Monterey County Herald: Striking union files charge against SVMH
Hospital officials insist there is no lockout
By JIM JOHNSON
Herald Staff Writer
Arguing that more than 100 Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital employees were illegally locked out without proper advance notice after Tuesday’s walkout protest, National Union of Healthcare Workers officials have filed an unfair labor practice charge.
But hospital officials and their attorneys insist there is no lockout, that they had no choice but to hire replacement workers to cover the vacated positions, and that they warned the union and its represented employees in advance. The replacement workers will stay through today’s shifts.
NUHW vice president John Borsos said the charge was filed Wednesday with the state Public Employees Relations Board.
Borsos said hospital officials acted illegally when they threatened the lockout to dissuade workers from striking, punished strikers and failed to adhere to an agreement to offer 10 days notice before a lockout.
“It’s definitely a lockout, and it’s illegal,” Borsos said.
Read the full article at The Monterey County Herald.