Winston-Salem, NC – On June 6, over a dozen activists of Occupy Winston-Salem and the community gathered outside Forsyth Medical Center to protest against the mass layoff of 289 workers by Novant Health, Inc. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, Novant Health employs over 25,000 workers, operating 13 different hospitals, from North Carolina all the way to Georgia.

Picketing between Silas Creek Parkway and Hawthorne Road, the solidarity was very high as hundreds of passersby honked in support, with either a wave or fist outside their windows, while thousands more were at least able to get a glimpse of Occupy’s resistance against job cuts. Some of those who honked in solidarity were employees of Forsyth Medical Center, including an ambulance truck.

Debra Demske, member of Occupy Winston-Salem, said, “One woman who drove by on Wednesday shouted out her car window that she was laid off after 27 years. If the company is acting with integrity, why does it need to have every employee escorted by security to the door?”

Tony Ndege of Occupy Winston-Salem states, “Novant brought in extra private security staff from Charlotte to show their newly laid-off employees the door like criminals. Novant Health, just like any other big business, is primarily concerned about the next quarter and presenting growth figures for its board. The bottom dollar is the bottom line for Novant, not loyalty to its workers or its customers.”

The reason for these job cuts, according to Novant, is the national mandate by ‘Obamacare’ to lower health care costs. However, in the month of April of 2011 alone, Novant accumulated a net income of $1 million. In 2010 they made $158 million, and another $197 million the year before that. By the end of 2011 their revenue had risen to $3.43 billion, leaving everyone to question where all this money is going and why almost 300 workers have to suffer as a result by having their jobs slashed.

Of the 289 workers to be laid off by Novant, 82 are of managing positions, while the remaining 207 are staff. In response, Novant claims that 10-15% of those laid off will be relocated, but in lower positions with less pay, such as clinical and patient care.

“The management of Novant,” said Debra Demske, “does not have the best interests of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, or North Carolina in mind when making management decisions if this is the kind of decisions they make. The actions of Novant management clearly indicate that the compensation of the Novant management team is the number one consideration of cost-saving decisions for the company.”

Demske continues, “And what about the effect on the local community that they are supposed to be supporting with their tax-free status? What about adjacent losses? How many Novant jobs equal one cashier job at a local market? Those 289 jobs were not the only job losses, but there is no entity that will study the impact of these job losses because the companies that control the research also control the jobs.”

#WinstonSalemNC #Healthcare #jobCuts #OccupyWallStreet #OccupyWinstonSalem #NovantHealth

Chicago Il.– El nuevo gobernador de Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, anunció que el presupuesto estatal falta $5 mil millones de dolares, una semana despues de tomar las riendas de poder.

Todo mundo pregunta ¿Como sucedió esto? Según la organización “Citizens for Tax Justice”, este deficit se debe a dos cosas: En primer lugar, en Illinois los ricos pagan menos impuestos estatales que en todos los otros estados menos cuatro. En segundo, en una recesión la totalidad de los impuestos que se recogen es menos.

Los empleados de la Universidad de Illinois in Chicago (UIC) saben una tercera causa. Antes que nos azotó la recesión “los jefes celebraban una pachanga” dice Tom terranova, principal negociador para 900 trabajadores secretariales en la UIC representados por el local 73 del Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios (SEIU por sus siglas en inglés). Hizo referencia a una investigación llevada a cabo para el sindicato por el Centro Para Analisis de Política Económica, que discubrió que los maximos jefes adminstrativos en dicha universidad han aumentado sus propios sueldos mas que los aumentos salariales de los demas empleados universitarios durante los últimos diez años. Para los 1 porciento de los jefes que se encuentran in los niveles mas altos, sus sueldos han subido de un promedio de $150,000 anuales , a $250,000.

Los empleados se molestaron especialmente cuando se enteraron que un poco antes de que lo crítico de la situación presupuestuaria fue hecho público, muchos administradores de alto rango recibieron aumentos del último momento. Luego cuando se hizo la declaración de la crisis, se hicieron tambien llamados para cortar el personal. Los grandes aumentos de los jefes no fueron retirados. Dice Terranova que como respuesta a esta crisis “La Administración de la UIC y sus socios políticos en Springfield desean balancear al presupuesto en las espaldas de los empleados”.

