Shasta County General Unit Meeting

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Approximately twenty-three (23) members attended the August 30, 2011 general membership meeting. Senior Labor Representative Steve Allen was present to answer questions from the members in regards to the upcoming negotiation’s. 

One member brought up that the PPOA had recently settled their contract. The members said that the PPOA retiree administrative fee would be $26.40(per pay period) immediately and then reduced to $13.20 in 2012. Their members would also pay the entire 9% of the employee contribution to the PERS retirement account in 2012. They have also agreed to pay 7.5% of the PERS Choice Health insurance premium. By 2013 they will not be paying any retiree administrative fees and they will pay 15% of their health insurance. They have also agreed to go to a retirement salary based on the highest three years of service from the current highest year. The County has also added the language that they can continue to explore new providers for medical and dental insurance.

Any change with the current PERS health insurance can be done by individual bargaining units. We are currently in the “Other Northern California” group with twenty-three (23) other counties.

There was discussion on conducting a survey of comparable agencies.

There was also discussion on various ways to counter the negative media that public employees throughout our nation have been receiving.

It was decided that we would invite County Administrative Officer Larry Lees to our next meeting to give the members a report on the financial health of the County.

There was discussion on using the members accumulated funds to hire an audit firm to verify and do a quality control check on the County’s fiscal situation.

There was discussion on using the employees funds to purchase media spots for “pushback” advertisement to counter the negative ads that have recently come forward.

The tentative date for our next meeting is October 18, 2011 starting at 5:30 PM at 1800 Park Marina Drive. Mr. Lees has been invited, however, he is out of his office until September 7, 2011 and we will not get answer back until that time. Business Manager Chris Darker and Union Relations Representative Christine Perry have also been invited to this meeting.

We will continue to mail the postcard meeting notice to your residence as well as sending two e-mails to your work-site. Remember only “Union Members” can attend these meetings. If you are not sure if you are a Union member please call Patti Wyatt at 245 1890 ext. 100 and she will let you know.

If you have any questions or want an item placed on an upcoming agenda please contact Labor Representative, Mike Lyon, at 245 1890 ext. 107.

Wealth Gap Widens as Rich Take More

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

UCS News Service, September 2011

A recent analysis of new Census data revealed that white families are wealthier than minority families and the rich are a lot richer than they were just six years ago.
The Pew Research Center analysis showed decades of minority gains vanishing into thin air in recent years as housing values evaporated and unemployment soared. White families now average a staggering 20 times the net worth of blacks and 18 times that of Hispanics—the biggest gap in 25 years.
But the real dividing line was not white and black but green. Buried in the analysis was that the wealth gap between rich and poor widened across all race and ethnic groups as the share of wealth held by the top 10 percent of U.S. households increased from 49 percent in 2005 to a whopping 56 percent in 2009. 
The recession has affected the very rich, however. A family now needs an income of just $598,435 to make the list of the wealthiest top 10 percent, down from $646,327 in 2005.
Household wealth is the accumulated sum of assets (houses, cars, savings and checking accounts, stocks and mutual funds, retirement accounts, etc.) minus the sum of debt (mortgages, auto loans, credit card debt, etc.). About a quarter of all Hispanic and black households in 2009 had no assets other than a vehicle, compared with just 6 percent of white households.
The median wealth of white U.S. households in 2009 was $113,149, compared with $6,325 for Hispanics and $5,677 for blacks, according to the Pew analysis. In 1995 the booming economy helped push those ratios to low of 7 to 1 for both groups.
“The bursting of the housing market bubble in 2006 and the recession that followed from late 2007 to mid-2009 took a far greater toll on the wealth of minorities than whites,” say report authors Rakesh Kochhar, Richard Fry and Paul Taylor.

New PERS Plan May Work for MMC (UPDATED 12:30 pm)

Friday, August 19, 2011

ALTURAS - UPEC Business Manager Chris Darker said a new PERS Retirement plan may be an option for Modoc Medical Center employees.  Darker, who called PERS top actuary yesterday, reported that the hospital could implement a new PERS plan since they will be a new employer. “This could be a seamless process for the hospital and our members”, said Darker. MMC employees could go into a 2% @ 60.  The 1.25%@65 is not an option as originally stated by PERS because that plan is for people who have never been in PERS.
“It all comes down to the bottom line.  Darker plans to continue discussion with PERS and the hospital to get an actuarial study completed to see what a new plan would cost”, said Darker. Keeping our members in PERS is a better option than a 457 plan the hospital is proposing, Darker said.
Members would be able to carry over their current PERS 2%@ 55 retirement benefit and build on what they already have invested through PERS. All future benefit calculations would be based on the new plan. 
“We were also able to confirm today that the hospital cannot remove our members from the CalPERS Retirement system before the hospital officially becomes a district”, said Darker. The hospital board has been pushing for the members to drop PERS immediately to save the hospital money.

