SEIU to file grievances after Northside layoffs


By Kalea Hall

khall@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Service Employees International Union District 1199 plans to file grievances and unfair labor practice charges against ValleyCare Northside Medical Center after its layoff announcement.

The hospital laid off 42 union members. In total, 68 full-time equivalents have been laid off.

It is still unclear whether the hospital is referring to 68 full-time employees or 68 full-time equivalent employees. A full-time equivalent, or FTE, is the combination of part-time positions that equal a full-time position.

The union said the hospital has violated both the contract with the workers and the law.

“By issuing the layoff notices without union representation – that violates the law,” said Chrissy Heineman, union representative for the more than 300 SEIU workers at Northside.

Heineman said the union received an initial notice of the layoffs last week. The union initially was told 30 layoffs, but that later was increased to 42. Those affected in the union include workers with positions in a range of work from environmental services to social work.

At first, union representation was there when notices were given, and then they weren’t, Heineman said.

This, she said, violates the contract and the National Labor Relations Act.

The union also says the hospital violated the contract by not giving workers with the most seniority who received a layoff notice a chance to take the position of a worker with lower seniority. This is known as “bumping rights.”

“At the end of the day, it should be the least-senior people getting laid off,” Heineman said.

On Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said the layoffs were made “to more closely align staffing to the community’s usage of services.”

The hospital’s statement did not indicate the effective date of the layoffs nor which employee groups, such as nurses and service workers, are affected or whether they are union and/or nonunion employees.

The hospital has not responded to requests to comment outside of Wednesday’s statement.

Eric Williams, president of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association, which represents about 200 Northside nurses, said for the most part, the registered nurses aren’t impacted, but some nurses in a “fill-in” position are.

On Wednesday, SEIU, which is in negotiations with the hospital for its contract that expired March 31, 2015, had membership meetings all day.

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