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St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman addresses striking workers
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Since a two-day strike last month, there has been no progress in a contract dispute between Regina Medical Center and 230 workers represented by Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota. No talks have been held since the work stoppage and none are scheduled.
“They continue to tell members of the media they’re willing to meet, and yet they have not called us,” says Ryan Nagle, communications director for the labor union. “We’d be happy to meet anytime, anyplace.”
Next Wednesday union members will hold a vote on the current contract proposal from Regina Medical Center, which the Hastings facility has characterized as its final offer. If the proposal is voted down, the union will then vote on whether to authorize a five-day strike over unfair labor practices.
SEIU currently has a half-dozen grievances pending before the National Labor Relations Board for what Nagle characterizes as “run of the mill intimidation and threats leading up to the strike.” Among the allegations: employees were warned that they’d be permanently replaced if they walked off the job.
The chief issue in the contract dispute is over employee pensions. Currently Regina Medical Center pays the equivalent of 8 percent of an employee’s salary into a pension plan if the worker has at least five years of experience and 4 percent for more recent hires. The facility wants to change to a less-generous plan that would require employees to match the company’s contributions if they wish to have more than 2 percent of their salary put into a retirement account
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3 Comments »
Comment posted December 4, 2008 @ 11:26 pm
Every single time I see a photo of Chris Coleman, I remember that he was the one who found the siege of St Paul to be quite acceptable during the Republican National Convention. It makes me angry when I think of all those rounded up, of the journalists and street medics charged, about phony charges of “weaponized urine” and other fanciful notions from the feverish brain of Bob Fletcher. But more than anything, I think of all the pretty young girls, including at least some Republicans, where were pepper-sprayed by those anonymous, black-clad storm troopers who obviously have very sick minds and obviously have little respect for us as citizens.
Comment posted December 7, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
Just like the poor, deluded, former union members at Northwest, these folks are being led down the primrose path to the unemployment line. Now is not the time to be parading juicy union benefits under the noses of people that are feeling lucky just to be employed.
Matching retirement investments is a staple in 99% of the workplace. One of the reasons that the auto industry is going broke is that they simply cannot continue to carry the enormous burden of retiree pensions.
Get a clue folks, when you are told that your job is in jeopardy, take the line of eager applicants waiting to fill out applications as proof of authenticity.
Think of it as “Change”!
Comment posted December 11, 2008 @ 6:14 pm
Now is precisely the time to stand up for economic security. We’ve let corporate “leaders” get away with so much over the last 8 years. This economic crisis is their crisis. There is no need for working people to bear the worst consequences of these troubling times.
Like Republic Windows workers, folks at Regina are standing up for economic recovery focused on workers, not Wall Street. Thank goodness for their leadership.
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