For too long, the situation at a Providence-owned hospice in Sonoma County seemed to keep getting worse. The giant hospital chain imposed unrealistic “productivity” quotas that led some caregivers to leave, forcing those who remained to take on even more patients and responsibilities without compensation.
The approximately 130 registered nurses, social workers, and other staff joined NUHW in early 2023, and a few months later, they used their collective power to fight back by filing an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against Providence. The workers documented that Providence had effectively forced many of them to take on more work and expanded duties — many registered nurses had to assume case management duties without compensation.
Earlier this year, the National Labor Relations Board found merit to the ULP charge. Providence initially proposed a resolution opposed by workers, but after several months of negotiations, NUHW members reached an agreement that includes retro pay for workers and new guardrails that should prevent a repeat of what has happened over the last 18 months.
The agreement includes:
- Clear caseload limits for RN Case Managers (12-13 patients) and social workers (26 patients).
- A fair process for assigning excess case management duties on a volunteer basis, along with offering overtime before any supervisors do case management.
- An additional 5 percent pay for anyone who takes on additional case management duties.
- Backpay for nurses who stepped up and took on additional case management duties over the past year, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, along with a $1,000 bonus for all social workers in recognition of their caseloads.
- An agreement that Providence will post and email all workers a notice of their legal rights as union members, including Providence’s duty to negotiate changes with the NUHW bargaining committee in accordance with state law.
“This is a big step toward making our work sustainable and making sure that members of our community get the care they deserve during one of the most difficult times of their lives,” xxx said. “Now we can see the power we have as union members, and we have to keep fighting to win our first contract and make Providence keep care in our community.”
The NUHW members at the hospice are in contract negotiations at the same time that more than 2,000 of their fellow Providence workers in NUHW are also bargaining a contract that will cover Providence hospitals throughout Northern California.
Although Providence has $8 billion in reserves, it has laid off workers at the hospice and cut hospital services in Sonoma County. Over the past year, the hospital conglomerate has shuttered the birthing center at Petaluma Valley Hospital and reduced hours in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
