June 19, 2014
Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital workers were joined by community members, local homecare workers, and caregivers from across the Samaritan system to stand up for fairness and good jobs at North Lincoln Hospital.
Despite the higher cost of living on the coast, Samaritan continues to compensate workers here less than other system hospitals. In addition, Samaritan’s healthcare plan is more expensive for North Lincoln workers.
“Samaritan keeps telling us that we’re one big family and that we should standardize across the system to improve the care we provide. So why won’t they work with us to make sure caregivers here in Lincoln City are treated the same as caregivers at our sister hospitals that are right down the road?” said Beth Malek, a Radiological Tech at North Lincoln Hospital and member of the SEIU Local 49 Bargaining Team.
Joining North Lincoln caregivers at the informational picket were workers from other Samaritan Hospitals in the area. “My co-workers and I came out today to demonstrate our support for local caregivers,” said Michelle Hilpert, a CNA at Samaritan Albany General Hospital. “We do the same job as caregivers here in Lincoln City. There is just no reason why these workers here should not get the same healthcare benefits and family wage jobs as other Samaritan hospitals.”
In November of 2013, caregivers at North Lincoln organized and voted to organize with SEIU Local 49. Since this time, caregivers have been bargaining and trying to raise standards at the hospital. While some progress has been made at the bargaining table, management has yet to work with caregivers in raising wages and providing affordable care.
SEIU Local 49 includes over 120 hospital workers at North Lincoln including respiratory therapists, radiology technologists, dietary aides, certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, and billing specialists. The next bargaining session is set for Monday, June 23rd.
