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News Release

Media Contact:
Christina Chavira
Communications Specialist
530.588.4411 - cell
christina.chavira@enloe.org

Enloe Medical Center receives notice of two-day strike from SEIU-UHW

WHAT: Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) today notified Enloe Medical Center that it will hold a two-day strike at the main campus.

WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 12 and Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008

WHO: Service employees at Enloe who are represented by SEIU include clerks, couriers, drivers, nursing aides, technicians, transcriptionists, schedulers and unit secretaries. Nurses at Enloe are not part of SEIU-UHW.

WHERE: Enloe Medical Center

ENLOE’S RESPONSE: Enloe has a strike plan in place for the days of the strike that will allow the medical center to continue providing services and the quality of care that community is accustomed to receiving. Because this will be a multi-day strike, Enloe Medical Center has to pay for a minimum of four days of replacement staffing.

“We are very disappointed that the union would decide to disrupt operations, as we are still at the table, bargaining with them,” said Carol Linscheid, Enloe’s Vice President of Human Resources. “A federal mediator is scheduled to join us. We were hoping to make progress without a strike.” The next scheduled dates for bargaining are Aug. 4 and Aug. 6, with the federal mediator to attend Aug. 6.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Enloe has been negotiating with the SEIU-UHW for more than a year to reach agreement on a contract that would govern the terms and working conditions of Service Unit employees. Enloe’s latest proposal, offered on July 29, to our 659 service employees includes:

  • A 15% wage increase over three years;
  • Fully paid health insurance plan premium for each Service Unit employee and all of his or her dependents; and
  • A gain-sharing program that would award $1,000 to each Service Unit employee if productivity standards are achieved.

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Enloe Medical Center is a local, nonprofit health care organization. For more information, please call 530/332-7300 or visit us online at http://www.enloe.org.   Enloe Medical Center is located at 1531 Esplanade Chico, Calif.  95926.