El Camino Hospital Media Releases

El Camino Hospital and SEIU-UHW Announce Tentative Contract Agreement

Mountain View, CA - September 19, 2012 - El Camino Hospital and the Service Employees International Union-United Health Workers, West (SEIU-UHW) today announced that a tentative agreement has been reached for a three-year contract for El Camino Hospital employees. A vote to ratify the contract is scheduled for September 19 and 20.

El Camino Hospital, SEIU-UHW and the nurses union will also collaborate in the development of a robust employee wellness initiative and work together to encourage employee participation in the program.

"Our members are focused on improving health and healthcare. That includes ways to help employees get healthy, lower costs and build a healthier community," said Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW. "We appreciate that El Camino Hospital leadership and the Hospital Board of Directors worked closely with us on this agreement, which not only maintains benefits, but also goes beyond traditional union issues to promote health and wellness."

Under the provisions of the tentative agreement, the new contract will provide hospital employees:
• 6 percent salary increase over the life of the contract
• Fully paid health coverage for employees and their families for the basic plan
• Improved retirement benefits
• 12 percent increase in the paid time off (PTO) accrual cap (from 350 hours to 400 hours

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement and are encouraged by our collective commitment to build a healthier workforce, said Tomi Ryba, chief executive officer of El Camino Hospital. "Our goal is to make it easy for employees to participate in health screening and wellness programs that will enable them to be champions of their own health."

About SEIU-UHW

SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU-UHW) is the largest hospital and healthcare union in the western United States with more than 150,000 members. We unite every type of healthcare worker with a mission to achieve high-quality healthcare for all. SEIU-UHW is part of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's fastest-growing union. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org, "Like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.