We support the hospital’s attempt to communicate with the staff during these contract negotiations. However, we wish that the letter written by CEO Dale Surowitz was more factual in some places. The hospital has made many proposals to our Union Bargaining Team, most of which are take-away proposals.
With that said, following are some of our concerns regarding Mr. Surowitz’s May 19 letter to RNs and Professionals.
“We were able to reach agreement on clinical nurse levels and specialty pay, adding employees who can be eligible for specialty pay.”
Union: We agree it was successful. After day-long negotiations, the hospital agreed to maintain the status quo on our Clinical Ladder and added employees who will be eligible for specialty pay.
“…an agreement signed when the hospital was already for sale and economic conditions were very different from today.”
Union: Surowitz said the hospital inherited the agreement negotiated under Tenet. However, he forgot to mention that he was the CEO of Tarzana when the agreement was signed. We are certain that when the original language was negotiated, hospital leadership, including Surowitz, knew fully what they were getting into. We understand that there is now different leadership and different reimbursements required by Providence. However, any time there is a change of ownership, all aspects of the company are scrutinized. Are we to believe that Providence was unaware of the 121RN contract and its requirements? Is Providence trying to say that 121RN members are no longer worth what they once were simply because of an ownership change and economic conditions?
We also understand that we’re in different economic times and conditions. Our union will be reasonable, but we can’t use the economic times to turn back the clock on our contract. Regardless of leadership, economy and any other factor, many of us (Dale included) have worked at Tarzana for many years. We not only worked under Tenet but also AMI. Corporate affiliations may change, but our hospital overall is successful in large part due to our contributions and we are proud to work here!
“…wage increases for the 121RN Professional Bargaining Unit has far outpaced cost of living adjustments with some bargaining unit employees receiving increases as high as 9.25% in each of the last four years. As a result, average 121RN Professional staff compensation at our hospital is 22% above the market for our area.”
Union: Only those employees who were below the scale previously negotiated received 9.25 percent. Surowitz doesn’t mention that many employees received the minimum increase of 3 percent. We have asked hospital management for documentation that anyone is 22 percent above market for our area. Even if that figure were true, Surowitz neglects to mention that employees at other area hospitals -- even Providence’s own St. Joseph – receive a much better retirement plan than Tarzana employees, making the difference in total income miniscule.
"We feel strongly this will ensure that the Tarzana professional staff will become more aligned with other Providence Health System hospitals…”
Union: At this point, the management team has refused to grant Tarzana members the same retirement plan that other Providence employees receive. Although the hospital may think this makes the hospitals more aligned, it is like comparing apples to oranges. Tarzana has more long-time staff; something that can’t be compared to hospitals with a collectively “younger” staff.
"Maintain base wages at their current levels for the next two years which we believe will keep us market competitive. Contrary to what the union has said and implied, we have proposed that base wage rates will not be reduced for any of the bargaining unit employees.”
Union: We have conveyed this message to employees. However, what Surowitz isn’t saying is that the hospital wants to lower the scale by 6 percent over two years, putting many employees above the current scale. This not only destroys the wage scale we spent many years working toward, but also eliminates the structure for step raises based on longevity. And management has said that new employees would be subject to the new wage rates, thus lowering wages for incoming RNs and professionals.
“Achieve equity among the professional staff wages.”
Union: The hospital’s proposal to lower the wage scale does the exact opposite. And if someone wants to climb the Clinical Ladder, the proposed wage freeze takes away the incentive since folks may get a wage decrease for trying to better themselves.
Info Picket Status
Our Bargaining Team meets again with management on June 6 & June 9. They will decide whether to schedule the informational picket we authorized depending on what happens during bargaining.