The Service Employees International Union — United Healthcare Workers West has officially launched an effort that would cap the compensation of the nine top executives at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, Calif., according to a San Jose Mercury News report.
The SEIU-UHW is trying to put a measure on the November ballot that would limit executive pay to no more than twice the salary of the governor. Last year, California Gov. Jerry Brown made roughly $174,000, according to the report. The union needs 9,100 signatures from registered voters in the hospital district, and it expects to obtain at least 14,000.
Tomi Ryba, the new CEO of El Camino Hospital, is currently slated to make $695,000 this year in salary and thousands more in benefits and other perquisites. Hospital officials could not be reached for comment for the story.
The ballot initiative also comes amidst tensions between the union and the hospital administration. Contract talks reached an impasse last year after the administration wanted union members to pay 10 percent of their healthcare premiums.
"The CEO of this hospital makes more than the president of the United States, more than our local congressman, more than the governor and more than the San Jose police chief," said Kary Lynch, a union representative and employee of the hospital, in the report. "To me, those are huge jobs. I just can't believe our CEO does the kind of job that justifies that kind of money."
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