Butler Memorial Hospital technicians decry cuts at news conference
When around 70 Butler Memorial Hospital technical professionals gathered in the rain at Diamond Park on Thursday afternoon, they argued the hospital is not the place it once was.
While Independence Health System, owner of the hospital, claims its current turnover rate is in line with industry norms, various speakers said current work conditions have deteriorated to the point it’s led to a large loss of employees.
“We’ve been losing a lot of valuable people,” Dylan Douthett, a hospital LPN, said. “Whenever you got hired, you were told you were chosen, you weren’t just hired, because you were the best in your field and they wanted people like that. Butler provided the best care. Since this merger, we’re not even a close second or third, and it’s sad.”
The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) said in a news release the event Thursday afternoon was meant to speak out about the “alarming loss” of experienced techs at the hospital and “what high staff turnover means for patient care and Butler’s patient community.”
Butler Memorial techs are currently bargaining for their first union contract as members of the PASNAP union. In May, 235 techs — which includes surgical techs, respiratory therapists, radiology techs and LPNs, among other job classifications — voted to unionize with PASNAP, which represents nurses at the hospital.
“I think a main reason we wanted to start this union is that things were just slowly being taken away from us. Butler (Memorial Hospital) used to be such an amazing place to work and then we merged with Excela and instead of bringing Excela up to us, they brought Butler down to Excela,” Maura Williams, a surgical technologist, said.
At the news conference, technicians said their demands include things such as fair raises, fair-market wages and allowing employees’ spouses back on Excela Health Insurance, something they say has not been allowed recently.
“Administration needs to remember that their staff and patients are not numbers on a financial spread sheet. They’re neighbors, friends and oftentimes family,” Donnie Geibel, a nuclear medicine technologist, said. “My wife was pregnant with our daughter when all non-union hospital employees received an email stating that our spouses would be dropped from our insurance if they were able to get insurance from their employer.”
Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy, one of the speakers Thursday afternoon, said the technicians’ vote to organize carried significance, sending a message that fairness and safety are “not negotiable.”
“You’ve made it clear that the people delivering care deserve a voice in how that care is delivered,” Dandoy told the technicians in attendance. “Unionizing isn’t just about better pay or schedules. It’s about making sure staffing levels are safe, that equipment works, that your voices are heard when policies affect patient care.”
In a statement to the Butler Eagle, Independence Health System said it is committed to “constructive dialogue” and reaching a fair deal that supports its mission to deliver “expert care” in the communities it serves “while ensuring the long-term strength and stability of our organization.”
“Independence Health System respects our employees’ right to express their concerns as they conduct unionizing activities. Real progress is achieved with forthright, face-to-face negotiations. Public forums, misleading reports and information out of context don’t help anyone involved,” the statement said. “In fact, our turnover is in line with industry norms and our internal standards, numerous awards for patient safety and outcomes validate our track record with patients, who are our top priority. To suggest otherwise is not accurate and falsely alarming.”
Meanwhile, technicians at the news conference Thursday were critical, saying the hospital’s administration had “not shown any respect in the bargaining sessions.”
The hospital technicians’ decision to hold the conference with the PASNAP comes months after the hospital’s nurses held a picket line outside the hospital while collective bargaining negotiations came down to the wire. Ultimately, the nurses and Independence agreed to a new contract.
In August, a “unity petition” techs and nurses signed onto outlined their bargaining priorities: competitive wages, better benefits and fair work policies to recruit and retain great health care professionals.
“Butler (Memorial Hospital) has to invest in experience. It’s so vital. We need these health care workers to take care of our patients first and foremost. Everything we’re doing is asking to make our community and our patients safer,” Tammy May, an ICU nurse and local union president, said.
