United Nurses’ Urge Bear Valley Board of Directors Back to the Table

November 2010

Bear Valley, CA – United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) and more than 200 employees at Bear Valley Community Hospital are calling on the hospital Board of Directors to come back to the negotiating table.  Registered Nurses and other health care professionals at the hospital are seeking a new three year contract to replace the one that expired on September 30. Members of the negotiating team submitted a counter proposal to the Board of Directors last week.

“For months we have been attempting to reach a fair settlement, as we have done in previous years.  On behalf of the 200 plus employees at Bear Valley Community Hospital, we sent the Board of Directors a counter proposal on November 13, 2010. We are prepared to compromise. We are willing to make another attempt to reach a three year agreement that addresses both the concerns that have been expressed to us from the management team, as well as the concerns of our members,” stated bargaining team member Ann Beilby, RN, a Bear Valley Community Hospital nurse for over 30 years.

Much of the union’s proposal reflects the current existing contract language that has been in the contract for years. In fact, most of the contract is agreed upon already, and the outstanding issues are few.  The employees would like to negotiate a fair and stable contract that recognizes their years of dedication and commitment to the hospital, as well as their skills and expertise in providing high quality patient care to the community. Bear Valley Community Hospital was rated number three in all of Southern California for patient satisfaction last year by Consumer Reports.

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The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals is the largest nurses union in Southern California and represents registered nurses and other health care professionals. UNAC/UHCP, as the association is known, is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. For more information on UNAC/UHCP, visit www.unacuhcp.org.