SEIU Votes Unanimously to Accept Contract
 Unit secretary Cindy Bird talks about how much her colleagues mean to her. |
"We stood tall, we stood tough, we stood strong," said union member Cindy Bird, tearing up as she spoke of her colleagues and the hospital as part of her family. "And we got our contract back."
The count was 89-0, unanimous but lower than the vote two weeks ago when 134 of the union's 174 members decided to authorize a strike if a contract could not be hammered out.
Chapter Chairman Michael O'Brien, a respiratory therapist, thought the low turnout may be because people were confident of the outcome. "Everybody has been walking on air."
That confidence was caused by a breakthrough in talks on Thursday when negotiators for Northern Berkshire Healthcare, the hospital's parent, pulled its demand for "flexible scheduling" off the table. An agreement was reached Thursday evening.
"They would have essentially made 174 per diem jobs," said O'Brien. "People can't live on that. Some do, but it's by choice. This would have been no choice."
O'Brien believed the intervention of lawmakers on Wednesday, including Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, U.S. Rep. John W. Olver and Attorney General Martha Coakley, likely the next U.S. senator, played a role in restarting talks — and the hospital's change of heart on scheduling demands.
Members speaking at a press conference following Tuesday's vote count also thanked the community for its backing as well as the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which had strongly supported their efforts.
"People would have suffered," said Martin Pearson, an ultrasound technician. "We want to go to work. We did not want a strike."
 A happy local Chairman Michael O'Brien goofs around with equally happy union members. |
Northern Berkshire Healthcare is struggling with an $8.1 million shortfall this year, nearly half in investments gone bad in the past year's financial collapse. Officials were seeking concessions to help stem the bleeding.
The new contract:
■ Modifies select scheduling practices to provide maximum flexibility so staffing can match patient volume and needs.
■ Modifies select overtime practices to reduce costs and improve scheduling.
■ Preserves core benefits and hours for healthcare workers to continue provision of quality jobs and quality care.
■ Preserves retirement security for 1199SEIU members.
■ Preserves successorship protections for health-care workers in the event of a hospital merger.
■ Preserves previous health insurance costs for health-care workers.
■ Freezes step increases but includes a 1 percent wage increase on Oct. 1, 2010. This year, all employees covered by the contract will receive the same percentage increase that other employees receive on the date that they receive it.
The NBH board of trustees will vote on ratification later this week.
The hospital had been prepared to bring in replacement workers if the strike occurred; over the past weeks as the talks deadlocked, the hospital's patient count reportedly dipped into the low teens, if not the single digits.
"This is the win for the patients, for us, of course, and the for the community," said O'Brien, adding that hospital patients could be sure of getting care. "We're there and we're ready to help them."
