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Friday January 14, 2005

Cooling-off period at Jewish Home

by joe eskenazi

A cooling off period lasting through at least the end of the month was agreed upon by the Jewish Home’s management and union representatives at a Jan. 7 meeting.

Before the meeting, which federal mediator Joel Schaffer and representatives of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s office also attended, the San Francisco Home had promised to implement a harsher contract unless the union agreed to adopt the disputed current one by noon Monday, Jan. 10.

In response, Home employees affiliated with the SEIU Local 250 voted to give their negotiating committee the authorization to give a 10-day strike notice.

Following the Jan. 7 meeting, however, both sides agreed that neither of those situations would come to pass — for now.

Schaffer, who requested all media inquiries come to him, said the union and management will meet “as many times as necessary” throughout the month, and assured “productive discussions.”

Labor strife has been brewing at the Jewish Home since late last year, when employees soundly rejected a contract union leadership had anticipated they would accept, ceding a portion of health-care costs to the workers.

Workers walked off the job for a one-day strike on Nov. 22 and were slated to strike for five days during Christmas before opting to cancel the work stoppage following a last-minute letter from Boxer.

Daniel Ruth, the home’s CEO, said that the 11th-hour cancellation led to the loss of roughly $250,000 in non-refundable deposits to bring in replacement workers.

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