PAGE 2 | September 20, 2019 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
(International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X)
Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la-
bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the
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ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in
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Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig
Senior staff reporter: Don McIntosh
Office manager: Jill Lukens
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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
As hospital strike neared, McKenzie-Willamette settled
For some of the least-paid hospital workers,
wages will rise 10 percent in two years
Six days before 415 hospital support work-
ers were set to go on strike at McKenzie-
Willamette Medical Center in Springfield,
Service Employees International Union Lo-
cal 49 and hospital management reached
agreement on a new two-year contract.
Workers ratified it in a Sept. 6 vote.
The new contract contains two annual
across-the-board raises of 3%, plus addi-
tional one-time increases of up to 4% for
housekeepers, CNAs, and dietary workers
— jobs where both sides agreed that work-
ers were underpaid compared to their coun-
terparts at other facilities.
Workers also got commitments to ad-
dress understaffing, which could directly
improve patient care: The medical center’s IN IT TOGETHER: The union bargaining team was prepared to call a strike, but came back with a deal.
nurse staffing committee will add a second
Workers did give ground on health insur- was to take place Sept. 10-12. Instead, they
certified nursing assistant (CNA) represen- ance, agreeing to accept higher copays and have a new contract that runs through July
tative. And a labor-management committee deductibles and increase their contribution 31, 2021.
will double its membership and now add to premiums by up to 5% a year. But the
Aaron Green, a CNA who works in
staffing levels to its mandate.
premiums are fully paid by the employer for McKenzie-Willamette’s recovery wing,
The medical center also agreed to give full-time workers who earn less than called the contract a step in the right direc-
CNAs and pharmacy technicians additional $38,000 (up from $30,000 in the previous tion that will help the hospital retain better
credit for related hospital and military expe- contract).
staff.
rience, so that workers can be hired or move
Local 49’s bargaining unit at McKenzie-
“We want to provide the best care possi-
up to a rung in the pay scale that reflects Willamette consists of over 100 occupa- ble to our patients,” Green said. “The goal
their real experience level, not just their time tional classifications, including CNAs, is to have lower staff turnover so we’re not
at McKenzie-Willamette. McKenzie- housekeepers, cafeteria workers, clerical constantly having to train new people.”
Willamette’s union pay scale has 15 steps, support staff, and medical techs. They had
— Don McIntosh
and workers reach top pay for their classifi- announced plans for a three-day strike that
cation after 20 years.
CORRECTION
In a profile of retiring labor leader
Tom Chamberlain in our Sept. 6
edition, we failed to catch a typo-
graphical error. Chamberlain was
appointed by the Oregon AFL-CIO
board to replace Tim Nesbitt in
2005, not 2015.
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