Hospital Workers Authorize Strike to Protect Patient Care at Valley Health System
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Aug 24,2008
Workers at Menifee Valley Medical Center and Hemet Valley Medical Center voted by a near 2-to-1 margin last night to authorize a strike. The vote gives caregivers’ elected bargaining team the ability to call a strike if the board of directors of Valley Health System (VHS) continues to allow its management team, Quorum, to reject workers’ proposals to help the hospitals recover from bankruptcy and protect patient care.
“We’ve lost dozens of experienced caregivers to other hospitals in the past few months alone,” said Margaret Matthews, a registered nurse at Menifee Valley Hospital. “There are less people to train new staff. VHS can’t recover from bankruptcy if the board allows Quorum to sacrifice its most important resource.”
Just weeks ago, the VHS board authorized Quorum to reject an offer from its employees that would have provided $4.3 million in concessions to help the struggling hospital while protecting the health of the community.
Quorum has insisted that it must cut standards for patient care workers in order to make ends meet, yet it has spent $1.47 million on cosmetic improvements like paint and carpet. The VHS board also authorized Quorum to spend around $100,000 on a billboard and advertising campaign.
“A strike is always a last resort,” said Art Bravo, a monitor observer at Hemet Valley Hospital. “But the VHS board isn’t doing what they need to protect healthcare in our community.”
The 150,000-member SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West is the largest, fastest-growing hospital and healthcare union in the western United States and represents every type of healthcare worker, including nurses, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high-quality healthcare for all.
Source: SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West
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