Update: Last September the nursing staff at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical
Center held a union election and won by 120 votes! Management filed
frivolous election objections with the NLRB and has yet to certify the
nurses’ win. The nurses are fighting back!

On September 18-19, 2002, the RN’s at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical
Center
(PVHMC) held a union election to gain a voice in decisions affecting
patient
care, and they won by an overwhelming margin -- 120 votes. Since then,
management has filed frivolous objections with the NLRB in order to delay
bargaining with the nurses and discourage the other Hospital bargaining
units from organizing. Five objections filed by management were dismissed at the local level, and later appealed to Washington D.C. The NLRB is hearing two of the objections in February. The nurses believe that the unfounded allegations are management’s last chance to deny their victory.

They are asking the PVHMC Board and CEO to abide by the results of the
nurses’ lawfully-won NLRB union election and begin bargaining in good
faith for a fair contract.
PVHMC executives, in conjunction with union-busting consultants, have also been waging an expensive anti-union campaign against Hospital employees. Dennis Gimenez, an R.N. and outspoken member of the Union Organizing Committee who achieved national prominence last Fall after testifying about unsafe hospital staff levels, was fired last December as part of PVHMC’s anti-union campaign. Health Care Workers at the Hospital want management to stop wasting hundreds of thousands of precious health care dollars on anti-union campaigns and respect other hospital employees’ right to vote in a union election, free from interference and intimidation. All of the Health Care Workers at the Hospital as well as doctors, patients, educators, students, religious and political community members from PVHMC’s service coverage area are joining with the nurses to demand that management drop their objections to the RN election, stop wasting patient care money on anti-union campaigning, and to work cooperatively with doctors to best
serve the community. Hospital workers collected over 1,500 signatures from the hospital and community on an open letter to the PVHMC CEO and Board of Directors to be published as a full page ad in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on Sunday, February 9th. Hospital workers are currently organizing a “Rally at Pomona Valley,” an informational picket that will take place outside the Hospital in Pomona on Wednesday, February 12th to draw attention to the situation at PVHMC.
To find out how you can help support the RNs at PVHMC who voted
overwhelmingly to join SEIU Local 121RN, phone 909-629-4445.
_______________________________________
THE “SEIU’S” ENERGY AS DEMONSTRATED BY THIS LIST SERVE SNAPSHOT.--- IMC
see below
_______________________________________

----Original Message Follows----
From: "SEIU E-Bulletin Network" <seiu.ebn@verizon.net>
To: "SEIU EBN LA" <seiu.ebn@verizon.net>
Subject: Inland Empire SEIU E-Bulletin, Feb 6
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 19:31:59 -0800



E - B u l l e t i n

for Inland Empire and East San Gabriel Valley Health Care Employees at:
St Bernardine's - Community Hospital of San Bernardino - Moreno Valley
Community - Menifee Valley Medical Center - Hemet Valley Medical Center -
Riverside Community - Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center - Riverside
County - Queen of the Valley - Inter-Community - Foothill Presbyterian
Hospital - San Antonio Community - St Mary Regional Medical Center - Chino
Valley Medical Center - Redlands Community - Corona Regional Medical
Center

Issue No. 34 · February 6, 2003

Rally at Pomona Valley!

POMONA - Okay, let's say it's the morning of February 12 - Riverside
Community Hospital employees are savoring their union victory . It's the
day after the rally at Community Hospital of San Bernardino where employees demanded management abide by the terms of their union contract . At Moreno Valley, members of the union Bargaining Committee are assessing the first two days of contract negotiations.

So what's a committed, exhausted health care worker to do? Take a deep breath, hit the road and join hundreds of your colleagues for the big
"Rally at Pomona Valley".

The rally is a breakthrough event for all of us in the Inland Empire.
It's the day when health care workers - and the people we serve - join together to make sure Pomona Valley Hospital management understands that resisting needed improvements will not solve chronic problems at our hospital. It's the day we all take a stand for our patients, for ourselves and for the future of our communities.

It's also the day to be a part of health care history in Southern
California. The rally runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside PVHMC (Garey
and Artesia in Pomona), Wednesday, February 12. And don't miss our ad in this Sunday's Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

'We're chomping at the bit!'

Riverside CH Vote Tuesday

RIVERSIDE - "We're growing stronger every day," says RN Cheryl Bryant.
It's a statement that could apply to growing numbers of health care employees across the Inland Empire but in this case, Cheryl's talking about her hospital, Riverside Community.

On Tuesday, RCH employees will hold their SEIU election and after the
votes are counted, Riverside Community will be the last HCA hospital in
California to join the union. "There's a lot of electricity in the air, a lot of
excitement and smiles and camaraderie," said Cheryl, who works in the
Post-Partum Unit. "We're chomping at the bit! I know we're going to win."

The election will be held February 11 in the hospital's Health Education
Center. The polls are open 5 - 9 a.m., 11 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. and 5 - 9 p.m.

CHSB Employees to Rally at Hospital
SAN BERNARDINO - Acting to put an end to unfair labor practices, employees at Community Hospital of San Bernardino will hold a rally at their hospital next Tuesday afternoon. Health care employees at hospitals all over Southern California - and even some from Northern California - will join their CHSB colleagues at the rally or support them by wearing stickers at their hospitals.

"We're insisting that management lives up to the terms of the contract,"
said Michael Bettencourt, a Skilled Maintenance employee in the hospital's engineering department. SEIU Local 399 has filed 37 unfair labor practice (ULP) complaints against CHSB management, including ULPs for "blatant violation of the contract."

Technical, Service and Maintenance employees voted 380-10 recently to
stage the rally at CHSB February 11 from 1.30 to 5.30 p.m. After the rally,
supporters will hold a candlelight vigil. "I've really noticed a difference
in the level of employee participation around here," said Michael, a CHSB
employee for 14 years. "For the first time, everyone's noticing the power
we have when we unite. And I think management notices, too."

Employees at dozens of other hospitals will be wearing "We Support CHSB" and "An Injury to One is an Injury to All" stickers at work on Tuesday. And many others will attend the rally. "Everyone's invited," said SEIU representative Debbie Cortez. CHSB is located on Medical Center Drive in San Bernardino. Page Debbie at 909 220-0628 for further information.

Contract Talks Begin at Moreno Valley CH

MORENO VALLEY - Negotiations begin next week for the first-ever union
contract between Moreno Valley Community Hospital employees and Valley Health System, managers of the hospital.

MVCH employees throughout the hospital voted to join SEIU last November and these negotiations will lead to a hospital-wide contract. The first bargaining session will take place February 10 and 11 and VHS management have agreed to complete negotiations by the end of March.

It All Starts With You

Just like Cheryl, Michael and Debbie, ALL health care employees in the
Inland Empire and East San Gabriel Valley have to speak clearly, loudly
and with one voice. And the more of us, the better. Talk with your
colleagues, get them involved and let's all get going for ourselves, our futures and for better patient care. There are lots of ways to get started. Call us at 909 629-4445, or e-mail us at pomona.seiu@verizon.net. And even if you're NOT a nurse, please visit www.nurseallianceCA.org to review the TAKE ACTION options on the home page.

If you know someone who should be getting the E-Bulletin but isn't, tell
them to e-mail us at pomona.seiu@verizon.net and include a name, e-mail address, hospital and job classification.