Our SEIU Local 121RN Bargaining Team issued a strike notice to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center management on May 5.  If an acceptable agreement is not reached with management prior to then, the strike will be effective at 6 a.m. Friday, May 16 until 7 a.m. on Monday, May 19, 2014.

Our team’s issues are:

• The employer has accepted the concept of wage scales but has proposed compressing the scales to the point that nurses with many years of experience would be paid well below market values.
• The employer has proposed a raise of 2 percent for nurses but only if the nurse would be below the new scale. This means around 60 percent of the RN bargaining unit would get a lump sum each year of $750.00.
• There would no longer be a free health plan for full-time and part-time employees and family, and no guarantees that costs of the other plans will not increase.
• The employer has proposed very little money for education and is sticking to eight hours only per year for mandatory classes such as ACLS, PALS, etc.
• The employer proposes abandoning work on a Clinical Ladder which would give incentives to RNs who gain extra skills, provide trainings and teaching, and otherwise improve patient care.

We are again negotiating on May 6 and have additional dates scheduled.  We hope we can resolve these issues with management, but we are prepared to strike if it becomes necessary.