Breakthrough Agreements Expand Hospital Workers' Access to Employer-Paid Healthcare Coverage in South

Florida-Nurses and hospital workers who belong to SEIU Healthcare at Tenet Healthcare have voted to approve new contract agreements that include a breakthrough commitment to provide access to employer-paid healthcare insurance for all employees in Florida and strengthen employees' voice on issues that affect patient care.

This agreement means that all of us who are proud to provide care will finally know that we can count on access to healthcare ourselves. It's a historic step forward for hospital workers in the South. For too long, too many of us had to worry about whether we could afford healthcare coverage,"said Betsy Marville, an ICU Registered Nurse at St. Mary's Medical Center/Tenet in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Beyond expanded access to healthcare insurance with full employer-paid premiums, the agreements also:

* Strengthen frontline workers' voice on patient care issues by expanding union-management committees in Tenet hospitals.

* Ensure that workers at hospitals where employees are currently not members of SEIU Healthcare can join SEIU in NLRB-supervised elections through a free and fair democratic process.

The agreements cover 8,000 nurses, hospital technicians, nursing assistants, and other hospital workers who provide care and services at 17 hospitals in Florida and California.

SEIU Healthcare is the nation's largest organization of healthcare workers, uniting more than 1 million doctors, nurses, hospital workers, and long-term care workers. We stand united for quality patient care and quality careers for healthcare workers.
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