St. Charles Bend tech workers vote to join union

About 150 tech workers at St. Charles Bend have voted to join the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals in an effort to improve their working conditions and patient care at the hospital, the union announced Friday.

Thursday’s vote came after months of conversations among workers about joining a union, the organization said.

” It was a decisive victory, in which the techs voted 90-34 in favor of organizing with OFNHP, a union of health care workers affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, ” the announcement said.

Nurses at the hospital unionized in 1994; they are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, also an AFT affiliate.

The newly organized group represents nearly 160 technologists working in surgical services, imaging and respiratory care, among other departments.

” Techs look forward to working together with management to ensure the Central Oregon hospital can recruit and retain the best caregivers, ” the announcement said.

“I am organizing because I see a critical need for technologists to have a voice,” said veteran ultrasound tech Dee Dee Schumacher. ” I want to ensure that technologists following in my footsteps can stay as passionate and dedicated as I have been in my career. I look forward to working collaboratively with St. Charles to ensure this happens. ”

St. Charles techs said they want to address several concerns in negotiations, including being short-staffed, scheduling problems and keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of living in the Bend area.

“OFNHP is excited to welcome St. Charles caregivers to our movement for quality care and good jobs,” said OFNHP President Adrienne Enghouse, a registered nurse for 23 years. “When health care workers have a voice at work through our union, we have more power to advocate for what our patients and our families need.”

Founded in 1979, the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, AFT Local 5017, is one of the fastest growing unions in the Northwest, representing nearly 6,000 nurses and health professionals in Oregon and southwest Washington.

St. Charles Health System is the region’s largest private employer, with nearly 4,500 employees at its Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville hospitals and other affiliated clinics.

St. Charles Bend provided this statement to NewsChannel 21, when asked about Thursday’s union vote:

” A majority of technical caregivers at St. Charles Bend chose Thursday to be represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

” The 146 caregivers that are part of the technical unit include the following: cath lab technologists, certified surgical technologists, CT technologists, echo technologists, nuclear med technologists, neurodiagnostic technologists, radiologic technologists, radiation therapy technologists, respiratory therapists, surgical technologists, ultrasound technologists, vascular/cath technologists and X‐ray technologists.

” In a separate vote, the (five) St. Charles Bend cardiac stress testing nurses also voted in favor of representation from the Oregon Nurses Association. They will be included in the existing ONA bargaining unit with the Bend nurses.

“Our caregivers have shared their voice through this vote and while I’m disappointed in the outcome, we will move forward and will work collaboratively with the OFNHP toward a first-time contract,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend and Redmond. ” Most importantly, no matter how individuals feel about the vote, we are all a part of the St. Charles family. We must focus on building our relationships and trust so we can do our best work for our patients. ”

” By law, all parties involved in both elections have until Sept. 12 to decide whether to file objections to the election, ” the hospital statement concluded ..

A flyer distributed by the union to affected St. Charles workers before Wednesday’s vote included answers to common questions, as well as comments from several techs about why they support the effort.

Cath lab tech Russ Amundson said, ” We have been asking for respect for years, and only now have we started to achieve that. But how long will it last? We have all seen how easily this organization backslides. ”

It also lays out the dues – 1.4 percent of base pay (not including overtime), with a cap on the total payment.

Enghouse said the current union effort began over a year ago, when several St. Charles techs expressed interest and began conversations with their co-workers. When enough members had filled out cards expressing interest in joining a union, a petition to vote was filed with the National Labor Relations Board and the hospital was notified of the pending vote.

The union official claimed that led to, as expected, an anti-union campaign by the hospital, telling workers the union was only there to collect dues and undermine workers, not to help them secure raises and improve working conditions.

Now that a vote has taken place, the next step is a certification process by the NLRB, expected to take about 30 days. Enghouse said the OFNHP sent the hospital a ” demand to bargain ” on Friday but that the employer usually tries to ” drag it out ” and delay talks.

” We’re calling on St. Charles Bend to bargain a fair contract and not drag it out, ” she said. ” They’ll either come to the table, or we’ll help them want to come to the table. ”

” We do look forward to finding solutions and working with them, ” she added. ” Because I think once they hear what the workers’ perspective, they’ll understand how it will improve the organization. ”

A key issue will be the techs’ stance that more staff is needed to deliver quality care, the union leader said.

” They feel like they need more staff and feel like they would deliver better care if they have more staffing. A lot of it is access, wait times, things like that, ” Enghouse said.