By: Steve Ferris, Eagle Staff Writer
Independence Health System’s Butler Memorial Hospital is aware of its techs’ union strike authorization vote and is ready to meet and negotiate a contract, an official said Friday.
The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, which represents 235 surgical technicians, respiratory therapists, licensed practical nurses, radiology techs and other staff, said its members voted overwhelmingly Thursday to authorize a strike about nine months after beginning negotiations for their first contract.
“Butler Memorial Hospital is aware that PASNAP conducted a vote among members of the technical bargaining unit to authorize a strike. This is not a vote to strike. It is a vote to authorize union leadership to call a strike at a later date if negotiations do not result in an agreement.
“BMH remains ready to meet and bargain in good faith to reach a timely agreement and avoid any work stoppage. Our priority is uninterrupted patient care and a safe workplace,” Kelley Skoloda, Independence’s chief marketing and communications officer, said Friday in a statement.
The strike authorization vote allows the union’s bargaining committee to submit a 10-day strike notice if the techs’ issues remain inadequately addressed. The vote does not immediately trigger a strike. It authorizes union leadership to call a strike.
According to a late Thursday release from the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, the vote reflects “growing frustration with the hospital’s proposals, which workers say threaten patient care and staff retention.”
The union said wages, staffing and health care cost increases have been the central issues since negotiations began. Since the hospital doesn’t have a wage scale for techs, new hires often receive higher pay than the experienced techs training them, according to the union.
Some employees go years without raises, the union has claimed.
Although employee turnover is high, the hospital has resisted safe staffing language in the contract, the union also claims.
The union said the cost of their health insurance is also an issue.