Los empleados en local 73 tienen la respuesta a estos ataques: ¡Que corten la “carne de puerco”!

El 12 de Febrero mas de 100 empleados de la UIC y sus apoyadores desfilaron a la reunión de La Junta de Fiscales. Luz Martinez, una integrante del comité de negociaciones, le dijo a los canales de televisión en español 44 y 66 “La administración ha cortado empleos y ha congelado a nuestros salarios. Ya tenemos mucho mas trabajo que hacer. No es justo que nos niegen aumentos”.

Shirley McIntosh, una delegada sindical, dijo a la conferencia de prensa: “Cuando nosotros sufrimos, los pacientes y los estudiantes que dependen de nuestros servicios, sufren tambien”. Sirlena Perry, otra integrante del comité de negociaciones, agregó “una congelación salarial es una reducción salarial, cuando se toma en cuenta que no se han congelado las cuentas que tenemos que pagan. Se aumentaron los costos de estacionamento, de calefacción, de gasolina, como de todo”.

Se llamó la marcha para aumentos salariales y un contrato justo para los trabajadores secretariales. Ademas las pancartas de los manifestantes condenaron los aumentos absurdos de los jefes.

“Estos administradores dicen que todo mundo tiene que apretar el cinturon para aguantar los tiempos difíciles” dijo Christine Boardman, presidente del local 73. “Pero todo el peso cae sobre los empleados. Los salarios y gastos de la alta administración no han sido afectados”.

La presidente Boardman refería a un escándalo que ultimamente ha sido revelado por la prensa. La Junta de Sindicos ha gastado mas de $500 millones para rentar aviones particulares para llevar sus miembros a reuniones y eventos deportivos. Esto fue una insulta adicional. Pero el problema principal no ha sido estsos privilegios. Es que la inflación de los salarios de los administradores le ha costado $25 millones a la universidad en los últimos 10 años.

En el medio de los cortes presupuestuarios, el local 73 ha luchado para defender a los intereses de nuestros miembros en varias frentes de batalla. Se venció el contrato en Agosto, y en las negociaciones para un contrato nuevo, el comité de negociaciones ha buscado mas seguridad de trabajos y para defender a lo ganado en los contratos en el pasado. El sindicato tambien ha buscado legislación, como por ejemplo que el presupuesto de la universidad fuera revisada linea por linea, para asi identificar mejor los posibles ahorros que podrían dirigirse a los salarios de los empleados.

Como resultado del escándalo público y las protestas, los empeados ganaron la concesión de una audiencia sobre nuestras quejas de las inequidades aquí. Ahora, junto con los esfuerzos legislativos, se ha ganado una victoria inicial. Los empleados secretariales ganaron una continuación de aumentos por escalas para este años. Hace años, este tipo de aumentos fueron un derecho que gozaba todo empleado de servicio civil. A los comienzos de los 1990, fueron eliminados para todos los trabajadores. Los trabajadores sindicalizados lucharon para retomarlos en 1993. Retener estos aumentos por escala significa que la mayoría de los miembros del local 73 recibirán un aumento de 4% en la fecha de su aniversario. Pero algunos miembros del local ya han llegado al máximo nivel y no recibirán ningun aumento por escala, de modo que la lucha para un aumento en un contrato justo seguirá.

Cortes de Trabajos y Ataques a los Derechos por Antigüedad.

Lo que la gerencia dio en cantidades pequeñas, buscan retomar en cantidades grandes. Todavia amenazan con 1,200 empleos cortados en toda el sistema de la Universidad de Illinois. Lo peor es que los negociadores de la administración pretenden eliminar las protecciones para los empleados con antigüedad en el trabajo. Sería posible que los administradores de departamentos despidan empleados con muchos años de servicio para traer a gente nueva.

