Crozer-Chester nurses vote to strike

,,,We have refrained from increasing our employee contributions and co-pays for many years, while other health-care and non-health-care employers around us have made increasing adjustments to employee contributions, co-pays and to their plan designs.”
The statement says Crozer Keystone is seeking “reasonable” premium hikes that would put it “in the middle range of employers who offer similar benefits.”

CCMC has refused to agree to the union’s proposal for nurse-patient ratios similar to those in California.

A letter dated May 27 from a CCMC official that was sent to nurses indicated that if a proposed strike of three-days’ duration begins at 6:45 a.m. Thursday if an agreement hasn’t been reached, “striking nurses will not be permitted to return to work after three days and will be locked out until such time as the union presents a ratified contract to Crozer.”

In a copy of the letter signed by William Kreider, assistant vice president of human resources, and obtained by the Daily Times, he said, “The medical center will continue to negotiate as often and as long as it takes to reach an agreement or reach an impasse in negotiations. We are willing to negotiate every day, if necessary.”
Kreider added that in the event the union calls a strike or work stoppage, health insurance and dental insurance will be terminated, along with long-term disability and life-insurance coverage, among other contractual benefits.

Health insurance premiums generally range between $462 to $1,294 per month depending on the level of coverage.

Kreider also pointed out in the letter that unemployment compensation eligibility is determined by the state, but is generally not available for economic strikers.

McClay said, “We expected that response from Crozer. When everyone read this letter their immediate response was anger. The tone of the letter speaks for itself.”

During a Saturday rally attended by 400 Crozer nurses and supporters, PASNAP Executive Director Bill Cruice said the union doesn’t favor the doubling of health insurance or the elimination of sick time and double-backing.

Retirees are paid for sick time they have not used and the administration wants to abolish that.
Double backing is the practice in which nurses receive time and a half when they work a shift eight hours or less from their previous one.

Management’s move from a 1 percent wage increase to a 1.5 percent wage increase was unacceptable, Cruice said.

The contract was approved 501-63 by members of the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association, which had threatened to carry out a three-day strike in the absence of an agreement. ..

The new deal requires nurses to cover 12 percent of their health-care premiums by the end of the contract — up from 9 percent — and introduces co-pays of $5 for employees, $10 for dependents and $25 for emergency room visits....
In addition to getting employees to cover more of their health-care costs, Crozer-Keystone also scaled back a benefit that gave nurses a cash payment at retirement for up to 90 sick days.
Under the new agreement, employees may cash out no more than 30 days.

While the union did not get the nurse-to-patient ratios they were seeking — California is the only state that requires them by law — Crozer-Keystone agreed to staff 35 new positions throughout the hospital. ...

Two new steps were added to the CCNA pay scale, in years 17 and 24, and the starting wage for new nursing graduates will be hiked to $29.56 per hour. Top-of-scale pay for nurses with 28 years was also bumped to $50.62 per hour.