PERB Rules on Recognition

Thursday, August 18, 2011

ALTURAS - The Public Employee Relations Board released their decision this week regarding an amendment filed by UPEC earlier this year.
UPEC Local 792 filed a petition with the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) February 24, 2011 asking they amend their Certification of Representation for Modoc Medical Center in Alturas, California. The hospital was planning on converting from a County hospital to a Hospital District at that time. The Petition filed,UPEC Business Manager Chris Darker, requested PERB to Amend their certification as the exclusive representative of the 90 member bargaining unit when the hospital becomes a District. “This became an issue because neither PERB Regulation nor the MMBA specifically addresses the question of how a successor employer is determined or what the successor’s obligations are to the exclusive representative (UPEC) of the predecessors (Hospitals) employees”, stated Darker.
PERB looked to the private sector language under the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in NLRB v. Burns International Security Services, AKA the Burns decision. which held that a new employer is a successor employer and has a duty to bargain with the exclusive representative of it’s predecessor’s employees when: 1). The new employer hires a majority of its employees from the predecessor’s workforce; 2) The employees had previously selected an exclusive representative to represent them in their bargaining with the predecessor; and 3) The employees continue to perform essentially the same work in the same setting.
UPEC proved these are the circumstances in their case to PERB and therefore a new petition for exclusive recognition of the employees at MMC is not necessary. “I am very please PERB granted this decision. Maybe now we can move forward toward quick resolve”, said Darker.

Monterey Area Employee Assisted With Medical Issues

Friday, August 05, 2011

Senior Labor Representative Steve Allen had been attempting to help a Monterey area employee work with her city’s administration regarding an upcoming surgery that was needed. The City was unable to assist the employee who wanted her doctor to do the surgery locally at the Community Hospital Of Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP)and Anthem/Blue Cross was forcing the employee to travel over fifty miles to the San Jose area to have the surgery done. Traveling to this new hospital would necessitate the employee to obtain a new surgeon to do the surgery. The employee was in great pain and traveling over fifty miles each way would cause her even more pain. 

The Union had recently met with PERS Health-care and Anthem/Blue Cross representatives in another County. The Union was able to reach these representatives and we were able to learn that Anthem/Blue Cross and C.H.O.M.P. were currently in negotiations to do the surgery that the employee needed. The employee was able to confirm this information with her treating physician and she is very close to having the surgery done by her doctor in her town.

We all wish her a speedy recovery

UPEC Members Willing to give up PERS to Save Hospital

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

ALTURAS - United Public Employees of California, Local 792 announced today that the Union will agreed to take major concessions at Modoc Medical Center in Alturas.

Under the proposal by Hospital Management, the 90 member hospital bargaining unit would give up their Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) if that is what it takes to keep their hospital from shutting down but the union says the hospital won’t even give them a contract extension in return. 

“Our Union members are willing to give up a huge benefit but want an 18 month extension on their contract”, said Darker. “Members would take at least a 15% cut in their benefit package and think a contract in return is more than reasonable.  This would be the first public employee union to eliminate PERS from their contract in the state of California”, said Darker.

Last week, the union assigned their benefits representatives, at no cost to the hospital, to examine ways to save the hospital money on a future 457 retirement plan The representatives will also look at a variety of hospital insurance plans to see if money can be saved in those areas.

A special election was held in August 2010 where voters approved taxing themselves $197.00 a year to transform Modoc Medical Center from a County hospital to a Hospital District.  The change is projected to take place by October 1st.

The hospital board has given the employee union until August 10 to agree to their demands or more employees will loose their jobs or “something big” will close at the hospital according to CEO Monica Derner.  Union employees are saying that Derner is driving a huge wedge between the employees and management.

Unions across California have been taking cuts to help balance local government budgets but UPEC Business Manager Chris Darker said he hasn’t seen anyone getting out of PERS.

“Our members simply can’t afford to contribute their 7% plus another 6% of the employers share”, Darker said.  In addition, members agreed to pick up the increase in their medical premiums starting August 1st that amounts to about $47.00 a month.

On June 9th the hospital said there might be one layoff and now there is nearly 10 layoffs. Hospital management has been running a media campaign in the local paper blaming the union employees for recent layoffs instead of telling the public the financial shortfall is worse than the $1.5 million administrators predicted on June 9th.

The Union has filed multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges with the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) in Sacramento against the hospital.  “The hospital feels justified in breaking their agreement.  Administrators state they have great employees but you couldn’t tell that by the way they are handling the problems. All of our members have been loyal to the hospital, some for decades. To now blame the employees for layoffs and the demise of the hospital is despicable”, said Darker.