Our response to CEO Yochum’s layoff notice, and what Union members need to know.

Today, PVHMC CEO Rich Yochum announced to members that the hospital intends to layoff 137 positions, including, but not limited to, employees providing direct patient care.

Union members have rights and protections including when it comes to layoffs. We intend to enforce those rights.

The Union will soon submit an official response to the hospital, including a Cease and Desist notice, a Request for Information, and an official Demand to Bargain immediately over the impacts of any layoff that includes our members.

Your collective bargaining agreement states (in part):

“…the Hospital shall notify the Union at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of a layoff. Upon request by the Union, the Hospital shall meet to discuss the effects of the layoff. A nurse shall be given fourteen (14) calendar days notice of layoff or pay in lieu of notice for all hours for which the nurse would have been regularly scheduled during that fourteen (14) day period.”

If layoffs must take place then they need to follow the following order:

(a) Travelers
(b) Part-time non-benefited employees in inverse order of seniority
(c) Per Diem employees in inverse order of seniority
(d) Regular status employees in the affected classification in inverse
order of seniority without regard to their FTE status

Furthermore, a laid off nurse may apply for and will be given any vacant position for which he/she is qualified.

On Wednesday, January 14 at 5PM the Union will host a members-only Zoom call to discuss the proposed layoffs, the Union’s plan, and your rights.

Join at: EVENT HAS PASSED

Shortly after the announcement to all staff, management sent an email to the Union about specific layoffs, with a plan to layoff six union members. The cuts they’ve proposed disproportionately impact certain Women’s Center positions, where some of the most vulnerable patients are treated. If the hospital is looking for places to cut costs, care for mothers and newborn babies is a terrible place to start.

We will work to identify exactly how many additional Union positions may be affected in the future, and what the employer is doing to avoid these layoffs. Our hospital’s budget should not be balanced on the backs of Union Nurses, or anyone who provides patient care. We have requested information about which management positions they plan to cut as part of the planned layoffs, if any, so that those providing direct patient care are the last ones impacted.

CEO Yochum’s email cited the pressures created by healthcare cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA). The threat to hospitals from this bad legislation is very real. Passed in July 2025, the OBBA cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and nearly $500 billion from Medicare. Fifteen million Americans may lose their health insurance as a result. That will directly impact hospital revenues, and it will undermine good healthcare jobs. Fighting back against these cuts and their impact on our members and your patients is one of our big priorities for this year.

Still, the hospital’s “cost reduction plan” should chop from the top, not harm healthcare workers and put patients at risk. The hospital should work to minimize any impact on patient care.

I hope that you will join our call next Wednesday. Meanwhile, if you have concerns, contact your Union Rep/Organizer, Brock Meade via email, or call him at (626) 841-6431.

In Unity,