Bargaining Team, Elected Leaders and Community Call for Rally at Beverly Hospital
October 2011
Concerned with patient safety, quality care, and the slow pace of bargaining, elected officials and community members will lead a rally in support of Beverly RNs in front of Beverly Hospital on Tuesday, November 8 from 11 am to 1 pm.
Our Bargaining Team is calling for us to join the rally, and gave the Hospital the required ten day notice at the bargaining table today.
This is not a strike. It’s our opportunity to speak out for a fair contract and improvements to patient safety, with elected officials and community leaders standing with us.
Join Us on at the rally
Tuesday, November 8
11 AM to 1 PM
Beverly Boulevard in front of the hospital
Be There for Bargaining
Wednesday, November 9 at 9 AM
Doubletree Hotel
Future bargaining sessions
Monday, November 21
Tuesday, November 22
Wednesday, December 7
Tentative Agreement on Job Bidding
We reached tentative agreement on job posting, bidding and awarding (Article 11) today. The new provision requires posting positions for 5 days, gives preference to current nurses over outside candidates for open positions, and allows return rights within the first 90 days of accepting a new position.
We Remain Far Apart on Key Issues
While we’ve made some progress, and want to present our economic proposals, including wage increases, we are still far apart on significant issues:
- Job security: management refuses to protect our jobs, pay and benefits if they sell the hospital
- Floating: management wants the right to float anyone anywhere, without a fair, equitable rotation. They refuse to float charge nurses, even when they’re working as non-charge nurses
- Cancellations: management refuses to cancel charge nurses, even when they are working as non-charge nurses
- Mandatory on-call when cancelling a pre-scheduled shift makes it difficult for us to make up for lost income. But management refuses to schedule cancelled nurses for a make-up shift in the same pay period, if it means displacing a nurse working overtime.
- Arbitration: management refuses to have an impartial, third-party arbitrator settle disagreements. They want the Hospital CEO to always have the final word.
- Vacations: management wants the right to cancel pre-approved vacations within 48 hours of their start.
- Terminations: management wants us to be at-will employees. We want a just cause process.
Local Elected Officials Send Representatives to Negotiations
California State Assembly members Mike Eng and Ricardo Lara, and State Senator Ron Calderon, sent staff to sit in on today’s negotiations.
When we first formed our union these elected leaders and others delivered a letter supporting Beverly RNs to hospital management, calling on them to bargain in good faith.
Because the contract is not yet settled, they’ve sent their staff to find out what’s happening.
Community Board Member of the Montebello YMCA, Eddie Tafoya, also attended today’s UNAC/UHCP briefing for the staff of elected leaders to learn more about patient safety issues at Beverly Hospital.