Local 73 responde con una lucha para salvar a nuestros trabajos. Esto involucra en parte acción por parte de los miembros. Tambien se planea un esfuerzo para poner fin al abuso de los trabajadores de “Extra Help”, o sea empleados temporales que no reciben beneficios y trabajan muchos años sin ser colocados en un puesto permanente.

“La lucha sigue” dice Glenda Searcy, otro miembro del comité de negociaciones. “Estamos luchando para todos nuestros miembros, por seguridad en el trabajo y para un aumeto para todo el mundo. Si tienen que seguir sin aumento, las vidas de nuestros miembros se verán afectados. Tenemos que seguir luchando”

#ChicagoIL #News #BudgetCrisis #SEIU #ChopFromTheTop #UniversityOfIllinoisAtChicagoUIC #executivePay #jobCuts

Chicago, IL – “We have never had so much respect from so many,” proclaimed Sirlena Perry. “And,” she said further, “we earned it.”

Perry was referring to the victory in the contract campaign for clerical workers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is a leader in the negotiating committee and assistant chief steward for Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

This respect came from union members, as well as non-union employees, after Local 73 and management settled contract negotiations. In early November, after bargaining for over a year, the committee brought a contract proposal to the members for ratification. Over 450 came out to vote, and only 1% voted against it. This was because the contract included increased job security and good wages.

As Tom Terranova, chief negotiator put it, “This is a victory in a very tough budget time. We were able to get what we’ve got only because we held out and fought hard for 14 months.” Because of the continued crisis in the economy, Terranova prepared the members, “In order to do well over the next two years of this contract, we have to keep doing what we’ve been doing, and more people have to get involved.”

The contract spans four years. The amount each worker will receive varies – some could see as much as a 24.5% raise. Union employees get two raises a year, on the contract date and on their anniversary date. For the 2005 and 2006 contract years, only the anniversary date raises have been decided. The contract raises may yet have to be negotiated (a wage reopener) if the state budget is in crisis again.

UIC: A Union Fortress

One of the reasons that the contract took so long to settle was because the union had to fight on two fronts – for a contract and against job cuts. Balancing the budget on the backs of workers happens in every state in times of economic troubles. A standard operating procedure at UIC has been job eliminations for support staff.

Local 73 made a big stand against job cuts. Negotiations were delayed at several points while the union focused on protecting jobs. The main task was forcing the university to chop from the top. The governor took the University of Illinois administration to task for a bloated bureaucracy, and eventually we forced the top administration to freeze their own salaries for a second year in a row. This freed up hundreds of thousands of dollars, so the pool of funds being bargained over was larger.

The UIC workers were able to make their fight a social question. This compelled politicians to take our stand. “The best of these elected officials have become our allies,” said Perry. “Our lobbying victories showed that we need COPE.” COPE is the Committee On Political Education. At the contract ratification meetings, over 250 clerical workers signed up to contribute to COPE.

Second, every job cut was reviewed by a negotiating team, including Tom Terranova, following the affected workers until they were placed in vacancies. The approach taken by the local resulted in only a handful of actual layoffs.

“The best thing we did was fighting around the job cuts during contract negotiations, “ said Perry. “We showed the members that we are in this fight for the long haul.” The contract negotiating committee helped organize the resistance to the cuts; then flowed right into the battle over wages and contract language. While describing the situation, Sirlena Perry said, “management thought they had us over a barrel. We demanded no job cuts, and they expected us to be humble in wage negotiations.”

Wage Gains Despite State Crisis

Instead, the workers demanded a fair contract, including keeping up with the workers in Urbana. At the downstate campus of the university, union clerical workers had a contract that continued through the last two years, and so their wages had moved higher than the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Luz Martinez, a new activist in the union and member of the bargaining committee, spoke up in her first negotiations. “We deserve a good raise. Our workloads have increased in the clinics. The top administrators have benefited; we should too.”

When management came across with the wage offer, Martinez said that the workers in the clinics thanked her. She told them they were the ones who should be thanked, for taking action for themselves.

Martinez summed it up this way: “The customer service representatives in the clinics had not been very involved in the union before this contract fight. What made the difference is more people got informed. When we didn’t get a raise last year, they realized we had to fight for ourselves. They had to come out, to get involved, to win this.”

