliance by informing them that they are Please see OSHA 300 / Page 3

2 Pacifica RNs Ratify New Contract With 11% Raise! RNs at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley ratified their new contract with management nearly unanimously on Feb. 12, Only one RN voted no on the contract. In addition to reaching agreement for much-needed and long-awaited across-the-board wage increases, RNs were also able to protect their staffing language. MINIMAL CHANGES TO PREVIOUS CONTRACT The 121RN Bargaining Team knew that members priority was wage increases for every member of the Bargaining Unit. In addition to an 11 percent raise over three years, the team was able to protect staffing language and language that recognizes and protects an RN s seniority. Not bad for a hospital that just came out of bankruptcy last year! Providence St. Joseph Members Elect New Chapter Officers, Bargaining Team Our Providence St. Joseph Medical Center SEIU 121RN Bargaining Team will work hard to preserve the benefits we ve previously won, and will propose improvements to our wages, benefits and working conditions during negotiations with our hospital s management team. Bargaining surveys are next. These will determine RN priorities, so be sure to complete one when it comes your way! More to follow soon. We did it! I feel the Bargaining Team was able to get a fair contract that might not be everything we wanted, but it s a good start. Jesse Gomez, ED Pacifica Bargaining Team member I am satisfied with the 11 percent raise we were able to negotiate! Kathy Walker, CCU Pacifica Bargaining Team member Chapter President Tracy Andrews, 4N Chapter Vice President Gity Khazan, 4N Chapter Secretary/Treasurer Mindi Dyson, NICU Executive Board Brenda Blanco, 5N Joyce Powell, Emergency Dept. Newly elected St. Joseph Chapter Bargaining Team members (L to R) Nick Poole, 6NE; Cindy Triola, ICU; Joyce Powell, ED; and Kevin Mac Vane, Short Stay. Bargaining Team Tracy Andrews, 4N Kevin Mac Vane, Short Stay Nick Poole, 6NE Joyce Powell, Emergency Dept. Cindy Triola, ICU Bargaining Team Alternates Brenda Blanco, 5N Shelley Vickrey, OR Tracy Andrews (center in long coat) celebrated her Chapter President and Bargaining Team win with coworkers on election day. 2 RN News / First Quarter 2014

3 We Deserve a Fair Contract for All Encino RNs! Not Just 70% of Current Nurses! After years have passed with no raises for employees, Encino management proposed no wage increase for roughly 30 percent of Encino s registered nurses. Apparently the hospital thinks per diems or above-scale RNs don t deserve an increase. Their proposal also doesn t include wage increases retroactive to our contract expiration for those who would get a raise. Union Proposal Our Union has proposed a minimum 2.75% raise for all RNs and a maximum of 5.85% raises. All nurses would receive retroactive raises. We fought for our wage scale for years. Our wage scale recognizes years of experience as a RN and means that everyone in the same classification who has the same experience should receive the same pay. All RNs need to be at the appropriate level on the wage scale. That s why we have a wage scale. Period. Homer Marmol, Med-Surg Encino Bargaining Team Member benefits for newer employees. All employees should be equally important. Nene Ruelo, ICU, says, A contract that basically punishes new employees will hurt all employees because it creates division within our ranks. All employees deserve to be treated equally and have the same benefits. And the hospital will benefit by having the ability to retain some of these RNs after they ve gained some experience. HEALTH BENEFITS Hospital Proposal 2014 The hospital agreed to our proposal that we keep our current benefits the first year of the contract & 2016 We would make copremium payments to the EPO plan for the second and third year of the contract. Union Proposal Our Union has demanded that the hospital keep both existing health plans, EPO and PPO, for the life of the contract and not raise premiums, copays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses. PAID TIME OFF Hospital Proposal The hospital agreed to maintain our PTO and Reserve Sick banks. However, the hospital wants any nurse hired after ratification to accrue less PTO and no Reserve Sick. This means that a nurse hired a week before ratification and one hired a week after will accrue different levels of PTO, and only one will accrue Reserve Sick benefits. Our stewards do not believe in instituting a two-tier program that creates lesser RN News / First Quarter 2014 OSHA 300: Providence St. Joseph Fined $1,300 Continued from Page 1 potentially in violation. If the facility doesn t comply, for whatever reason, we then have the right to report this as an alleged violation to Cal/OSHA, who then opens an investigatory case. We most recently went through this process with members at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Cal/OSHA concluded their investigation and ultimately fined the facility a proposed $1,310 for four different counts of recordkeeping violations, three of which are from the 300 logs. This is all credited to our educated union members exercising their rights. Please see related Health & Safety information on pages 4 & 5. 3

