St. Peter SEIU Hospital Workers Strike Over Escalating Healthcare Costs (who woulda thunk?!)

NBC News ^ | 3/10/2013 | Chris Daniels

[llevrok]

OLYMPIA – Pickets will replace performing the rounds at Olympia’s St. Peter Hospital tomorrow.

500 members of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, will walk off the job tomorrow in what it says is a case of health care workers striking over the rising cost of health care.

“My husband has cystic fibrosis,” says Certified Nursing Assistant Abbey Bruce, who says his medication used to be covered by the Providence Plan. But now, “we’re up to out of pocket, $400 per month, for his medications he needs baseline to stay alive. So I’ve had to take a second job,” says Bruce.

She put together pickets for the strike, which the union says would be the first for Western Washington hospital employees since 2004.

“We’re going to be fully staffed,” says Susan Meenk, VP for Human Resources at Providence St. Peter. “We do have some replacement workers coming in,” she added, “from other Providence hospitals, and temporary workers.”

She admits the deductible has gone up for families, but says the union is not taking into account the company’s new wellness program as an added benefit. She also disputed figures, provided by the union, which show hospital executive salaries have skyrocketed while employee deductibles have gone up.

“If you look at any other organizations that are similar in size and scope to ours, we actually feel those wages are conservative,” said Meenk.

The SEIU says the strike will last until Saturday at 9:59am.

[llevrok]

Some how, considering who was one of the biggest backers of ObamaCare and Obama, I have no pity for these workers.

[FatherofFive]

If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it is free!

[llevrok]

WA state ping

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

The SEIU was founded in a merger of two Communist Party controlled unions, Local 1199 Hospital Workers Union in NYC, established by CPer Leon Davis and then CP sympathizer Dennis Rivera. Also co-founded with the CPUSA controlled District 65, Distributive Workers Unon of America, led by CPers David Livingston and Al Evanoff, among others. Then Andy Stern, another marxist (of the Democratic Socialists of America organization), led the SEIU to its current marxist militancy.

What goes round, comes round.

Sorry comrades. You chose the union. You chose the president who screwed up. Now suffer and shut up.

[TigersEye]

That’s just whining. Wait a year then you’ll have something to complain about.

[Dick Bachert]

Obama buzzards coming home to roost — & crap — on the ones what brung him.
Payback IS a real bitch!!!

[boop]

But I thought unions were “exempted” from Obamacare. What gives?

[GeronL]

The SEIU knows very well that raising healthcare costs was the whole point of ObamaCare and that they are playing good cop-bad cop knowing full well they are the same side with taking down the system

[llevrok]

they are playing good cop-bad cop

This is one of a few Catholic hospitals in Western WA. I can't help but wonder if there is some other motive afoot here.

[Deagle]

Only just beginning...

[SWAMPSNIPER]

The copay amount on my prescriptions increased $80.00 on January first. I’m expecting more hits as Obamacare kicks in.

[meyer]

Fire them, hire replacements. Problem solved. If they touch anybody maliciously, they become a patient.

[Catmom]

I work in a hospital in Washington state where I have to belong to SEIU in order to have a job. I could write a book about the idiocy I have to pay dues for.

[silverleaf]

Hey Abbey, at least your birf control is FREE

Remember who lobbied for OBAMACARE to “fix” our “broken” healthcare system????

The UNIONS! YOUR Union!

[democratsaremyenemy]

Have you ever heard of the Beck decision? You don’t have to pay all of your union dues. Tell the union you are a Beck objector.

[Peet]

Hey, SEIU, if you’re looking for sympathy, you’ll find it in the dictionary somewhere between `sh*t’ and `syphilis.’

Y’ aint getting any from me...

[llevrok]

your story is similar to ours.

Our premiums went up 20pct due to (as the insurance co. said) that now 40 pct of their new applications are people with pre existing conditions and now have to be covered.

And that is why I have no pity for these hospital workers.

[Baynative]

WA Ping

"Some how, considering who was one of the biggest backers of ObamaCare and Obama, I have no pity for these workers."

I can't help but agree. Liberals all serve the same greedy religion, yet they call others greedy.

This is reflective of REI CEO Sally Jewell, now Sec. of the Interior, who backed Obama and put tons of resources into the health care push, only to ask for (and receive) an exemption for her company as soon as the garbage pile of regulations was imposed on the rest of us.

[MarMema]

They were recently purchased by Providence. Our nurses have the same union and are more than happy. Most of the time in healthcare you have to join to work there. And finally I have some rocking conservative friends who work there. It’s not always so black and white easy as it may seem.

[Eva]

Under Obamacare, there will be pre-natal testing for cystic fibrosis and people like the lady’s husband will be aborted. They won’t have to treat it.

Someone forgot to tell this woman that Obamacare passed and John Roberts ruled that the law was constitutional, even though it is not. She doesn’t need to protest.