UMMS Code RedUMMS Code Red

Gov. O’Malley Signs Bill for Equal Labor Protections at UMMC

Esther Iverem — Mon, 05 May 2014 20:41:27 +0000

A new law provides caregivers at the University of Maryland Medical Center the same labor protections enjoyed by workers at every other UMMS hospital in the state and by the vast majority of workers in the U.S. Maryland's largest healthcare union says that fair work conditions support quality care for patients.

ANNAPOLIS—Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law today a bill that will provide equal labor protections to 5,000 workers at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The bill is an updated version of the Equality for Maryland Caregivers Act backed by 1199SEIU last year and solves a dilemma for UMMC workers, who were not covered by either federal or state labor boards. In Maryland, private hospitals fall under the National Labor Relations Board and public hospitals fall under the Maryland Labor Relations Act. The University of Maryland Medical Center was governed by neither. UMMC workers, who testified and met with state legislators last year, reported a variety of actions that at any other institution would be labor violations. These actions include employees being banned from discussing a union or union activities, workers being given the impression of surveillance as they attempted to explore collective bargaining options, and workers being threatened with a diminution of their work environment if a union is present. As a result of their lobbying, the Senate finance committee asked the state attorney general Doug Gansler to issue an opinion on the matter, which he did in November 2103, writing that the Maryland General Assembly does have the authority to enact legislation subjecting UMMC to Maryland’s collective bargaining law. The University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the largest employers in Baltimore and is considered the flagship hospital of the state-wide UMMS system, which includes more than a dozen facilities. UMMC is unique within the UMMS system because it is the only hospital under the direct control of the system-wide board appointed by the governor. Other University of Maryland Medical System hospitals are governed by their own separate boards. Under the new law, University of Maryland Medical System Corporation-- Governance - Medical Center Employees, the board of UMMC will be privatized and the hospital will come under the jurisdiction of the federal National Labor Relations Board, which will have jurisdiction over any claims or petitions presented by UMMC employees. Mary L. Washington, D-Baltimore City, a sponsor of the bill, said of her support, “as elected representatives of the people of Maryland, we have a responsibility to insure that all residents have equal protection under the law.”

MD Legislators Approve Labor Protections for UMMC Workers

Esther Iverem — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 16:49:07 +0000

Both the Maryland State House of Delegates and Senate voted on March 14 in favor of new legislation that will provide equal labor protections to 5,000 workers at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The proposed law, an updated version of the Equality for Maryland Caregivers Act backed by 1199SEIU last year, solves a dilemma for UMMC workers, who are not covered by either federal or state labor boards. In Maryland, private hospitals fall under the National Labor Relations Board and public hospitals fall under the Maryland Labor Relations Act. The University of Maryland Medical Center is governed by neither. “The vote today brings us one step closer to what is fair and just for thousands of workers in Baltimore,” said Mary L. Washington, D-Baltimore City, a sponsor of the bill. “As elected representatives of the people of Maryland, we have a responsibility to insure that all residents have equal protection under the law.” UMMC workers, who testified and met with state legislators last year, reported a variety of management actions that at any other institution would be labor violations. These actions included employees being banned from discussing a union or union activities, workers being given the impression of surveillance as they attempted to explore collective bargaining options, and workers being threatened with a decline in their work environment if a union is present. As a result of their lobbying, the State Senate Finance Committee asked Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler to issue an opinion on the matter, which he did in November 2013. The opinion concluded that the Maryland General Assembly does have the authority to enact legislation subjecting UMMC to Maryland’s collective bargaining law. “When caregivers at hospitals have a fair and just workplace, where their rights are respected, they can ensure the best quality care for their patients,” said John Reid, executive vice president for the Maryland-DC region of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “It remains a right in this country to choose a union voice without fear of retribution and UMMC workers deserve the same right.” The University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the largest employers in Baltimore and is considered the flagship hospital of the state-wide UMMS system, which includes more than a dozen facilities. UMMC is unique within the UMMS system because it is the only hospital under the direct control of the system-wide board appointed by the governor. Other University of Maryland Medical System hospitals are governed by their own separate boards. When 1199SEIU testified in support of the legislation last year, the union displayed a large poster-sized map showing every hospital in the state, with only UMMC standing out as having no state or federal labor protections. The legislation, Senate Bill 1104 and House Bill 1545, University of Maryland Medical System Corporation - Governance - Medical Center Employees, attempts to solve this inequity by allowing UMMS to create a separate organization and board, not appointed by the governor, to oversee the University of Maryland Medical Center and thereby allow the National Labor Relations Board to have jurisdiction over any claims or petitions presented by UMMC employees. Len Lucchi, legislative counsel for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, cautioned in his written testimony to the Maryland House and Senate committees that the NLRB “does not issue advisory opinions, so there is no guarantee” that the legislation, if it becomes law, will result in NLRB jurisdiction over UMMC. He added, though, that the proposed law “is narrowly crafted so that it is likely that there will be NLRB jurisdiction.” If this legislative remedy does not work, Lucchi said in his statement, 1199SEIU “will come back and see you again.” The legislation will now continue through the General Assembly’s procedural process before it is sent to the governor’s office for signature. “This is a very important piece of legislation,” said Sen. Victor R. Ramirez, D-Prince George’s, sponsor of UMMS legislation for two sessions of the General Assembly. “It has taken a year but, in the end, we were able to make sure that UMMC workers have these labor protections.”

