 |
 |
JACQUES LOVEALL, President, Intl. Vice President Main Office 2200 Professional Dr, Roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786 - 0588 (888) 8 E I G H T |
|
||
| [ Back to Table of Contents ] | ||
|
|
JACQUES LOVEALL, President, Intl. Vice President Main Office 2200 Professional Dr, Roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786 - 0588 (888) 8 E I G H T |
|
|
||
| [ Back to Table of Contents ] | ||
| MENDOCINO COAST DISTRICT HOSPITAL | ||
|
Straight Shooter Pamela Tidd remembers the not-so-good old days before the Union |
||
|
A nyone who has doubts about the value of working under a union contract should talk to Pamela Tidd.Tidd is an Accounts Receivable Analyst at Mendocino Coast District Hospital in Mendocino.She has been there since 1975 before the workers were represented by UFCW 8.“There is a world of difference now,” Tidd said. “It’s like night and day.” When Tidd first joined the staff as a Data Processor she found that the employees were represented by an employee association. Each year the association would negotiate with hospital management for improvements in wages and benefits.“We never got anything we wanted,” Tidd recalled. “And the wages and benefits were terrible to begin with. We basically made unlivable wages, the health insurance had high co-pays and deductibles and we didn’t get a lot of days off. You couldn’t accumulate vacation or sick time from year to year and there was no job security.”Tidd said it all changed after the Union came in. “Having the clout of a Union like UFCW 8 made all the difference,” she said. “When we sat down to negotiate, |
we had the strength and numbers of a real Union to back us up. ”Not surprisingly, things improved almost immediately. Tidd said there were significant wage improvements, annual salary increases and benefits she “couldn’t even imagine we’d have.”“We had much better health insurance with lower co-pays and deductibles,” she said. “And for the first time, we got dental benefits and a vision plan. “We also got an increased number of days off.” Tidd is looking forward to retirement in a few years, so she also appreciates her union negotiated retirement plan. |
“That
would have been unheard of
when I started,” she
said. Tidd said one of her
major challenges is
convincing newer employees
that their Union made it all
possible.
“They never knew what it was like to work without a Union,” she said. “So they take the pay and benefits we have for granted. I tell them at every opportunity what it was like before we had Union representation.”When she’s not working at the hospital, Tidd has a small therapeutic massage practice that keeps her busy. She also belongs to a competitive target-shooting club.“I enjoy going
out into the woods and
competing against my friends,”
she said. “It’s a great way to
let off steam.”
|
|
Official publication of UFCW 8-Golden State Jacques Loveall, President |
||
