What Does Labor Day Mean to You?

What is Labor Day?
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Riverside Labor Day photo Angela Navarrett, CNA, Inderjit Kaur, RN and Rose Nicolas, RN, who work on S3 at Riverside Community Hospital, all plan to spend their Labor Day at home with their kids, having a barbecue and swimming.

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95% Barlow Voters Approve New 3-Year Contract

Registered Nurse members of Local 121RN and Respiratory Therapists, LVNs, CNAs, Monitor Techs and other UHW-W members voted overwhelmingly to approve a new three-year contract that will give all bargaining unit members, including per diem workers, a 2 percent annual raise. This year's raise will be retroactive back to March 17 and will include overtime payments for those who worked more than 40 hours in a week.

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Educational Scholarships

Members Can Apply for $1,000!
Ten recipients will be selected from candidates who successfully complete the application process and submit all supporting materials prior to the deadline of October 31, 2010.

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121RN Officer, Delegate Elections Upcoming

Officer and Delegate nominations are now closed, and SEIU Local 121RN Officer and Delegate elections will be held this fall. Terms of current President Gayle Batiste, Northridge; Vice President Jeannie King, Pomona Valley; and Secretary/Treasurer Becky Long, Los Robles, expire December 31, 2010. Members will vote on those nominated and the new officers will serve from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013.

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Arbitrator Orders HCA to Negotiate With SEIU Over Mandatory Flu Vaccination or Mask Policy

An arbitrator ordered Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) to bargain with SEIU Local 121RN and SEIU United Healthcare Workers over its 2009 mandatory policy that employees receive an H1N1 and seasonal flu inoculation or wear a surgical mask when working with patients.

This win represents a substantial victory for HCA workers as the ruling declares that even with a management rights clause in the contract, there are checks on management’s behavior. In our case, management must make decisions in ways which do not interfere with employee rights as spelled out in our contract.

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Nurses, Healthcare Workers Picket for Safety

June 18, 2010 - Hundreds of Registered Nurses and other healthcare workers waved signs and walked the sidewalk in front of Riverside Community Hospital, West Hills Hospital & Medical Center, and Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center June 16 through 18 in a show of solidarity for worker safety issues our members want added to our collective bargaining agreements.

The hospitals’ owner, HCA, has not agreed to proposals by our Local 121RN Bargaining Team that would provide lift and transport teams to help move patients and heavy equipment, guarantee a nurse has 8 hours off between calls if needed due to fatigue, and provide additional staff to keep nurses and other workers within state mandated ratios, even during their breaks and meal periods.

Click here to see news coverage of our info pickets

Nurses Take Advantage of Low Cost CEUs

About 125 nurses from various Southern California hospitals took advantage of the Documentation Saves Careers class offered by SEIU Local 121RN. Participating nurses earned 7 continuing education credits to put toward renewing their license.

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Sign Up to Be a Local Healthcare Advocate

Here’s an opportunity for anyone, not just SEIU Local 121RN members, to think globally by acting locally.

SEIU Local 121RN Registered Nurses are currently fighting for the safety of patients and the nurses themselves through negotiations with HCA management and lawyers. But Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) hasn’t agreed to spend any of their millions of dollars in profits on making sure that nurses at three local hospitals are not caring for more patients than they can handle, staffing their pharmacies in accordance with how many patients are being served, and maintaining trained staff to help lift and transport patients.

It’s not that HCA doesn’t have the money to make needed changes. According to the Wall Street Journal, HCA just paid out $500 million to stockholders in the past month.

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