By SUZANNE ROIG • The Bulletin
Eight days into a work stoppage, the first in more than four decades at St. Charles Bend, the union representing therapists, technicians and technologists met again Thursday with hospital administration and a federal mediator.
The hospital and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals are at odds over salary and shift wages for the estimated 154 workers. In addition, the hospital said in a prepared statement that it objected to the union’s request for a closed shop, which means that any new technicians, technologists or therapists hired would be required to join the union.
“Life on the (picket) line is good,” said Frank DeWolf, a St. Charles cardiac catheterization lab technologist. “Everyone is in good spirits and the community support is amazing. We wish the hospital would let us, the experts, in to do what we do best by giving us a fair contract.”
In terms of salary, the hospital has not negotiated a salary beyond the first year of the contract. The hospital offered a base salary of $87,000 a year for a full-time workers, not including overtime, premium pay, shift differentials and other benefits, the hospital said in a prepared statement.
“The bargaining teams engaged in some joint sessions throughout the day and the presence of the mediator was very helpful,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend, in a prepared statement. “We are hopeful we can get back to the table soon for further discussion.”
Both sides have met 29 times over the past year to resolve a labor dispute with medical technicians. The hospital tried to stop the strike by filing lawsuits in state and federal courts.
The walk out began March 4.
“We have done everything we can to settle this contract and end this strike, but St. Charles leadership is dangerously out of touch with the people taking care of our community,” said Sam Potter, external organizer for the union. “Every day that they prolong this strike, they are making a conscious decision to put our families, our community, in danger rather than pay their employees fair wages.”
This is the first contract that the union, which began representing the members in October 2019, has attempted to negotiate on behalf of the members with St. Charles. During previous negotiation sessions, 85% of the contract had been hammered out, what was left on the table were cost items, Potter said.
St. Charles has filed two unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees disputes like these. St. Charles Bend maintains the strike notice was unlawful and the union isn’t bargaining in good faith, according to a prepared statement.
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