Union offer formed basis for contract with hospital

Negotiations between Forum and the Youngstown General Duty Nurse Association are at a standstill.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Officials of Forum Health and Service Employees International Union District 1199 say a new 18-month work agreement will help the hospital system become more competitive and preserve quality jobs.
The basis for the agreement was a proposal made about three weeks ago by the union that included economic relief for Forum totaling about 8.5 million, said David Regan, District 1199 president.
Regan said the union agreed to a wage freeze over the length of the contract, which runs from Sunday through Oct. 1, 2008. The current contract expires Saturday.
The agreement was approved by the Forum Health Board of Trustees on Monday and ratified by the SEIU District 1199 members Wednesday.
Regan would not reveal the specific number of members who voted for and against the contract. He said, however, that more than half of the 1,400 members voted and, of those who voted, 85 percent approved the agreement. He said the union's bargaining committee recommended ratification.
Regan also said the new contract gives the hospital the ability to outsource laundry services at Northside Medical Center, which could cause 30 employees to lose their jobs.
The union leader said SEIU members will continue to have a defined benefits pension plan and will have their health care fully paid by their employer.
Hospital's losses
The hospital, which says it lost millions of dollars in 2005 and 2006 and has projected continuing losses for this year, in 2006 imposed a wage freeze and health-care co-payments on its nonunion employees, and changed their pension plan from defined benefits to a defined contributions 401(k) plan.
Regan said the union and the hospital system acted responsibly to meet their mutual goals of preserving health care services and good jobs in the Mahoning Valley.
"We look forward to working collaboratively with SEIU to meet Northside Medical Center's financial challenges and to help make sure the hospital's superb medical care continues," said Dr. Keith T. Ghezzi, interim president and chief executive officer.
"This contract is a tangible demonstration of our commitment to help the hospital system operate as a viable community asset, while simultaneously preserving quality health care for residents of the Mahoning Valley," Regan said.
The agreement provides the opportunity over the next 18 months to focus on what the system will look like, and to work with the hospital to address health care in the Mahoning Valley and preserve Forum Health as an important employer in the region, Regan said. The union agreed to adjustments in the way work is performed at the hospital.
Regan noted there is nothing in the pact that would preserve jobs if the system is merged or sold. "We believe Forum Health is capable of existing a long time into the future. But, the whole issue of job losses going into the future has to do with the health of Forum. If all of us can find a way to turn Forum Health around, job loss will be minimal," he said.
Meanwhile, the negotiations between Forum and the Youngstown General Duty Nurse Association are at a standstill. For the nurses union at Northside and Beeghly Medical Park in Boardman, a major negotiation issue is preservation of jobs should the system be merged or sold. But the notion of job security and guaranteed union recognition by a new owner as part of a work agreement was rejected by Forum officials, said Eric Williams, president of the Youngstown General Duty Nurse Association.
Williams said YGDNA "reached out" to Forum earlier this month and asked for a three-week period of intensive negotiations. The first two weeks, substantial progress was made, he said.
But on March 13, when YGDNA made a proposal that would save the hospital system 5 million and would also provide job security in the event of a merger or sale, Forum officials walked out six days before the three-week period was up, Williams said.
A couple of days later, Williams said he received a verbal and written messages from David Swift, head of human relations at Forum, saying the hospital was willing to come up with language that would meet the union's needs in the area of job security, Williams said. Since then, there has been no word, Williams said.
alcorn@vindy.com