LEGISLATORS JOIN CAREGIVERS IN URGING SUTTER TO BARGAIN INDUSTRY STANDARD CONTRACT

SACRAMENTO – Leaders of the California Legislature today called on Sutter Health to bargain in good faith, saying Sutter caregivers are only seeking a contract based on industry standards, with a voice in staffing decisions, a training fund and the right to join a union without employer interference.

The legislative leaders, including state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata, issued a warning to Sutter as a possible strike looms that could affect 8,000 caregivers at 13 Sutter facilities – potentially the largest open-ended healthcare strike in the nation in 20 years.

"I am deeply concerned that Sutter Health is precipitating a crisis in my district, and throughout Northern California, by refusing to establish workforce standards that every other hospital corporation in the region has adopted to protect patient care," Perata said.

"The burden is squarely on Sutter Health to live up to its community responsibilities, to settle a contract that addresses its employees’ concerns, and to ensure the highest quality care for its patients," Nunez said.

Several Sutter caregivers appeared at the press conference, including Shayne Silva, who has worked for 25 years as a psychiatric technician at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. She pointed out that many of the caregivers have been working without a contract for more than a year.

"My co-workers and I do not want to strike, but we’re ready if we have to," Silva said. "We want to stay on the hospital floor and perform the work we love. Today, we are asking Sutter to bargain in good faith and agree to a fair contract with industry standards."

Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, who chairs the Assembly Health Committee, chastised Sutter for its poor record for charity care and accused the company of retaliating against the uninsured by countersuing those seeking to draw public attention to Sutter’s exorbitant prices.

"By refusing to adopt the standards that every other hospital corporation in Northern California has adopted," Chan said, "Sutter now also seems prepared to retaliate against its own caregivers, who are seeking contract provisions that would better enable them to care and to advocate for their patients."

"Other hospital systems have been able to agree to industry-standard contracts," said John Borsos, administrative vice president of SEIU United Healthcare Workers. "This is an opportunity for Sutter to work constructively with its caregivers to improve the quality of care in Sutter hospitals."

Sutter also came under fire from Assemblyman Johan Klehs, who chairs the Revenue and Taxation Committee. He pointed to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee into Sutter’s tax-exempt status and questioned Sutter’s record in California.

"Is it right for a so-called nonprofit healthcare corporation to amass more than $1 billion in profits over the past three years, with a woeful record on charity care during that same time?" he asked. "No, it’s not right."