Advancing The Vision Of King & Mandela For Economic Justice

umms11399 — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 21:55:34 +0000

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela both shared the deep conviction that civil rights and economic justice go hand in hand. Mandela declared that “poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.” And King urged a “radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society.” Our movement for equality has had tremendous accomplishments, as can be seen by the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act this year. But we also know that we still have much to do. Right now, 46 million Americans are mired in poverty, including 20% of all children. Meanwhile, billionaires are hoarding more and more wealth at the very top, which is undermining our democracy and our economy, and feeding the rise of right-wing extremism. This Black History Month, we draw inspiration from King and Mandela as we work to fulfill their vision of civil rights, compassion and economic justice for all.

MOODY’S CONTINUES ‘NEGATIVE’ CREDIT RATING FOR UMMS

umms11399 — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 22:56:06 +0000

The ratings agency Moody’s is continuing to assign a “negative” credit outlook to the University of Maryland Medical System. After UMMS purchased St. Joseph Medical Center in December 2012, the hospital was unable to receive Medicare certification and lost $14.8 million. The resulting loss of operating revenue was a factor that led to Moody’s placing the system’s debt rating on a “negative” credit outlook in February of 2013. On December 16, 2013, Moody’s continued their negative outlook of UMMS due to problems caused by the St. Joseph purchase and due to losses in operating, debt and balance sheet measures. In the latest report, Moody’s also identified that there is risk of “management distraction” due to the integration of so many new facilities. UMMS has added seven hospitals to the system in the last 10 years. In addition to these acquisitions, UMMS has planned significant capital improvements and, in some cases, entire hospitals are planned to replace existing facilities that UMMS has acquired. Moody’s indicated that unless UMMS improves its FY 2014 financial performance that it would face a downgrade. Notably, Moody’s also warned that an increase in debt could also lead to a downgrade. At the October meeting of the Maryland Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority, UMMS executives sought approval to apply for $155 million in additional debt to fund the acquisition of the remaining 51 percent of the Upper Chesapeake Health System. UMMS currently owns 49 percent of Upper Chesapeake. UMMS sought this approval even as the system’s debts mounted from the purchase of St. Joseph Hospital and even as it had failed to build a promised hospital on the Eastern Shore. This additional debt was requested after UMMS executives also granted themselves pay raises and bonuses, while laying off employees throughout the state. Click here to read the complete Moody’s report.

State AG Decision Supports Labor Protections for UMMC Workers

umms11399 — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 21:52:17 +0000

A recent decision by the Maryland attorney general supports labor protections for workers at UMMC, the flagship hospital of the statewide University of Maryland Medical System. In a 19-page decision on Nov. 21, 2013, the office of Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler wrote that the Maryland General Assembly has the authority to enact legislation subjecting UMMC to Maryland's collective bargaining law. In Maryland, private hospitals fall under the National Labor Relations Act and public hospitals fall under the Maryland Labor Relations Act. The University of Maryland Medical Center, based in Baltimore, is governed by neither. UMMC is the only hospital in the state where workers do not have basic labor protections. The Equality for Maryland Caregivers Act was introduced in the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year to solve this dilemma, by bringing UMMC workers under the protection of state labor laws. While UMMS opposed the legislation, stating that UMMS is not a state institution, proponents detailed the unique relationship that UMMS does have to the state, including the fact that the board of UMMS is appointed by the governor. The State Senate Finance Committee asked the attorney general for an opinion on the matter. "The Medical Center's employees are not currently covered by either the NRLA or Maryland's collective bargaining statute," the opinion concluded. "However, because the Medical Center is a State entity for at least some purposes and remains a creature of statute within the ultimate control of the State, the General Assembly has the authority to enact legislation that would subject the Medical Center to Maryland collective bargaining law." While this opinion does not guarantee passage of the Equality for Maryland Caregivers Act, it goes a long way to support labor protections for UMMC caregivers, who were met with threats and harassment when they had an opportunity to vote to join a union last year. UMMC management spread false and damaging information to workers at mandatory meetings, giving workers the impression that their vote would not be confidential. Stay tuned for more updates from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which supports quality patient care and good jobs for Marylanders. An article about the Attorney General decision was published by The Baltimore Sun. UMMSCodeRed.org is part of an effort by 1199SEIU to hold the University of Maryland Medical System accountable to taxpayers, patients, communities and caregivers. Nearly 58 percent of the funding for the system comes from taxpayer dollars, so we need to make sure UMMS is truly putting Maryland first.

