QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - Enloe’s Proposal to Service Unit Employees
Please vote: We have had a number of questions since our final proposal to SEIU-UHW. I hope this helps to clarify any outstanding issues. Please vote on June 24th or 25th if you are in the Service Unit. The union will have the Big Purple Bus somewhere near the hospital and you can vote there or you can vote on June 25th in room 204 of the Esplanade Conference Center from 7 am to 7 pm. The union is asking you to vote on whether or not you approve Enloe’s proposal and also whether or not you approve a four day strike. Please make your opinion count. There are 659 employees in the Service Unit. If 100 employees vote, 51 will decide the outcome. This is why your participation in the vote is so important.
Q: Why isn’t Enloe offering us what St. Elizabeth pays?
A: St. Elizabeth is the highest-paying hospital in our area for most service unit positions. They are part of Catholic Healthcare West and as part of that system they are paying the same as other Catholic Healthcare West hospitals throughout the state. Asking Enloe to only look at St. Elizabeth (the highest paying hospital) would be like Enloe choosing the lowest paying hospital in our area and offering that amount. We never select one hospital to compare to. We always compare to all the hospitals in our area. We had Chico State Center for Economic Development do a wage survey for us to get the average of the six hospitals in our area and this included St. Elizabeth. We made our offer based on the average maximum of the wage scale of the six hospitals in our area – St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Shasta Regional Medical Center, Feather River Hospital, Oroville Hospital, and Fremont Rideout Health Group in Marysville. We believe these six hospitals offer a fair comparison group, not a single hospital. Also, Enloe Medical Center falls into a different level of Medicare reimbursement – referred to as a Medicare market basket index – than Mercy-Redding, St. Elizabeth and Sacramento-area hospitals. These hospitals are reimbursed at a higher level by Medicare as determined by the Medicare market basket index set by the federal government. Nearly 50 percent of our patient revenue comes from Medicare, so being reimbursed at a lower rate than Mercy-Redding, St. Elizabeth and Sacramento-area hospitals has a significant impact on our finances. Even though they receive higher reimbursement, we still include Mercy-Redding and St. Elizabeth in our wage survey to help us determine a fair and competitive salary for service employees.
Q: I think I should get the increase Enloe is offering retroactive to July 2007. Is that a possibility if I vote against approving the proposal?
A: No. The union did not ask for that. The union asked for 3% retroactive and Enloe is giving that in the form of a lump sum payment of gross wages, which includes shift differential. You will only receive this payment if the contract is approved by employees in the vote on June 24 and 25 and there is no notice of a strike or picketing.
Q: Isn’t it more beneficial to have the 3% retro as part of my wage instead of as a lump sum?
A: Not in most cases. For example, if you are receiving an increase of 8.5% effective June 2008, 3% of that accounts for the increase you would have received in July 2007 (the retro bonus) and 5.5% accounts for the increase you will receive for 2008. This is true because the survey used to develop our proposed pay ranges was done in February 2008, so it includes increases other North State hospitals provided in the past year. Also, since the 3% is being applied to gross wages, you will be getting it on things like shift differential and per diem differential, which would not happen if it were part of your base wage. We realize this may be more costly for Enloe, but administratively it is simplest to calculate on gross wages rather than recalculating each person’s pay for each pay period of the last year. The only situation it may be more beneficial would be for those few positions receiving less than a 3% increase for 2008. If a job is receiving less than a 3% increase, it is because the survey data indicated we are already paying at or over the market for that job, but we wanted to make sure everyone received something.
Q: Does the fact that Enloe will not agree to no subcontracting mean the service unit positions will be outsourced?
A: No. There are two important points here: First, we are not aware of any companies that provide outsourced services for most of our service unit positions such as CNAs, Monitor Techs, Unit Secretaries, etc. Second, since we cannot predict what specialized resources we may need in the future, we are not willing to promise something in a contract that may impact the hospital’s ability to provide efficient, quality service for years to come.
Q: What does “impasse” mean?
A: It is when the union and the employer agree no further progress will be made with bargaining. Under the National Labor Relations Act, if impasse is reached, the employer may implement their last, best, and final offer. It could take many months before the union would agree that an impasse has been reached, so please vote to approve the proposal if you wish for the contract to be settled now. The union would continue as the representative of the service unit employees.
Q: What does “ratification” of the contract mean?
A: It means the same thing as “approval”. It is when those represented by the union vote to approve the proposed contract. Sometimes the union encourages employees to vote to approve a contract and sometimes they do not, but it is up to the employees to make their own decision.
Q: If we do not vote to approve Enloe’s last, best, and final offer, what happens next?
A: The union has asked you to authorize up to a 4 day strike. They may decide to take that action.
Q: Can I be fined or lose my job if the union does decide to strike and I come to work?
A: No. If you are not currently paying dues directly to the union, they cannot penalize you for crossing the strike line.
Q: If I strike, can I use my Paid Time Off benefits?
A: No.
Q: If I vote no, will Enloe’s offer go up?
A: Our statement that our offer is our last, best, and final is sincere. We are making our best offer while balancing our resources to provide for the needs of all employees, our patients, and our community.
Q: If I have not been actively involved with the union, am I allowed to vote on the contract?
A: Yes. It is our understanding that SEIU wants all employees in the service unit to be heard and participate in the vote. There are 659 employees in the Service Unit. If 100 employees vote, 51 will decide the outcome. This is why your participation in the vote is so important.
Q: Where and when do I vote?
A: June 24 and 25 in the SEIU bus located near Enloe’s Esplanade site from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on June 25 in the Enloe Conference Center (Esplanade Building) from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
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