May 16th, 2012
The takeaways that SEIU didn’t want you to see
When SEIU announced its “great contract” with Kaiser Permanente, one thing was clearly missing: the actual tentative agreements. Only by reviewing the agreement between SEIU and Kaiser can workers make up our own minds about the takeaways that SEIU have agreed to. NUHW has obtained a copy of the tentative agreements and we’re sharing them […]
May 15th, 2012
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Kaiser Permanente, union announce labor contract
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
05/14/2012 11:17:14 AM PDT
Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions have reached a tentative three-year labor agreement including a companywide Total Health program to reduce the health care provider’s own medical costs.
The announced deal would affect nearly 10,000 Kaiser employees in the Inland Empire.
“It’s a great settlement, and our people are really excited about it,” said Steve Trossman, a spokesman for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare West.
The deal calls for a 3 percent pay increase for Kaiser’s California employees and maintains those workers’ health care coverage and pensions, according to announcements from Kaiser Permanente and SEIU-UHW.
The agreement, reached at 3 a.m. Friday, also contains a framework for an employee Total Health program in which Kaiser Permanente would likely provide incentives for employees to lose weight, quit smoking or otherwise improve their physical conditions.
SEIU-UHW President David Regan said in a statement that reducing and preventing employees’ chronic health care problems is necessary to curb otherwise unsustainable health care costs.
“Over time, and as a group, that should also reduce the cost of providing medical costs to ourselves as members,” Kaiser Permanente spokesman John Nelson said.
May 15th, 2012
What’s SEIU hiding?
SEIU wants us to take their word for it. They say that they’ve bargained a “great contract with no takeaways.” But why should any of us believe what SEIU says? Two years ago, SEIU and Kaiser broke the law, violated our rights and lied to us. The federal government overturned our 2010 Kaiser S + […]
May 12th, 2012
SEIU’s concessions at Kaiser
Two years ago, NUHW members at Kaiser Permanente made a decision: at a time when Kaiser is making billions in profits, there’s no reason for workers to agree to the benefit cuts that Kaiser put on the bargaining table. So along with our allies in the California Nurses Association and the Stationary Engineers, we fought back. Our campaign […]
May 9th, 2012
We’re saying NO to Kaiser and SEIU’s cuts…and it’s working
For months, SEIU and Kaiser have been trying to figure out a way to cut our health and retirement benefits. We’ve been standing up to them and saying, “No Way.” Because thousands of us have stood together, Kaiser and SEIU are stuck. They can’t push takeaways on us without being exposed as frauds. So now […]