The following is a roundup of recent events pertaining to hospital-union relationships, including strikes, pickets and new contract agreements. All occurred in the last month, beginning with the most recent.
Corning Hospital Employees Picket
Corning (N.Y.) Hospital workers represented by the Service Employees International Union — about 450 nurses, lab technicians and other employees — held an informational picket June 6. Corning Hospital and SEIU have not been able to agree on a wage increase and higher insurance plan costs.
Copley Hospital, Nurses Union Reach Contract Agreement
Copley Hospital in Morrisville, Vt., and the United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5109 ratified a new three-year contract June 3. The contract includes a wage freeze in the first year and a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment in the second and third years.
NLRB Files Complaint Against Meadowlands Hospital in New Jersey
The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus, N.J., over alleged violations of collective bargaining rights. The NLRB complaint consolidates charges of unfair labor practices filed by the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union against the hospital between August 2012 and March 2013. A hearing for the NLRB complaint is set for July 9.
Morton Hospital Workers Ratify First Union Contract
Workers at Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., a member of Boston-based Steward Health Care System, ratified their first union contract. Morton Hospital workers joined the union in October, and now more than 500 workers are under contract with 1199 Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers East.
University of California Hospital Workers Strike
Unionized workers at University of California hospitals went on strike May 21 to 22. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 authorized the strike in a vote. The union represents about 13,000 UC hospital employees, including respiratory therapists, nursing aides, security guards and hospitality workers, among others.
Nurses in East Bay Sutter Health Hospitals Strike
Hundreds of registered nurses at Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health's East Bay hospitals walked off the job May 17 as part of a union strike. The nurses are members of the California Nurses Association. The the hospitals affected by the seven-day strike were Alta Bates Summer Medical Center in Berkeley and Oakland, Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, San Leandro (Calif.) Hospital and Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch.
SEIU Wins Union Fight to Represent Kaiser Permanente Workers
The Service Employees International Union won a vote to keep representing 45,000 employees of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente. The vote was a result of a battle between an SEIU local in California and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a smaller organization run by former SEIU leaders, to represent the system's workers.
Nurses Picket CVPH Medical Center in New York
Members of the New York State Nurses Association picketed outside Champlain Valley Physicians' Hospital Medical Center in Plattsburgh, N.Y., May 3. The hospital's nurses and other NYSNA members like nurse practitioners, physician assistants, audiologists, pharmacists and social workers took part in the picket. YSNA and CVPH Medical Center's contract expired at the end of last year, and the two sides have been in negotiations for a new contract since early December 2012.
Corning Hospital Employees Picket
Corning (N.Y.) Hospital workers represented by the Service Employees International Union — about 450 nurses, lab technicians and other employees — held an informational picket June 6. Corning Hospital and SEIU have not been able to agree on a wage increase and higher insurance plan costs.
Copley Hospital, Nurses Union Reach Contract Agreement
Copley Hospital in Morrisville, Vt., and the United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5109 ratified a new three-year contract June 3. The contract includes a wage freeze in the first year and a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment in the second and third years.
NLRB Files Complaint Against Meadowlands Hospital in New Jersey
The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus, N.J., over alleged violations of collective bargaining rights. The NLRB complaint consolidates charges of unfair labor practices filed by the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union against the hospital between August 2012 and March 2013. A hearing for the NLRB complaint is set for July 9.
Morton Hospital Workers Ratify First Union Contract
Workers at Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., a member of Boston-based Steward Health Care System, ratified their first union contract. Morton Hospital workers joined the union in October, and now more than 500 workers are under contract with 1199 Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers East.
University of California Hospital Workers Strike
Unionized workers at University of California hospitals went on strike May 21 to 22. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 authorized the strike in a vote. The union represents about 13,000 UC hospital employees, including respiratory therapists, nursing aides, security guards and hospitality workers, among others.
Nurses in East Bay Sutter Health Hospitals Strike
Hundreds of registered nurses at Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health's East Bay hospitals walked off the job May 17 as part of a union strike. The nurses are members of the California Nurses Association. The the hospitals affected by the seven-day strike were Alta Bates Summer Medical Center in Berkeley and Oakland, Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, San Leandro (Calif.) Hospital and Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch.
SEIU Wins Union Fight to Represent Kaiser Permanente Workers
The Service Employees International Union won a vote to keep representing 45,000 employees of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente. The vote was a result of a battle between an SEIU local in California and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a smaller organization run by former SEIU leaders, to represent the system's workers.
Nurses Picket CVPH Medical Center in New York
Members of the New York State Nurses Association picketed outside Champlain Valley Physicians' Hospital Medical Center in Plattsburgh, N.Y., May 3. The hospital's nurses and other NYSNA members like nurse practitioners, physician assistants, audiologists, pharmacists and social workers took part in the picket. YSNA and CVPH Medical Center's contract expired at the end of last year, and the two sides have been in negotiations for a new contract since early December 2012.