#ChicagoIL #News #SEIULocal73 #UniversityOfIllinoisAtChicagoUIC #wageParity #jobCuts

Chicago, IL – The state of Illinois is $5 billion in the red, according to new governor, Rod Blagojevich, who made the announcement one week after he took office in January.

Everyone is asking, “How did this happen?” According to the group Citizens for Tax Justice, the state budget shortfall happened because of two things. First, rich people in Illinois pay lower taxes than in all but four other states. Second, in a recession, fewer taxes are collected overall.

Workers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) know a third reason. “The bosses were having a party,” says Tom Terranova, chief negotiator for the 900 clerical workers at UIC who are represented by Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union. He was referring to a study the Center for Economic Policy Analysis did for the local, which found that, over the last 10 years, UIC’s top administrators raised their own salaries far above the wage increases for workers. For the top 1% of the bosses, average pay had risen from $150,000 10 years ago to over $250,000 now.

Employees were especially upset to learn, just before the budget crisis was made public, that many top administrators were given last-minute raises. Then, when the crisis was announced, it came with calls to cut service workers’ jobs. The big raises for the big bosses were never undone.

In response to this budget crisis, Terranova states, “UIC management and the politicians that are their partners in Springfield have wanted to balance their budgets on the backs of workers.”

The workers in Local 73 have a response to these attacks: “Cut the pork!”

Chop From The Top!

On Feb. 12, over 100 UIC workers and supporters marched on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting. Luz Martinez, a member of the union negotiating committee, told the Spanish language TV stations 44 and 66, “Management has cut staff and froze our wages. We have much more work to do. It’s not right we should have no raises.”

Shirley McIntosh, a union steward, spoke at the press conference and said, “When we suffer, the patients and students who depend on our services suffer as well.” Sirlena Perry, another member of the negotiating committee, said, “A pay freeze is a pay cut, when you consider that our bills aren’t frozen. Our parking fees went up, gasoline and heating bills went up, like everything else.”

The rally was called to demand wage increases and a fair contract for the clerical workers. In addition, workers’ signs condemned the top administrators’ obscene raises.

“These administrators say that everyone has to tighten their belts to get through hard times,” said president Christine Boardman of Local 73. “But the burden is falling on the workers. Top management’s salaries and spending haven’t been affected.”

President Boardman was referring to a scandal that had broken in the press. The Board of Trustees spent over $500,000 in recent years chartering private planes to travel to meetings and sporting events. Although the main problem isn’t these perks, the news added insult to injury. The main problem is inflation of top salaries, which have cost the university $25 million over the last 10 years.

Union Successful in Saving Anniversary Raises

In the midst of this budget crisis, Local 73 is fighting to defend our members’ interests on a number of fronts. The contract expired in August, and in bargaining for a new contract, the negotiating committee has sought job security and to defend past gains. The union has also pursued legislation such as a line item review for the University’s budget, so that savings could be identified and then redirected to wages for workers.

As a result of the public outcry and the protests, workers won a hearing for our complaints about the inequities. Now, together with the legislative efforts, an initial victory has been achieved. The clerical workers won a continuation of ‘step increases’ for this year. Years ago, step increases were part of every title for civil service workers, but then they were eliminated for all workers in the early 1990’s. In 1993, union workers fought and won to get them back. Keeping step increases means most Local 73 members will get a 4% raise on their anniversary date. However, some members are already on the top stop and won’t get a step increase, and so the fight for a fair contract raise will continue.

Job Cuts and Attack on Seniority Rights

What management gave with a teaspoon, they are preparing to take away with a shovel. There are still 1200 job cuts threatened throughout the statewide University of Illinois system. To make matters worse, the UIC bosses’ negotiators are trying to eliminate the protection for senior workers. This would make it possible for department managers to cut people with longer years of service, in favor of newer hires.

Local 73 is responding with a fight to save our jobs. Part of this will be more actions by the members. Also planned is a legislative effort to stop the abuse of Extra Help Employees – who are essentially temporary workers who receive no benefits and work for years without getting permanent positions.