4 Workplace Violence Prevention 121RN Members, Healthcare Workers Testify at By Richard Negri SEIU Local 121RN Health and Safety Director RNs from around California were in Sacramento Feb. 20 to speak to the Cal/OSHA Standards Board about the 121RN / SEIU Nurse Alliance of California petition for a comprehensive workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare workers. More than 16 nurses and healthcare workers from SEIU and UNAC/UHCP testified about their experiences with violence at work a pandemic that affects everyone who works in the healthcare industry. We were also joined by Dorothy Wigmore, occupational health specialist at Worksafe; Dr. Richard Pan, Assemblymember representing Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi, and Chair of the Assembly Committee on Health; and Kimberly Rosenberger of the SEIU California State Council. Along with the petition itself, we provided the Standards Board with statistical The Path to Achieving a Workplace Violence Prevention Standard data and scholarly research on workplace results of the survey we ve been conducti to our petition in support of a standard, w and letters of support from unions and o and health and safety on the job, which inc Service Employees International Union SEIU California State Council Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare Public Employees Federation of New Y American Nurses Association, Californ United Nurses Associations of Californ Worksafe UCLA Labor and Occupational Safety The California Safe Care Standard is a campaign by SEIU Local 121RN and the SEIU Nurse Alliance of California to move a comprehensi standard for healthcare workers in the State. Our goal is for the Cal/OSHA Standards Board to develop a regulation on workplace viole can take two to three years will insert language into California State Labor Code that is clearly defined for employers and easily enfo What is Legislation? Sequence of Events to Get a Standard Into California Labor Code Submit petition for standard to Cal/OSHA Standards Board Standard placed into Labor Code as a regulation Public hearings held throughout state, then Standards Board takes final vote on Standard Cal/OSHA assigns petition a file number Petition referred to State Division of Industrial Relations for evaluation Advisory Committee develops standard. All stakeholders included in this committee, such as RNs, hospital managers, Cal/OSHA, etc. We are here in the process as of March Cal/OSHA Standards Board has six months to vote on petition If accepted by Standards Board, petition is referred to Advisory Committee Legislation is a law created by statutes that originate from legislativ bills originally introduced by either t Senate or the Assembly. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate to authorize, to proscribe, to provide (funds), to sanction, to grant, to declare or to restrict. The language of legislation is broad and abstract. It describes the end result of what the legislation should achieve, but does not specifically say how this result will be achieved. 4 RN News / First Quarter 2014

