Election Night

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Business Manager Chris Darker takes time to meet with Congressional candidate Jeff Morris.
Jeff received the endorsement by UPEC and LIUNA.

SRMC Crisis Update #1

Sunday, November 02, 2008

SRMC Crisis Update

REDDING - Union staff is working diligently to deal with the unexpected termination of approximately 450 UPEC-represented medical employees at the Shasta Regional Medical Center. 

This is what we have learned as of November 2nd, including information obtained from a meeting this date with an attorney from SRMC’s new owner, Prime Healthcare Management, Inc.  Please note that this information is accurate to the best of our ability as this date.  We will add and/or correct information as we get it.

a.Prime Healthcare Management, Inc. (PHM) has formed a subsidiary, Prime Healthcare Services Shasta LLC (PHSS) to operate SRMC.
b.PHSS has obtained a license to run SRMC and is considered the new owner of the operation effective November 1, 2008.
c.PHM or PHSS has a lease/option to purchase the land and physical facility.
d.All SRMC employees were terminated as of October 31, 2008.
e.UPEC has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the federal government (NLRB) against SRMC and PHM regarding the terminations.
f.Selected employees were given applications to work for PHSS.
g.There may be no seniority-based layoff issue or rights because all employees were apparently laid off (terminated).
h.SRMC did not provide the required 2 weeks notice of termination or in lieu of such notice 2 weeks of severance pay as is required by contract.
i.SRMC did not provide longevity based severance pay as is required by policy.
j.Employee 401(k) accounts are intact although contributions have ceased effective October 31 2008 due to the mass termination. 
k.Health insurance for employees who are rehired by PHSS will continue with the current carriers at least until and unless PHSS changes plans in the future. 
l.The status of health insurance for employees not rehired by PHSS is unclear.  We will be seeking clarification from the insurance company and SRMC. 
m.PHSS has not yet recognized the Union as the representative for the two units we represent at SRMC (RN unit and LVN/Tech unit). 

UPEC’s Response

-We are consulting with our labor attorney regarding all possible legal claims against SRMC and/or PHSS regarding severance pay due, seniority issues, union recognition rights, etc.  We will follow counsel’s advice regarding filing grievances, lawsuits, unfair labor practice charges, etc.  This will be determined the week of November 3. 

-We have established a Member Help Center that will initially be staffed 9 am to 3 pm or by appointment Monday, November 3 through Thursday, November 6.

-We request all SRMC employees in the RN and LVN/Tech units come to the Union Office at 1860 Park Marina Drive or call at 245-1890 in order to open an individual case so that we can assist with any issues this termination and owner transition has caused.  Refreshments will be available so please stop by. We will assist with:

a. Verifying final paycheck accuracy and assisting with any needed corrections.
b. Filing grievances and/or claims as appropriate for each employee.
c. Assisting with insurance and financial advice referrals.
d. Providing our own in-house crisis counselor (on-site).
e. Clerical support for resume updating, copying, mailing and computer access.
f. Any issues or questions you give us to resolve.

Thank you for your attention to this update.  We sincerely hope you will use our services to assist you in this catastrophic situation.

Please be assured that this Union is committed to representing SRMC employees under the new owners and in assisting in any possible way those employees who are not employed by the new owners.  We did not step away from representing RMC employees when Tenet withheld dues deduction for three years and we will not step away now.

Business Managers Report

Monday, October 27, 2008

October 2008

NEGOTIATIONS
Three major contracts settled:  Presidio, Shasta General Unit and Shasta Regional RN’s
REPRESENTATION
Ragoza case continues. Glenn Court has hired a law firm to defend their actions. UPEC has received $5,000 from the Latino Caucus.
GGNRA Blood borne path case continues. May be at 3 million. Local stands to receive compensation for the case.
POLITICAL ACTION
LIUNA endorses Obama
UPEC taking on the City of Pacific Grove over their proposal to eliminate PERS and trade for a 401K plan for the employees. Attended PERS debate in PG on Sep 25th.  Dave prepared walking sheets for the PERS fight.
REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Workshops included LIUNA Services, Communications, and Changing Demographics in workforce and SCOPE Trust Proposal.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT
Tentative Dates set for future training set. I have been assigned to work on “Train the Trainers” class. Will be attending meeting at NLC on Tuesday, Oct 7th. Submitted materials on my “Strategic Planning Class” and Leadership Training.
WEBSITE
Dave added the “CASES” page to the site. Also added additional photos and Bio’s. We now have a link on home page for PERKS Card and LIUNA Pension Home page.
VIDEO
I wrote the narrative for the Raygoza Video and Dave and Christine put it all together. This is an excellent video and has been receiving great reviews. I have asked Dave to put a quote together containing other equipment we need to produce DVD’s as that is the direction we will be going in the future.
MEDIA
Christine and I attended the KRCR advertising meeting in September. Christine has negotiated a great deal for UPEC for 12 months. I am recording a spot for Breast Cancer Awareness in October and working on a get out the vote TV ad.
MEETINGS
I met with several units in September to introduce the Local and the Pension Fund. Capitola, Seaside, Milpitas and Monterey.
TRAINING
I am working on expanding the UPEC Training Program into a UPEC Leadership Program.  Over time every Negotiating Team member will have to complete 8 hours of training. Negotiations training will be held 2 times a year. Once in the fall and once in the spring. The next class is Saturday, October 4th. Rep’s need to ensure that team members are UPEC members. Steve and I are scheduling a 4 hour steward training for Butte Probation, tentative date is Oct 16th.  National University has delayed their program until January 2009.
EVENTS
UPEC staff did a great job at the Labor Day Picnic in Anderson. Over 100 tickets were given away. This is 8 times m ore than past picnics. I think we should attach a UPEC Annual Picnic with this event. Steve and I also attended the Monterey Employees Picnic in Monterey on September 5th. About 50 attended. We set up the tents and booth.
ORGANIZING
Internal Campaigns include the Presidio Trust, GGNRA, Cemetery District and Monterey General Employees. External Campaigns are Fall River Hospital (Debra) and Shasta Community Services District. Rocco has identified 8 additional bargaining units that UPEC can consider merging into the Local. We just picked up 16 SEIU members at SRMC. As a staff we need to identify targets between Redding and Monterey.
PORAC CONFERENCE
Steve and I are working on attending the PORAC Conference in Monterey, Nov 20-23, 2008.
LOCAL CONFERENCE
The Executive Board has approved my recommendation for a Leadership Conference June 26-28, 2009.
2009 ELECTION
The Board has approved my recommendation for a new Executive Board configuration. Will be dropping the “At-Large” positions and adding 1 additional Board member. New positions will be: San Francisco Rep, Santa Clara Rep., Monterey-Santa Cruz Rep. and additional Shasta Rep. Board positions will be by area and based upon the number of members in that area.
STEWARD PROGRAM
The Board discussed the Steward Program and decided not to go to an election process. The Business Manager will continue as prescribed in the LIUNA Constitution.
ORIENTATION PROGRAM
I have expanded the New Member Orientation Program. Patti is now conducting a follow-up call for each new member. This includes additional orientation and questions.
GOYETTE AND ASSOCIATES
I am in discussions with Paul regarding a lobbyist program
MISC
We still need to look into the Great America Tickets
Need to put a scholarship committee together for 2009 (staff and Board members)
Establish a reporting system for Goyette and Assc. To determine usage of the Attorney Priv Program