Private Contractor PHS Locks Out SEIU Health Workers At Alameda County Jails

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/13089

Submitted by Doug Cunningham on March 10, 2010 - 4:13pm
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By Doug Cunningham

Nurses and other SEIU healthcare workers trying to defend their health care benefits are being locked out for a week at Alameda County, California's two jails. Dona Chapman is a nurse who participated in a one-day strike Tuesday. The workers gave notice they would be staging a one-day strike to protest proposed cuts in their health care benefits. Prison Health Services responded with the one-week lockout when workers tried to return to work Wednesday.

: “It’s the first time I’ve ever come to work and been told that I can’t come inside. It’s very, very draining. It’s very stressful and very upsetting. I feel very unappreciated by PHS. We work very hard and for them to turn around and bring in nurses that have absolutely no clue as to what they’re doing to try to replace us – it’s a slap in the face.”

Chapman says Prison Health Services wants to take at least $3000 a year from her even as the company pays more than a billion dollars in bonuses to its executives.

: “It would be like me only making half of what I make right now. It would definitely be like a demotion. It would take a lot out of our pocket. I mean, they’re talking $500 per day for hospitalization if someone were to be hospitalized. The deductible plan is $1,000 for a single, $2000 for a family, That’s like three thousand dollars. That’s a lot, especially for single parents such as myself.”

[dkf]

1. Well this will all be solved with the hcr bill I'm sure.

Obama promised everything is going to be so much better with his magical hcr plan