“The struggle continues,” said Glenda Searcy, another bargaining committee member. “We’re fighting for all of our members, for our job security and for a raise for everyone. Our members’ lives will be hurt if they have to go without a raise. We have to keep on fighting.”

#ChicagoIL #News #BudgetCrisis #SEIU #ChopFromTheTop #UniversityOfIllinoisAtChicagoUIC #executivePay #jobCuts

Chicago, IL – 150 workers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) marched against job cuts and layoffs, Aug. 8. Members of Local 73 Service Employees International Union who have had 75 positions eliminated since October 2001, were protesting the announcement of the next round of cuts.

Large crews of workers came from the hardest hit departments, like Business Affairs. Four union sisters from the Psychiatry clinics rose at the rally to testify about the attacks. These customer service representatives told the story of a co-worker who was sick, but was pressured to come to work, where she then fainted.

“Since the cuts, we are so short-staffed, they told her she had to be there,” reported Juanita Beltran. “What was worse, when she passed out, we called the supervisor. She didn't even ask, 'How is she?' Her first words were, 'Who's going to cover for her?'”

Jose Flores is a window washer. Management wants to contract out his job. “They say they don't need me, but they will still have windows to clean,” he explained to Telemundo Channel 44, a Spanish language television station. “I know they'll pay workers from outside a lot less.”

Scandal: Despite Budget Crisis, Big Raises for Top Managemen t

In the days before the rally, a newspaper in the downstate city of Champaign Urbana exposed the administration. Top officials at the university have been caught acting like Enron executive Ken Lay.

The Champaign Urbana CityView newspaper reported that top officials gave themselves hefty raises last year. Their raises went through in August 2001. A few weeks later, departments were informed that they would have to give back some of what they were budgeted for the school year.

The raises were quietly awarded to the top administrators while they were preparing to cut teachers and workers!

Christine Boardman, president of Local 73 SEIU, said at the rally, “This management has acted like the corporate criminals at Enron.”

Contract Negotiations Underway

Since the Aug. 8 rally, contract negotiations have started for Local 73's clerical members at UIC. The nearly 1000 workers are threatened with a two-year wage freeze. Local 73 is also bargaining for hundreds of service workers at the Urbana campus. They are also faced with management's claim that there is no money for raises.

At the protest, Tom Terranova, chief negotiator for the UIC clericals, drew a line in the sand, stating, “This is unacceptable for our members who have bills to pay, children to feed and rent to pay for. A wage freeze is a pay cut when you remember that everything else goes up. We won't go backward.”

Many members echoed this sentiment. “In 1997 [the year of the last contract], we just won pay equity,” said Sirlena Perry, a member of the bargaining committee. Perry was referring to the victory over racist pay differences that Chicago workers had suffered. SEIU Local 73 had to fight two fierce contract battles – for clerks in 1997, and for service workers in 2000 – to win equal pay. Prior to that, the University of Illinois had paid the mainly African-American and Latino workers in Chicago up to $2.00 an hour less than it paid the mostly white workers in Urbana.

Management has come to the negotiating table looking for more than just a wage freeze. They have a package of proposals that aims to weaken the union overall. “The union has grown much stronger in recent years,” said Ron Lee, Local 73 representative. “It's a compliment to us that they are attacking us.” he added.

Changes in November

Two important speakers at the rally were allies of the workers, State Senators Miguel Del Valle and Donne Trotter. Del Valle introduced Trotter, and said that he is in line to be the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee if the Democrats win in November. Trotter told the rally, “I see every U.I. budget, and I can tell you, there is plenty of money for workers to get a raise. When I'm chair of Appropriations, UIC's budget has to go through me! I will challenge the high salaries of these administrators!” he finished, to roaring agreement.

“If we [the Democrats] win in November, will the struggle be over?” Del Valle asked the workers. “No! Only one thing can keep this arrogant administration in check. You.”

#ChicagoIL #News #SEIULocal73 #UniversityOfIllinoisAtChicagoUIC #executivePay #jobCuts