St. Charles Health System provided a news release this morning reporting that their leaders provided another confidential supposal through a federal mediator to the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals last night in an effort to avoid a work stoppage, the union rejected the offer. At 8 a.m. this morning, some technical workers at the Bend hospital chose to walk out rather than come back to the important work of negotiating a first-time contract.
“This is a sad day,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend. “We want to come to an agreement with our caregivers and have attempted to do so repeatedly. But we also have an important job to do and responsibility to our community. Our focus is taking care of our patients.”
The St. Charles Bend hospital is open and providing care as usual. Trained replacement workers are on site and the community should feel confident in the care they will receive.
“It is important to us that you know we are here for you,” Adams said. “No matter what happens in the coming days, St. Charles has been here for our Central Oregon patients for more than 100 years and that won’t change.”
The following release from OFNHP:
About 150 healthcare providers walked off the job at St. Charles Medical Center and went on strike this morning, according to a news release from the Oregon Federation of Nursing and Health Professionals. After bargaining for their first contract for more than a year, the medical techs, technologists, and therapists say that they have experienced stalling, disrespect, and condescension from management. While the union has been trying to negotiate with management, the hospital has been unwilling to settle the contract in advance of the strike date.
“The hospital is forcing a strike that does not need to happen,” says DeeDee Schumacher, a forty-year employee at St. Charles. “Instead, we would love to settle this contract and remain caring for the patients we love. But since St. Charles has been unwilling to show us the basic respect we deserve, we have no other choice. By going on strike we remind the hospital that we matter.”
Management has been unwilling to agree to basic wage proposals, as well as to guarantee a fair and equitable workplace. Instead, they filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the strike from taking place, which a federal judge threw out Tuesday for its lack of merit. Right now 94% of the techs have agreed to walk out on strike and it appears as though the hospital has been unable to replace them with skilled workers. Additionally, other unions, including the Oregon Nurses Association and the Teamsters will be out supporting the workers, as well as community groups, local politicians, and faith leaders. Management is only willing to negotiate if the union workers cancel their planned strike, which is an infringement on their labor rights.
Right now these healthcare professionals are headed to the picket line for an “open-ended” strike, meaning it is unclear how long the strike will last. This depends on management’s willingness to settle the contract and bring these workers back to the hospital, according OFNHP.
Meanwhile, St. Charles said “In an effort to move forward negotiations on a first-time labor contract, St. Charles Health System approached the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Tuesday with an offer to return to the bargaining table with a federal mediator today if the union would revoke its strike notice.
The union was unwilling to do so. The notice, which St. Charles received on Feb. 22, indicates the 156 technical employees represented by OFNHP plan to strike for an indefinite amount of time starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, March 4.
“We simply don’t have the resources to focus on bargaining a new contract while we are actively preparing for a strike of our technical workforce,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend. “Our top priority must be ensuring we have replacement workers here to care for our community.”
The timing of the strike is particularly challenging as St. Charles continues to suffer incredible financial losses due to COVID-19. The health system ended 2020 about $21 million below its financial targets even after Cares Act relief funding – mostly because of extended periods of time where surgeries were canceled due to state restrictions or the high volume of COVID-19 patients. St. Charles is experiencing a difficult start to 2021 as well after posting an operating loss of $4.9 million in the month of January,” according to a St. Charles news release.
“While many other health systems laid off staff early on in the pandemic, we made sure our caregivers continued to receive full paychecks even when we didn’t have patients for them to care for,” Adams said. “We have put our caregivers and our patients first throughout this pandemic, which has been hard on us financially. It is unfortunate that OFNHP is now adding to that financial strain.”
St. Charles values its caregivers and respects their rights to union representation. Before the strike notice was sent, the health system initiated discussions with a federal mediator to help move forward negotiations in the best interest of all involved.
Only two core issues remain on the table at this time: compensation and union security.
The teams have agreed upon wages for the first year of the contract. Under this agreement, the average hourly wage for techs in the bargaining unit will be $41.94 per hour once the contract is ratified. This equates to an annual salary of $87,000 a year for a full-time equivalent position, not including overtime, premium pay, shift differentials and other benefits.
As for union security, St. Charles has asked for an open shop in order to give its caregivers a choice on whether they are members of the union. The union has requested a closed shop, meaning all St. Charles technical employees represented by OFNHP could lose their jobs if they decide they do not want to join the union.
“We believe in the rights of our caregivers who are interested in union representation to be represented,” Adams said. “But we also believe those who are not interested should have the same right to decline union membership.”
The parties are still scheduled to meet with a federal mediator for the next bargaining session on March 10.
