Workers to Picket Illegal Layoffs at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Today
What: Informational picket to protest illegal layoffs
When: Wednesday, December 29th, 3:30 – 5:30pm. Rally at 5pm.
Where: Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, 450 E. Romie Lane, main entrance
Visuals: Healthcare workers with picket signs marching in front of hospital
Salinas, California – Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital caregivers will picket the hospital today to protest management’s decision to illegally lay off 20 employees. Hospital administrators unilaterally implemented the position cuts yesterday in violation of state labor law, which requires the employer to negotiate the impacts of layoffs with the union.
Over the last five years, SVMH has generated over $100 million in profits, including over $8 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The hospital’s operating profit margin is well over double the statewide average for all California hospitals. In spite of the hospital’s claim that it needs to cut operating expenses to keep up with rising numbers of uninsured patients, in the 2010 fiscal year, SVMH spent 15% less on charity care than it did in 2009.
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