Nurses and other employees at Daughters of Charity Health System have filed a class-action suit, arguing that their employer underfunded its pension plan and a sale would further jeopardize their retirement benefits.
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is backing the suit. The local union also opposes the sale of the Los Altos Hills, Calif.-based system to for-profit chain Prime Healthcare Services.
A spokeswoman for Daughters of Charity, which formally announced its deal with Prime on Oct. 11, called the lawsuit “an unfortunate scare tactic by a union waging a corporate campaign against Prime Healthcare that will do whatever it can to slow or stop its purchase of Daughters of Charity Health System, including jeopardizing the pensions of its own members.”
The suit claims that the Daughters of Charity's pension plan was underfunded to the tune of $229 million as of Dec. 31.
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