Providence Centralia - Providence Is “Not Interested” in Appreciating the Work of the Techs!

On January 5, we met and bargained with Providence. We presented the “holidays” article, which dictates holiday pay for the entire unit. In all the economic, monetary-related, articles we have proposed, our objective has been to memorialize or improve current practices. Providence has rejected our economic proposals and proposed very weak contract language which allows them to change practices at any time! We are now starting to discuss more economic proposals and anticipate that Providence will continue to reject our proposals if we do not take action!

Today, we told Providence that we believe that the entire Technical Unit deserves an extra shift bonus like the RN unit at PCH. The PCH RNs have been offered an additional bonus for picking up extra shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providence has offered a similar agreement to the Technical Unit at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (PRMCE) and has proposed a similar bonus for the Respiratory Therapists at PCH and PSPH. While we are greatly appreciate that Providence has recognized the critical and dangerous work the Respiratory Therapists are doing during the ongoing pandemic, we are disappointed that Providence has failed to recognize the other Technical Unit members who work alongside Respiratory Therapy and the RNs. We believe that this is another attempt on Providence’s part to divide us and weaken our solidarity as we work to secure a fair first contract.

Providence told us that they “are not interested” in offering an extra shift bonus for the frontline Technical Unit members who work tirelessly with Respiratory Therapists and RNs to provide critical, lifesaving care to patients. Providence has the resources to take care of its workers, but only if we hold them accountable. We ask you to stand with us, and sign a petition and demand that Providence does the right thing: Protect the Frontline, and not their bottom line!

Above is the link to our petition and we will distributing paper copies of the petition. If you are interested in collecting signatures please contact your union rep Erin McCoy (206)436-6598 or emccoy@ufcw21.org. PSPH and PRMCE will be collecting signatures as well and we will be presenting our petition towards the end of the month. Our next contract action team/bargaining update meeting will be held later on in the month via Zoom..

In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Jen Mullins, Rad Tech; Jamie Freeman, RT; Verity Olsen, Pharmacy Tech; Kathleen Spencer, RT; Jen Frunz, Mammo Tech