DESPITE RUMORS THAT ARE BEING SPREAD THOUGHOUT THE HOSPITAL BY MANAGEMENT, THE 10-DAY NOTICE OF A STRIKE HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED AND THERE IS NO STRIKE SET FOR MONDAY. YOUR NEGOTIATING TEAM IS MAKING ONE LAST EFFORT TO GET A FAIR CONTRACT FOR YOU.

As of November 13, 2009, your SBMC contract expires on Monday, November 16, 2009.

At this juncture, your negotiating team is continuing a dialogue with the Hospital. If bargaining continues, there can be extensions in the contract’s expiration. Your team evaluates the progress and makes that decision. Here are a few clarifications of the misconceptions that are going around:

1) Most non-economic issues have been resolved, except for nurse-patient ratios, which we continue to fight for. The Hospital said they staff by acuity and census, and that their numbers show entirely adequate staffing. However, they seem to count as staff various nurses who do administrative work, and their idea of acuity is not ours.

2) As for the economics, the last offer on the table is what the hospital is offering the non-union personnel. The offer is essentially as follows:
a) a 2-year contract from 11/2/09 to 11/1/11 with one raise of 2% in August 2010 (none for Per Diems)

b) a $500 “bonus” for full-timers in January 2010 (prorated for Partimers and none for Per Diems)

c) a freeze on pension accruals and 401k match for 2010

d) no promise that it will be restored in 2011, the second year of the contract. So, for two years you will get one raise of 2% and probably no pension for two years. WE BELIEVE THAT GETTING ONE RAISE OF 2% OVER TWO YEARS, AND NO ASSURANCE OF A PENSION FOR TWO YEARS, IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU.

3) They say they cannot promise to restore the pension in 2011 because “Wall Street” is looking over their shoulder. So they kind of “wink” at us and say, trust us, we intend to restore it but just can’t say that right now. How many times do you have to hear that? Yeah, sure, “just trust us.”

4) We have not handed in the 10-day strike notice. And until we do there is no strike.

5) If the contract expires, and we are working without one, everything remains ‘status quo,’ and we would try to get the Hospital to agree that anything that happens during that time is grievable and arbitratable.

All of your units have contact people and/or strike captains. Please reach out to them, NOT MANAGEMENT for accurate information, as there are a lot of untruths being circulated, whether deliberately or not. We will keep you updated.

In Unity,

Your 2009 Negotiating Team