Facts Matter. You Matter. – Message #4

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FICTION: SEIU-UHW claims they can secure “life-changing wages” for their members.

FACT: The union typically takes 2% from each member’s paycheck for dues – money that directly funds six-figure union staff salaries, political campaigns and lobbyists. That means if you make $30/hour, you would be giving the union $3,744 over the course of a three-year contract, which translates into millions of dollars to the union when factoring in all eligible employees.

In contrast, with the Sharp$aver Retirement Plan – where Sharp provides up to a 4.5% match to your contributions – your investment in yourself and your retirement could yield a six-figure sum over 30 years. Now that’s life changing.

Facts matter. You matter.

Get all the facts about collective bargaining and unionization at sharpstayinformed.

Facts Matter. You Matter. – Message #3

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FICTION: SEIU-UHW claims that Sharp wants to “divide” the union and (the union) “won’t let Sharp break the law” as they continue to demand that Sharp recognize each separate bargaining unit organized by the union as one combined unit.

FACT: Sharp HealthCare is indeed abiding by the law. The union continues to insist on combining the bargaining units that SEIU itself chose to organize at Sharp Grossmont, Sharp HospiceCare and Sharp Chula Vista, separately and at different points in time. The law is clear that when separate filings are made for bargaining units, each bargaining unit is distinct and will have its own contract. The law is also clear that combining units is not a mandatory subject of bargaining, and we have informed the union since early last year Sharp will not bargain with the union for a combined agreement.

We respect our employees’ rights to organize, but if the union’s desire was to have one unit representing workers across Sharp entities, similar to when UNAC organized to represent our hospital-based nurses, they had the opportunity to do so when they first initiated organizing activities. Instead, they deployed an entity-by-entity strategy and now insist that Sharp meet their unreasonable demands. We believe that the union should honor the commitment it made to each bargaining unit that it chose to represent and bargain in good faith for contracts for each unit, rather than falsely claim Sharp is trying to “divide” the units.

To find a path forward on this issue, Sharp proposed that a mediator, which was assigned to the parties by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), be invited to negotiations. Instead of considering whether the mediator might assist the parties to find resolution, the union filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint against Sharp.

Facts matter. You matter.

Get all the facts about collective bargaining and unionization at sharpstayinformed.

Facts Matter. You Matter. – Message #2

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FICTION: An SEIU-UHW online ad claims that Sharp staff members face “low pay and a severe short-staffing crisis that makes it nearly impossible to provide patients with the level of care they deserve.”

FACT: As noted in Message #1, Sharp is not facing a “severe short-staffing crisis” and, in fact, has a robust and successful recruitment campaign to navigate the nationwide shortage of health care workers. What’s more, Sharp regularly assesses health care wages in our market for staff and management alike to ensure rates are competitive and workers are fairly compensated, no matter what role they play in the safe and successful operation of our organization.

Adjustments have been ongoing across various worker groups to ensure equitable pay, and that effort continues across our workforce of 19,000+ team members. As a reminder, over the past two fiscal years, Sharp has made significant investments in staff wages, including a 5% across-the-board (ATB) increase for all staff in October 2022; and a 3.5% ATB increase for all non-represented staff last fall. These and other wage increases represent an investment of more than $150 million in staff compensation since FY2022.

Lastly, our patients do not “face threats to the proper level of care,” as the union claims. Sharp is required to maintain mandated staff-to-patient ratios, and we regularly receive national recognition for the outstanding care we are known for through The Sharp Experience that each of you provide.

Facts matter. You matter.

Get all the facts about collective bargaining and unionization at sharpstayinformed.

Facts Matter. You Matter. – Message #1

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To All Sharp HealthCare Team Members,

This week begins a series of communications – Facts Matter. You Matter. – to factually counter some of the many claims SEIU-UHW has been making about Sharp HealthCare in online advertising and social media. We firmly believe that the claims being made misrepresent the quality of patient care and the work environment at Sharp, both of which are founded on The Sharp Experience. Your hard work and compassion, in concert with the collaborative relationship we enjoy between staff and leadership, are what make Sharp the best place to work, practice medicine and receive care. That matters to all of us at Sharp, which is why it’s important to take the time to carefully review these communications when they are issued, ask questions of your leaders and to also ask questions of SEIU-UHW when it comes to the claims being made about Sharp and the promises they are making.

 

FICTION: An SEIU-UHW online advertisement states Sharp HealthCare collected $140 million in private donations over past two years but has not addressed the “severe short-staffing crisis” in its facilities.

FACT: The union is equating private donations as a funding source for adding staff, which simply is not feasible. Since our founding more than seven decades ago, Sharp has relied on the generosity of private community donations to help fund programs, services and construction of facilities, not as a way to pay for permanent staffing needs.

Despite the union’s claims that Sharp is not addressing staffing needs, and in light of the nation’s ongoing health care staffing shortage, our vacancy rate currently stands at an industry-impressive 6.7%*. That’s lower than the 8.2% national average, thanks to a variety of initiatives like the RN Transformation Project, as well as an active recruitment campaign that has long been in place to fill vacant positions across the system as needed. Further, Sharp’s employee retention rate of more than 90% is among the highest in the state for hospital systems, according to the California Hospital Association, which we largely attribute to The Sharp Experience and the positive work environment we collectively strive to create.

Finally, more employees are recognizing Sharp as a great place to work. Sharp was recently lauded as one of the highest-paying health systems for entry-level jobs and as one of the 68 greatest health systems for job starters, regarded as a leader “when it comes to attracting talent and launching careers.”

Facts matter. You matter.

Get all the facts about collective bargaining and unionization at sharpstayinformed.

*Source: RogueHire national benchmark study