United Healthcare Workers-West Caregivers Announce February 13th Deadline for Two-Day Unfair Labor Practice Strike at Mt. Diablo Medical Center Feb. 2 /PRNewswire

Hospital's Proposal Requires Caregivers to Visit Mt. Diablo / John Muir Hospitals for Medical Care; Caregivers Insist on Industry Standard Contract

CONCORD, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, over 400 caregivers represented by SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West announced a February 13th, 2006 deadline for a two-day strike at Mt. Diablo Medical Center. ILWU Local 6, which represents Radiology Technicians, also presented a sympathy strike notice. The caregivers have been working without a contract since last October. A major sticking point is the hospital's proposed healthcare plan, which would force caregivers to visit only Mt. Diablo or a John Muir affiliate for hospital-based care.  No other health care provider in California requires employees to exclusively seek healthcare from two hospitals it owns.  However, the executives of John Muir Health, which owns Mt. Diablo Medical Center, are trying to force a healthcare plan on Mt. Diablo caregivers that eliminates their choices for hospital based care. The proposed plan would be detrimental to employees in need of specialty care not found at either of the two John Muir hospitals:  Mt. Diablo Medical Center or John Muir Medical Center. "If I needed pediatric care or other specialized hospital care for my kids, I can't bring them to any hospital other than Mt. Diablo or John Muir," said Martha Lara, a Unit Secretary at Mt. Diablo Medical Center. "As a parent, lack of choice in my family's healthcare is unacceptable. I should be free to choose which hospital I want to receive care from and not be forced to go to my employer. Every hospital has different specialties. Let's face it; John Muir and Mt. Diablo aren't experts in everything."  Mt. Diablo caregivers are also fighting for a contract that features safe staffing language and protection against arbitrary layoffs and subcontracting. Both proposals are industry standards and already accepted by every other major hospital system in Northern California, including Kaiser, Catholic Healthcare West, and Daughters of Charity. In San Francisco, 800 hospital caregivers at California Pacific Medical Center were recently forced to strike for nine weeks for both contract standards.  John Muir Health System is also being investigated by the California State Board of Equalization for possibly abusing its non-profit status. Section 214(a)(1) of the California Revenue and Tax code states that non-profit hospitals earning an operating profit in excess of 10% don't automatically qualify for a property-tax exemption. John Muir Health System (JMHS) reported profits of 12.4% in 2004. JMHS also failed to provide adequate levels of charity care, one of the obligations of hospitals that benefit from tax-exempt status. On January 25, SEIU United Healthcare Workers - West formally requested that Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer investigate JMHS and its related for-profit business ventures for possible abuse of its non-profit property tax exemptions.

 SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, with more than 140,000 members, is the largest and most powerful healthcare union in the Western U.S. We represent every type of healthcare worker, including nursing, professional, technical and service classifications. Our mission is to achieve high quality healthcare for all.

Contact:  Thea Lavin  c. 510-520-7732

SOURCE SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West Web Site: http://www.seiu-uhw.org