UMMS Treatment of Workers and Use of Taxpayer Dollars is Subject of Op-Ed Published in The Baltimore Sun

umms11399 — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:44:53 +0000

UMMS doesn’t care for caregivers

By John Reid A patient-care technician for the University of Maryland Medical System must update his skills regularly to keep his job, but he hasn’t seen an update in his salary. Another UMMS technician must work at least two jobs to have any money left after paying basic living expenses. And a third caregiver, who has worked for the medical system for several years, can barely afford care for his family at the very hospital where he cares for others. For UMMS caregivers, is this situation fair, decent or moral? As more Marylanders sign up to receive health care under the Affordable Care Act known as “Obamacare,” UMMS needs to offer decent wages and benefits to frontline caregivers so that hospitals can retain the best qualified staff. UMMS executives should be using taxpayer resources responsibly to ensure the highest quality patient care and good jobs for the frontline workers who provide that care. These executives, however, are being the opposite of responsible. The system, which receives 59 percent of its funding from our tax dollars, has a more than $145 million debt resulting from a complex financial scheme related to interest rates that UMMS Chief Executive Officer Robert Chrencik executed when he was CFO. Despite questions from regulators and analysts about its debt, UMMS is steadily expanding, hiring high-paid executives and paying them big bonuses on top of their salaries….(click here to read more in the Baltimore Sun)

UMMS Faces Questioning from Maryland Finance Authority

umms11399 — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 20:16:21 +0000

The Maryland Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority will be taking a "stronger look" at requests for financing from the University of Maryland Medical System. During its October public meeting, the executive director of the authority, Annette Anselmi, told UMMS that "this is going to be part of a longer and stronger look at UMMS." She made the statement as UMMS executives were present to seek approval to apply for $155 million in additional debt to fund the acquisition of the remaining 51 percent of the Upper Chesapeake Health System. UMMS currently owns 49 percent of Upper Chesapeake. UMMS is seeking this approval even as the system's debts mount from the purchase of St. Joseph Hospital and as it has failed to build a promised hospital on the Eastern Shore. The announced scrutiny of UMMS comes as the hospital system is the focus of an information campaign by the nurses and caregivers of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East to highlight its risky financial practices. The effort, which launched in August, has included billboard, radio, newspaper and online advertisements, as well as coverage by news organizations, including The Baltimore Sun. So far, the effort has revealed that UMMS, which receives nearly 58 percent of its revenues from tax dollars, has a multi-million dollar debt due to interest rate swaps that Robert Chrencik executed when he was CFO, and which continued after he became CEO of the statewide system in 2008. Now, while the system is paying millions to executives, it is laying off frontline healthcare workers. The state authority, which consists of nine members, assists hospitals and higher educational institutions in the construction, financing and refinancing of projects it has approved. While the authority did vote ultimately to approve the request, it was only after a rare questioning of the executive representing UMMS, Keith Persinger, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Persinger was queried about whether the funds would actually be used to complete the acquisition, as stated on the published agenda for the meeting, or for an expansion or renovation. Persinger said that the money would be used for a project yet to be determined, either for a new tower at the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center or for a new hospital in Havre De Grace. Persinger was accompanied by Joseph Hoffman, CFO of Upper Chesapeake Health System. During the questioning, board members were assured by Anselmi that this vote would be only a first step in the approval process. After Sheila Riggs, chairwoman of the authority, announced approval for the application process to begin, Anselmi stated to Persinger and those present that "this is going to be part of a longer and stronger look at UMMS."

