The employees, who include surgical assistants, respiratory therapists and ultrasound diagnosticians, have been negotiating their next collective agreement for several months.
St. Charles health care workers began this effort years ago, which inevitably led to an 11-day strike in 2021 to negotiate their first union contract. After the strike, they won a contract with wage increases, said Shane Burley, communications organizer for the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
Today, wages remain an issue. The union hopes a new contract will help recruit and retain technicians by offering competitive wages and more support for current employees.
“The environment we’re in is very challenging for recruiting, especially younger people. We want to be able to offer a contract that allows us to recruit people, especially our youth, because they are our future,” said Tyler Ecklund, a nuclear medicine technician at St. Charles.
As a result, says Burley, there is an increase in the number of short-term contract workers, also known as “travellers”.
“This contract is huge,” said Serina Roher, president of the OFNHP, at the strike action. “We are focused on training to recruit and retain people who live in this community, who are from this community and who want to take care of this community.”
The most important issue in negotiations in health care unions, Burley said, is staffing, because patient care is the most important thing to workers. “They’re obviously not just fighting for themselves, but it’s a patient fight as well,” he said.
Burley said the campaign for a new contract has intensified as St. Charles drags out the months-long negotiations that led to Thursday’s strike action. If St. Charles continues to reject proposals, it could lead to another strike that would affect all of Central Oregon, he said.
“The workers are 100 percent ready to do whatever it takes. I would say St. Charles is the most ready to strike of all the cities we represent,” he added.
According to Alandra Johnson, St. Charles spokeswoman, the latest proposal to OFNHP included compensation rates comparable to, or in some cases higher than, similar positions across the state.
“We continue to negotiate with OFNHP on a contract for the approximately 150 technical nurses represented by the union and are making progress on key issues with a federal mediator,” Stacy Youngs, Bend’s chief nursing officer, said in a statement.
St. Charles officials expressed optimism that the health system will reach a comprehensive agreement at their next meeting in September.
