One of our Bargaining Team members helped open Tarzana and another has yet to celebrate his second anniversary working for the hospital. Together, our union team has a unique understanding of the Tarzana workforce and remains committed to improving the work lives of all staff.
On Feb. 28, the Providence Tarzana management team provided us with a full and complete set of non-economic proposals. The following proposals provide an overview of the highlights and lowlights of the day!
Good news first! Our bargaining team has identified several areas in our contract that management has agreed to change: Improvements to scheduling language and positive changes to job vacancy, posting and bidding language.
However, the management team promised takeaways and they were true to their word:
- Providence wants to weaken our no sub-contracting language.
- Providence wants to take away our right to take staffing disputes to arbitration, thereby taking the “teeth” out of our Patient Care Committee.
- Providence wants to weaken our “no mandatory overtime” and call off/flexing language.
- Providence wants to be able to establish positions for new grads, thereby preventing current staff from applying for open positions.
- Providence has proposed deleting all “conversion language” which allows Part Time 1, 2 or Per Diem employees to be reclassified to a different status, depending upon the number of hours worked.
- Providence wants to censor our Union flyers.
Article 17 – Health and Safety
Healthcare for patients and health and safety of Providence employees should go hand-in-hand. We found out in bargaining that’s not necessarily true. The Providence Tarzana management team proposed deleting almost the entire health and safety article of our contract. To add insult to injury, we were told Tarzana employees don’t need health and safety language because we are protected by OSHA.
Management’s Proposal:
- Delete agreement by the hospital to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all employees and to follow applicable local, state and federal health and safety laws and regulations.
- Delete commitment by the Hospital to provide regular in-service or other training and information to employees concerning health and safety.
- Disband of our health and safety committee.
- Delete commitment to eliminate or minimize employee exposure to communicable diseases to which employees may have routine workplace exposure.
- Delete provision for an annual infection control update.
- Delete provision for maximum protection to employees from occupational transmission of airborne and bloodborne infectious diseases.
- Delete reference to ground-breaking contract language regarding needle-stick injuries.
- Delete reference to critical stress debriefing.