5 Campaign for a Cal/OSHA Standard Cal/OSHA Standards Board violence in the healthcare industry, the ng about workplace violence, signatories orkers stories about violence on the job, rganizations dedicated to workers rights lude: (SEIU) ork ia ia / Union of Health Care Professionals and Health Program As we enter into the second phase of our campaign to minimize workplace violence for healthcare workers, we must continue to educate, mobilize, and organize ourselves around the issue, as we have done for more than a year. The petition is now referenced with the Cal/OSHA Standards Board as Petition No. 538 and will be sent to Cal/OSHA s Division of Occupational Safety and Health for evaluation. A decision to either grant or deny our petition will be made by the Standards Board within six months. As we move forward, we need to keep up the campaign momentum. The next meeting of the Standards Board is on Thursday, April 17, 2014, at 10 a.m. in Sacramento. If you can attend and speak in support of the petition, contact Richard Negri at [email protected]. Between now and then, go to and sign our petition, the link to your co-workers, family, and friends, and share it on your Facebook page. ve workplace violence prevention nce prevention. This process which rceable by Cal/OSHA. e he, What is Regulation? Because of broadly worded statutes or legislation, state agencies have promulgated an enormous body of regulations, which are codified in the California Code of Regulations (CCR) and carry the force of law to the extent they do not conflict with any statutes or the state or federal Constitutions. Regulations are standards adopted as rules by the Board to implement, interpret, or make specific the law enforced or administered by Cal/ OSHA and other regulatory agencies. RN News / First Quarter RN Liaison to the Nurse Alliance of CA, Kathy Hughes, RN, and 121RN President Gayle Batiste, RN, are flanked by SEIU Local 721 nurses at the Cal/OSHA Standards Board on Feb. 20. Cal/OSHA Proposes More than $26K in Fines to College Hospital, Cerritos College Hospital in Cerritos got hit with more than $26,000 in proposed fines from Cal/OSHA following SEIU members speaking up on the issues at the facility. The fines cover workplace violence, lack of procedures and policies, and the failure to provide personal protective equipment. This is a huge victory for our members at College who organized their union largely around health and safety issues they frequently contend with at the psychiatric facility. College is represented by both SEIU Local 121RN and SEIU UHW. The members are very much a family of coworkers who stuck together throughout the process. At one point last summer more than 12 College workers showed up at Cal/OSHA for an in-person interview where they eloquently explained what they were dealing with at the facility. Congratulations to all the members, member-leaders, and staff who tirelessly worked on these health and safety cases. 5

6 We designed the new Clinical Ladder program with the hope that it will increase morale and retention of RNs, as well as encourage educational pursuits. Mary Tary, RN, ICU Many of the service and tech employees are below their appropriate level on the wage scale. And we need a healthcare plan that is affordable and truly covers the needs of employees. We may as well not have insurance because it s too expensive. David Hsu, Secretary, 4S HPMC RALLY: Hundreds Picket on Vermont Ave. Continued from Page 1 proposal for a new Clinical Ladder program. The proposed program will have new requirements, as well as increased levels of compensation for RNs who qualify for each level. Service and Tech employees, members of SEIU-UHW, are focusing on making sure all employees earn the appropriate wages based on the wage scale, and an affordable healthcare plan option. BARGAINING TEAM Local 121RN Judy Barkley, RN, MICU Betty Lee, RN, MBCU Jannett Paule, RN, MBCU Mary Tary, RN, ICU 6 UHW-W Troy Burlette, outpatient physical therapy Elizabeth George, CNA, Telemetry Sara Gezahegne, CNA, Chalet David Hsu, secretary, 4S Rhonda Kirkwood, LVN, 3S Manuel Sanchez, respiratory therapist Jerry Tuazon, Respiratory Therapist RN News / First Quarter 2014

7 RN Bargaining Teams for HCA Elected RNs at the three Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) hospitals at which 121RN represents nurses have elected their Bargaining Teams in anticipation of negotiations beginning later this year. Members at Hospital & Medical Center, Community Hospital, and West Hills Hospital & Medical Center should look out for bargaining surveys coming their way in the next few months. These will determine RN priorities, so be sure to complete one! Bargaining Team Members Nanette Logan, Super Float Lesley Whitehouse, ED Jeanette Munden, Float Pool Dawn Horvatich, Oncology Jennifer Hardy, Float Pool Vanessa Diaz, 4 Ortho Bargaining Team Alternates Bryn Everette, 4 Surg Diana Banks, 3 Tele Barbara Leitzel, 3 Tele Celeste Magill, L&D Shauna Sauceman, Mother/Baby West Hills Bargaining Team Members Kathleen Burke, ER Elley Langsam, L&D Karen Ballantyne, 5 West Jackie Sanders, ICU Bargaining Team Alternate Stella Chavez, Cath Lab Dawn Horvatich Oncology Jennifer Hardy Float Pool Jeanette Munden Float Pool Patty Lopez S3 Kurt Ormsby MICU Lorraine Myrick Pediatrics Carmen Sierra ED Community Bargaining Team Members Wesley Dawson, D3 Jeff Figueroa, CVU Patty Lopez, S3 Lorraine Myrick, Peds Kurt Ormsby, MICU Carmen Sierra, ED Heather Swan, OR Bargaining Team Alternates Javier Gaxiola, CVU Nora Parkins, Maternal/Child Nanette Logan Super Float Wesley Dawson D3 Heather Swan OR Elley Langsam West Hills L&D Vanessa Diaz 4 Ortho Jeff Figueroa CVU Karen Ballantyne, West Hills 5 West RN News / First Quarter

