Hospital Workers Picket for New Contract, Protection of Benefits

On Halloween, probably didn't expect this trick.

Lab technicians, nutritional service workers and other hospital employees members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare West (SEIU-UHW) picketed on the corner of Grant Road and North Drive Monday, Oct. 31 to bring public attention to what they claim has been an unfair bargaining environment by hospital administrators.

"We hoped for a new contract and we've had eight months of negotiations," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, who works with the Nutrition Services Department and has been part of the SEIU-UHW negotiating team. "The hospital is proposing takeaways from employees at the same time they want executive pay increases."

According to the SEIU-UHW, the hospital hasn't negotiated in good faith because it hasn't made any concessions while workers have made their share. Workers now seek to preserve their current healthcare benefits, paid time off, vacation days and shift differential—the extra pay received for work during undesirable hours, like evenings and nights.

In response to comment, El Camino Hospital's Spokeswoman Judy Twitchell stated that "the two parties were unable to come to an agreement despite several negotiation sessions."

"On Oct. 10, the hospital declared the negotiations at an impasse and gave SEIU its 'last, best and final offer,'" she said. The hospital has maintained a bulletin of the ongoing negotiations online.

When asked how long SEIU-UHW workers would protest the hospital's position however, union representative Lily Valle said "as long as it takes."

"This is what we do as a job," she said.

Clinical lab scientist Tammy Buckles, an ECH employee since 1989, is also prepared to continue the fight. She considers the hospital's requests "horrendous."

"This could make employees not able to pay for their own healthcare expenses," said Buckles. "With the hospital's strong financial foundations there's no need for these takeways to occur."

The draft audited fiscal year 2010-2011 financial report showed that El Camino Hospital's revenues and net assets increased from 2010 to 2011, while at the same time its liabilities decreased. Revenue grew from $552,447,000 to $622,640,000 or 11.2 percent year-to-year and net assets rose 10.3 percent from $722,078,000 to $805,351,000.

During the same period salaries, wages and benefits also increased, but slightly lower from $304,659,000 to $307,707,000 or 0.9 percent.

Recently, the Executive Compensation Committee recommended that the Board of Director of the hospital approve the executive team's 2011 incentive payout. The average payout between the nine executives would be $74,497.

It's this recommendation, and the subsequent Oct. 12 approval, that has fired up these hospital workers. SEIU-UHW hopes to bring .

"It's hard to explain to myself and co-workers why this is happening when the hospital's in good economic health and executives are getting increase in wages," said Cesar Cacho, a Nutrition Services Department employee who came to the Mountain View after the acquisition of the Los Gatos campus.

Another employee, Valerie Rondone, shared that "if the hospital was going under and they had no money and they asked us to contribute, I would understand."

But she doesn't understand why the executives still get their money.

"The rich get richer and the working class gets shafted," she said.