Unionized nurses at the University of Vermont Medical Center stood outside the state’s largest hospital on Monday to announce that they will go on strike next week.
The Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals gave management at the UVM Medical Center official notice Monday that the 1,800 unionized nurses plan a two-day strike on July 12th and 13th. Union Vice President and Medical Intensive Care Unit Nurse Deb Snell has worked at the hospital for 19 years. She says they have been bargaining in good faith since March. She said Vermont ranks 47th nationally in wages for nurses and is tied for number one in nursing job openings per capita. “Rather than supporting us in problem solving the hospital’s committed numerous unfair labor acts, not bargaining in good faith and intimidating staff. They have put us in a position where we’ve felt we had no choice but to issue our intention to strike. Our intention is to be on strike July 12th and July 13th. Please know this decision was not made lightly. We will continue to bargain in good faith up until July 11th if they are willing to do so but we must see progress being made.”
Vermont State senator Democrat/Progressive Philip Baruth serves on the Senate Economic Development Committee, which deals with union issues. He called on hospital management to rethink priorities. “I have always thought that nurses were underpaid. For those who don’t know it UVM Medical Center has been involved in historic expansion. That is a great thing for care if quality doesn’t recede. If I could call on the administration to rethink their corporate, top-down recalcitrance to fair wages for these people. They do the dirtiest jobs and they also do the jobs with the most dignity for their patients.”
Post-Anesthesia Care Unit nurse Julie MacMillan, the lead negotiator for the union, has lost confidence in hospital leadership. “We’re working for the biggest bullies in the state right now. The unfair labor practices that they’ve been doing include complete attempt at intimidating nurses. They have said that we are not worthy and at this point it is about wages because we can’t recruit people and we can’t retain people. But this also nurses saying we will not be doormats we will not be bullied and we are standing up for our rights.” (applause)
The nurses want a 24 percent wage increase while management is offering 13 percent over the three-year contract. University of Vermont Medical Center President and CEO Eileen Whalen says strike notice or not, she believes both sides want to return to the table. “The 24 percent is unrealistic. We have doubled our proposal on the table and I think it is very strong. It is very sincere. We think it will definitely meet the needs of and we need to bring the sides together. But it is unrealistic in this environment to expect a 24 percent increase over three years time.”
Whalen says the hospital hasn’t found market data to support that level of a raise. “The impact of 24 percent for 1,800 within a group of 8,000 employees the impact is significant. I would never provide 18 percent for one group and not have parity throughout the rest. So the economic impact is really pretty significant. The other thing it would do is not only cause an unbalance here at the medical center but the ripple effect across this state and across New York state if one group goes out and gives a 24 percent raise the impact on every other organization will only raise the cost of health care throughout this entire state. It makes no sense. It’s unconscionable.”
The current contract for the 1,800 unionized nurses expires July 9th.
