St. Charles and OFNHP unable to come to agreement on next steps
BEND, Ore. – In an effort to move forward negotiations on a first-time labor contract, St. Charles Health System approached the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Tuesday with an offer to return to the bargaining table with a federal mediator today if the union would revoke its strike notice.
The union was unwilling to do so. The notice, which St. Charles received on Feb. 22, indicates the 156 technical employees represented by OFNHP plan to strike for an indefinite amount of time starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, March 4.
“We simply don’t have the resources to focus on bargaining a new contract while we are actively preparing for a strike of our technical workforce,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend. “Our top priority must be ensuring we have replacement workers here to care for our community.”
The timing of the strike is particularly challenging as St. Charles continues to suffer incredible financial losses due to COVID-19. The health system ended 2020 about $21 million below its financial targets even after Cares Act relief funding – mostly because of extended periods of time where surgeries were canceled due to state restrictions or the high volume of COVID-19 patients. St. Charles is experiencing a difficult start to 2021 as well after posting an operating loss of $4.9 million in the month of January.
St. Charles is not alone. The American Hospital Association estimates that hospitals lost approximately $323 billion in revenue in 2020.
“While many other health systems laid off staff early on in the pandemic, we made sure our caregivers continued to receive full paychecks even when we didn’t have patients for them to care for,” Adams said. “We have put our caregivers and our patients first throughout this pandemic, which has been hard on us financially. It is unfortunate that OFNHP is now adding to that financial strain.”
St. Charles values its caregivers and respects their rights to union representation. Before the strike notice was sent, the health system initiated discussions with a federal mediator to help move forward negotiations in the best interest of all involved.
Only two core issues remain on the table at this time: compensation and union security.
The teams have agreed upon wages for the first year of the contract. Under this agreement, the average hourly wage for techs in the bargaining unit will be $41.94 per hour once the contract is ratified. This equates to an annual salary of $87,000 a year for a full-time equivalent position, not including overtime, premium pay, shift differentials and other benefits.
As for union security, St. Charles has asked for an open shop in order to give its caregivers a choice on whether they are members of the union. The union has requested a closed shop, meaning all St. Charles technical employees represented by OFNHP could lose their jobs if they decide they do not want to join the union.
“We believe in the rights of our caregivers who are interested in union representation to be represented,” Adams said. “But we also believe those who are not interested should have the same right to decline union membership.”
At this time, the strike is scheduled to go forward on Thursday morning. The parties are still scheduled to meet with a federal mediator for the next bargaining session on March 10.
About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,600 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.
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