Union workers at St. Charles Medical Center ratified their first contract Wednesday. The medical techs, technologists, and therapists first voted to unionize in 2019 and voted to strike for nine days in March.
“We have won a groundbreaking new contract, which raises our wages an average of 25% and ensures that we have a strong voice at work.” says Frank Dewolf, a technologist in the Cardiac Cath Lab.
“This contract proves, once again, that when you come together as a union you can accomplish what isn’t possible alone,” says Randi Weingarten, the president of the 1.7 million member American Federation of Teachers, of which OFNHP is an affiliate. “I am so proud of the newest members of the OFNHP and AFT family who organized for years and fought fiercely at the bargaining table and on the picket line to win a fair first contract. This historic agreement delivers on their faith with immediate boosts to pay and conditions and a permanent and enduring voice on the job.”
The sizable increases are the result of a new wage system that will repair the long-standing pay disparities in the hospital, correcting things like gender and tenure pay disparities. Alongside pay equity, workers will now have a comprehensive ladder for wage increases based on years of experience and tenure. The contract also ensures that workers will have the ability to challenge contract violations through a grievance procedure and binding arbitration and will have a structured voice on the job through labor partnership committees that will work to collaboratively address concerns as they come up.
“We are excited to have the techs at St. Charles join the OFNHP family so we can work together to move care forward in Oregon,” says Jodi Barschow, the local president of OFNHP. “We have won an amazing contract because we worked together and pushed the employer to do the right thing.”
This contract will be in effect for the next three years, at which time it will re-open for negotiations. These workers are joining their healthcare colleagues as members of OFNHP, which will be entering contract negotiations at Kaiser Permanente and PeaceHealth next month.