8 SEIU Members Endorse Candidates for June Primary SEIU members, including members of 121RN, have gathered at various Town Halls throughout Southern California to hear what candidates stand for and whether they are supportive of labor, working families and nursing issues. Those who have been endorsed by SEIU members so far are listed below. Town Halls and their subsequent endorsements will continue through the primary election on June 3 and future endorsements will be posted online at Office Candidate District Area AD 36 Steve Fox Palmdale/Lancaster AD 37 Das Williams Santa Barbara AD 39 Raul Bocanegra E. San Fernando Valley AD 41 Chris Holden Pasadena AD 43 Mike Gatto Burbank AD 44 Jacqui Irwin Ventura County AD 46 Adrin Nazarin Sherman Oaks AD 47 Cheryl Brown Rialto AD 48 Roger Hernandez West Covina AD 49 Edwin Chau Monterey Park AD 51 Jimmy Gomez East Los Angeles AD 52 Freddie Rodriguez Ontario AD 53 Miguel Santiago Downtown Los Angeles AD 54 S. Ridley-Thomas Culver City AD 56 Eduardo Garcia Indio AD 57 Ian Calderon Whittier AD 58 Cristina Garcia Downey AD 59 Reggie Jones-Sawyer South Los Angeles AD 61 Jose Medina AD 63 Anthony Rendon Southgate AD 65 Sharon Quirk-Silva Fullerton AD 66 Al Muratsuchi Torrance AD 70 Patrick O Donnell Long Beach SD 18 Robert Hertzberg San Fernando Valley SD 20 Tony Mendoza Whittier SD 22 Kevin De Leon San Gabriel Valley SD 24 Dr. Ed Hernandez East Los Angeles SD 30 Holly Mitchell Culver City SD 32 Tony Mendoza Whittier SD 34 Jose Solorio Huntington Beach Office Candidate District Area US House 24 Lois Capps Santa Barbara US House 25 Dr. Lee Rogers Thousand Oaks US House 26 Julia Brownley Ventura US House 27 Judy Chu Pasadena US House 28 Adam Schiff Hollywood US House 29 Tony Cardenas E. San Fernando Vly US House 30 Brad Sherman W. San Fernando Vly US House 31 Pete Aguilar / Elosie Gomez Reyes San Bernardino US House 32 Grace Napolitano West Covina US House 33 Ted Lieu South Bay US House 34 Xavier Becerra Downtown L.A. US House 36 Dr. Raul Ruiz Coachella Valley US House 37 Karen Bass Culver City US House 38 Linda Sanchez Whittier US House 40 Lucille Roybal-Allard Downey US House 41 Mark Takano US House 43 Maxine Waters Inglewood US House 44 Janice Hahn Carson US House 46 Loretta Sanchez Santa Ana US House 47 Alan Lowenthal Long Beach Statewide Offices State Board of Equalization 4 Governor Lt. Governor Attorney General Insurance Commissioner Sup. of Public Instruction Jerome Horton Jerry Brown Gavin Newsom Kamala Harris Dave Jones Tom Torlakson 1040 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena, CA Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Pasadena, CA Permit No. 648