In our second meeting with Dignity Health management to bargain a new contract for SEIU Local 121RN members, Dignity Health showed its new colors… and they’re not very flattering. Having recently shed their religious affiliation, now Dignity wants to get rid of our Union because, management said, the Union is an “operational impediment.” In their bid to do so, they presented our 121RN Bargaining Team with a proposal that essentially takes away nearly everything our Union has fought to achieve over the last 12 or so years.

We could volley insults back and forth all day about what management is an impediment to. Instead we’ll just let you know some of the top changes management wants to make.

• Remove ALL protections against subcontracting. Your individual job or your entire unit could be subcontracted out at any time. You would then have NO Union protection against unfair discipline or dismissal, and NO Collective Bargaining Agreement that would define our workplace rights and benefits.
• No protection from layoff for full- and part-time employees. You could be fired at any time, for any reason, and in any order. Seniority would mean nothing and favoritism would rule.
• Would change contract language so that call-off is by rotation in ALL units. Individual units would no longer have the ability to determine call-off order.
• RNs would be required to provide a doctor’s note if they call in sick on certain holidays or the day after some holidays. Who would pay for this required visit to the doctor?
• Management would not be required to call off RNs two hours ahead of their shift. RNs who are called off would still be responsible to the hospital for the remainder of their shift but would not receive on-call or call-back pay.
• Call off among volunteers would be by rotation, and employees who accept voluntary call-off must use available PTO to cover the scheduled work hours.

Management made many, many more proposals that eliminate current contract language and protections, and more flyers are to come that will give you those details.

If you feel management’s proposals will harm our working conditions or negatively affect patient care, please talk with a Bargaining Team member. We want your feedback and your real-life stories to present to management in our fight for a fair contract.

Our Bargaining Team

St. John’s Susie Boatright, 4N Adriane Carrier, 2N Don Hadland, Pleasant Valley ER Nina Wells, Education Cynthia Wentzel, Pleasant Valley ACU

Northridge Gayle Batiste, OR Jaime Deloera, 4G Judith Lamasan, Case Mgmt Linda Pickford, NICU Jennifer Solovay, ICU