'Negotiation News' posts

More Work Needed by SEIU to find Their Fair Share of $200 Million in Cost Savings

SEIU presented their economic counter proposal, continuing to disregard the challenging economic reality Swedish is facing. The Union’s counter proposal only reduces their original wage increases by one percent in year’s two and three, which is nowhere close to a fair share. Swedish looks forward to seeing a realistic economic proposal from SEIU that puts forward a shared attempt at savings, not significant cost increases.

Swedish Proposes Processes to Ensure Employee Rest Breaks

SEIU responded to Swedish’s rest break proposal by recognizing the proactive attempt by management to ensure that all employees get their much deserved rest breaks. The goal of Swedish’s proposal is to create a procedure to ensure that all employees get their rest breaks while ensuring the best quality patient care. There is no “one size fits all” policy because various units and departments need the flexibility to find the right solution and practice for their unit.

Additional Proposals to Clarify Language and Update Contracts

On Tuesday, July 19, Swedish invited Randy Axelrod, M.D., a nationally recognized expert on value-based medicine and wellness to present to the Union and bargaining team during negotiations. Dr. Axelrod recently finished a comprehensive analysis of Swedish’s health plan, as well as employee use of the plan. His review included more than four years of medical and pharmacy claims and more than 2,000,000 claims – and the results are startling

On Thursday July 7, 2011, Swedish’s chief financial officer Jeff Veilleux joined negotiations to present a more in-depth look at Swedish’s finances and answer questions from SEIU members, who have expressed doubt about the severity of Swedish’s finances and the concept of the “New Normal.” The Union expressed their appreciation of Swedish’s continued commitment to transparency and sharing data and financial information in a timely manner.

Data from The Advisory Board Company, a national, healthcare-specific research firm and Swedish-specific financial information was presented at the bargaining table to provide more background about Swedish’s financials and the current economic and industry environment:

On Thursday June 30, SEIU and Swedish agreed to extend the current contract through July 19, giving both parties more time to come to a solution that is fair for all who depend on Swedish – our patients, employees and community.

Swedish Presents Comprehensive Proposal on Rest Breaks

Swedish presented a comprehensive proposal on rest breaks. The proposal included a process for employees to alert their supervisor as soon as it becomes clear that an employee might miss their break, so solutions can be reached to ensure our employees get the rest they need, and they can continue to provide the highest quality patient care.

SEIU Members Question the Magnitude of Economic and Industry Reality

On June 28, Swedish and SEIU again met at the bargaining table to respond to a number of proposals focusing on updates to existing language in the contracts. The two parties reached agreements on a number of proposals that updated language and housekeeping in the RN, tech and service contracts. This work will be continued at Thursday’s bargaining session.

 In order to ensure a thriving future for Swedish, SEIU must share part of the burden for reducing expenses over the next three years. Swedish presented three potential options to show areas where SEIU could identify opportunities to narrow the gap and reduce expenses over the next three years. Potential solutions include:

Swedish Demonstrates Existing Staffing Models are Safe, Given Nationally Recognized Quality and Safety Achievements