1199 Says Comments by UMMS “May Mislead Readers”

umms11399 — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:17:47 +0000

In the August 15 Baltimore Business Journal article, “Health care union blasts UMMS over finances,” comments made by Mary Lynn Carver, spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical System, may mislead readers to believe that UMMS receives no money from the state. In fact, in addition to receiving 58 percent of its patient revenues from

Campaign Highlighting UMMS Risky Financial Bet Expands Its Reach and Attracts Coverage in The Baltimore Sun

umms11399 — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:27:00 +0000

A campaign by the nurses and caregivers of 1199SEIU to highlight risky financial practices at the University of Maryland Medical System has expanded with new billboards in Baltimore and a social media campaign.

The campaign was also highlighted in a recent story in The Baltimore Sun, “UMMS defends use of interest rate swaps: Use of financial tool questioned by labor union,” by Andrea Walker.

Vanessa Johnson, vice president at large for the union, told The Baltimore Sun that UMMS executives "have been crying poverty to the state over the years” while giving themselves huge raises and tying up taxpayer funds with interest rate swaps that could be used instead to provide patient care.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East launched the information campaign with full-page newspaper ads, billboards and radio spots. So far, the effort has revealed the fact that UMMS, which receives nearly 58 percent of its revenues from public funding, has a more than $180 million debt due to a complex financial scheme that Robert Chrencik executed when he was CFO, and which continued after he became CEO of the statewide system in 2008.

The debt, which has at times ballooned to more than $200 million, is a result of UMMS issuing variable rate debt and interest rate swaps. The value of this debt and swaps is tied to interest rates. This gamble has caused UMMS to pay more in interest than it would have paid absent the swaps. In addition, to cover the bets, UMMS is forced to post millions in collateral. Thus, financial resources that could be used for patient care are instead being used to service this debt.

The fact that the University of Maryland Medical System, with twelve hospitals throughout the State, receives a majority of its funding from the public raises other important issues about whether UMMS should be engaging in risky financial transactions.

In addition to the new billboards, the campaign is expanding to social media, including Facebook. The website for the campaign is: UMMSCodeRed.org.

Health care union blasts UMMS over finances

umms11399 — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 15:26:19 +0000

Sarah Gantz Reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

A health care workers union has launched a full-blown advertising campaign against the University of Maryland Medical System’s financial practices, complete with full-page newspaper ads, highway billboards, radio spots and an advertisement-plastered vehicle circling the system’s flagship Baltimore hospital. The campaign by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East takes issue with the medical system’s $180 million in debt and accuses medical system CEO Robert Chrencik of sinking the system into debt with risky financial investments in the early 2000s. The union says that because 58 percent of the medical system’s revenue comes from public funds, administrators should be held more accountable. The medical system has disputed the union’s claims. “Problems at UMMS have been adding up, including, now, the laying off of workers and a recent fraud settlement,” John Reid, executive vice president for the Maryland/D.C . division of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, said in a statement. “At the same time, they are pursuing aggressive expansion throughout the state. We felt it important for these financial management issues to be raised for the public, which supplies so much funding to the system.” University of Maryland Medical Center laid off 65 workers in June, citing budget concerns. Other hospitals in the system have also cut staff. The union has its numbers right when it comes to funding — about 58 percent of the medical system’s revenue comes from government sources. Specifically, that money comes from Medicare and Medicaid, the federal and state-backed insurance programs for seniors, the disabled and the poor. Medical system spokeswoman Mary Lynn Carver said that about 31 percent of the medical system’s patient revenue comes from Medicare and about 27 percent of patient revenue comes from Medicaid payments. The medical system reported $1.4 billion in revenue in fiscal 2012, $1.3 billion of which was program service revenue, according to tax records. “To suggest that the medical system receives any more taxpayer support than other hospitals in America or in Maryland is inaccurate,” Carver said. Carver said the medical system does not receive any money from the state or federal general funds and is not a division of the state. The governor does appoint its board members from a list of recommendations from the medical system. Regarding the medical system’s debt, Carver said the medical system’s practices are similar to those at other hospitals. “Much like individuals take out car or house loans to pay for large long-term purchases, hospitals do the same thing.” Carver said. “If the hospital system could not take on debt, we would not be able to take on large capital projects like investing in our IT infrastructure, purchasing new equipment, or renovating or expanding buildings.” Moody’s Investors Service in February affirmed an A2 rating for $354.2 million in revenue bonds for the medical system. Moody’s revised its outlook for the medical center from stable to negative, citing the system’s acquisition of the former St. Joseph Medical Center, among other factors. Vanessa Johnson, a vice president for the union, said SEIU wants the campaign to spur greater financial accountability and transparency within the medical system. Sarah covers health care, higher education, biotech and technology.