TMH talks with union reach impasse

Staff report

warren

Union members at Trumbull Memorial Hospital soon will begin picketing outside the facility, and, if negotiations remain stagnant, will have to consider a strike after turning down the company’s latest contract offer.

The employees are represented by the Service Employees International Union District 1119. The union issued a statement Friday morning that the contract offered included “crippling concessions” that would reduce the number of caregivers who would be on hand at the hospital. The contract officially expired at 11:59 p.m. Friday.

The offer was voted down unanimously by union members, according to the union statement.

One of the larger points of contention with the contract proposal from ValleyCare Health Systems of Ohio, which is owned by Community Health Systems, was the addition of up to three furlough days per month and as many as 36 in a year, said Mary Ann Hupp, administrative organizer with the union. The company would have the ability to send employees home or call and tell them not to come to work if they determined the hospital was not busy enough.

“Under the current contract, we have a provision where employees can volunteer for furlough days. We’ve never been told why the volunteer furlough system wasn’t working or provided any information about why the company needs this,” she said.

Members of the union have agreed to $40 million in concessions to help former Forum Health attempt to avoid bankruptcy, Hupp said.

Union members believe the furloughs not only will hurt employees financially but would potentially harm the level of care at the hospital, she said.

“Trumbull Memorial Hospital has developed a reputation for providing quality care,” Hupp said.

The issue is what happens to patient care if a number of employees are sent home and then something happens; there might not be enough people working to ensure proper care, she said.

The hospital released a formal statement Friday that said: “Trumbull Memorial Hospital is currently engaged in contract negotiations with the SEIU. As part of these negotiations, the hospital put forth a fair and competitive contract proposal. This proposal includes an option which is very common in the health-care industry, providing that a hospital may flex staffing based on the number of patients in its care. Unfortunately, our proposal was not accepted, and the union has now notified the hospital of its intent to conduct informational picketing on Tuesday, May 22 beginning at 3:30 p.m.”

Debora Bishop, marketing director for the hospital, said the company would not make any comment beyond the official statement.

The current offer to the union was presented as a “last and final” offer, Hupp said. ValleyCare has not shown any inclination to return to negotiations, she added.

“Employees are hopeful the company will decide to return to negotiations,” she said.

The union does not plan to file an intent-to-strike notice at this time.

SEIU members will conduct a 10-day informational picket at the hospital starting May 22. If the company refuses to negotiate, the union will at some point file a notice to strike, Hupp said.

The union represents more than 400 workers at Trumbull Memorial.