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April 29th, 2011

In The News: SVMH CEO Gets Paid Millions to Retire

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April 29th, 2011

Downing earned pay, SVMH says

Generous retirement plan draws heavy criticism By JIM JOHNSON Herald Staff Writer Posted: 04/29/2011 01:28:29 AM PDT Hospital district officials are defending Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System president and CEO Sam Downing’s retirement package, which includes millions in supplemental retirement compensation on top of an annual pension, and has drawn heavy criticism from union leadership. Downing, who […]

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April 29th, 2011

Public hospital president’s retirement pay spotlights issue of ‘supplemental’ pensions

The president and CEO of a Salinas, Calif.-area public hospital district will receive nearly $4 million in retirement pay on top of his $150,000 annual pension. Such ‘supplemental’ pensions are one focus of criticism over the way public officials are compensated in retirement. By Sam Allen, Los Angeles Times April 28, 2011 When he turned […]

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April 28th, 2011

Taxpayers Fund SVMH CEO Sam Downing’s $4 Million Pension Payouts

Sam Downing, SVMH’s millionaire CEO Even while advocating position cuts at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and diverting $11 million of the hospital’s funds from patient care to outrageous fees for out-of-town management consultants who are paving the way for privatization, CEO Sam Downing is looking forward to a taxpayer-funded pension payout of $900,000, the Los Angeles […]

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April 27th, 2011

In These Times: As Union Election Begins at Calif. Hospitals, Workers Claim SEIU ‘in Bed With Management

From In These Times: As Union Election Begins at Calif. Hospitals, Workers Claim SEIU ‘in Bed With Management’ By Carl Finamore SAN FRANCISCO—A bitterly-contested election is occurring among employees at three of the oldest hospitals in San Francisco that have continuously provided healthcare since around the mid-1800s. A lot has changed over the last 150 years […]