Call-off
During the past month, several RNs were called off after having worked 8 hours. The Hospital argued that they can place an RN on standby at any time. However, our contract is clear: “In no event shall call-off occur” except during the first 8 hours of a 12-hour shift. The affected RNs grieved these call-offs, and as a result, Alex Wolf, Marina Slabyak, and Nene Ruelo will receive pay owed for hours they were called off in violation of our contract. If this happens to you, talk with a steward or contact our Union Representative Judith Serlin.
In the event a Registered Nurse is called off, he/she may elect to take the time off without pay or utilize CashPlus. A Registered Nurse shall determine the number of hours of CashPlus he/she shall use. If the Employer requests that such Registered Nurse be on stand-by, the provisions in Subsection E above shall apply. In no event shall call-off occur except prior to the first four (4) hours of an eight (8) hour shift or the first eight (8) hours of a twelve (12) hour shift. In the event of any call-off during a shift, the Registered Nurse will be allowed a reasonable amount of time to complete her/his charting and related duties.
On a similar note, inspect your paycheck to make sure you are paid correctly every pay period. Merlie Zuluaga was paid $3 an hour for standby pay instead of the proper $7 an hour. This mistake turned out to be a typo but a typo can make a big difference.
401K Amounts
The 401k match has been funded and moved to the employees’ retirement accounts. If you have any questions about the 401K, please email Judith Serlin at serlinj@seiu121rn.org
RMBA
To qualify for RMBA, an employee has to work 1,500 hours. Our Union has questioned how the hospital determines these hours. We are waiting for the hospital to respond to our questions.
Arbitration on Years of Experience
Lawyers for our Union and the hospital are still negotiating the final settlement language for this arbitration. In the meantime, please make sure your years of experience as a RN can be documented. Look in your personnel folder. If the hospital does not have a complete listing of your years of experience as a RN (foreign and in the U.S.), you need to provide proof of employment for the missing years. You will only have a short time to provide that proof so start now.
For RNs who will be owed back pay, money owed will be determined after the settlement language has been finalized.
Certified Pay
RNs who work in Critical Care, Surgery, and ER receive a certification bonus of 5 percent. Our Union is still working to make sure that all employees who are eligible are receiving the certification bonus.
New Hires
Encino has hired several new RNs in the past months. Our Union welcomes these new RNs. Thanks to our new hire arbitration win, all RNs are now hired at the start rate of $36.08.
Attendance Policy
Homer Marmol, Med-Surg, has agreed to work with other RNs to address concerns about changes the hospital made to the attendance policy. If you have concerns about this policy, please talk with Homer.