Butler Memorial Hospital techs picket in midst of union battles, demanding safe staffing
Dozens of technicians from Butler Memorial Hospital took their fight for their first union contract to the sidewalk on Wednesday, March 18, as they held an informational picket in front of the hospital.
“We're just fighting for safe staffing, fair wages, and to retain our staff, and some respect,” CT tech Tara Erskine said.
The hospital technicians, which number around 250, are in the midst of negotiating for their first union contract after they voted to join the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) last May.
A key pillar of their contract negotiation is “safe staffing,” as the technicians allege they have been spread thin due to low staffing and abnormally high turnover, compounded by a base pay rate that is lower than competing hospitals. Erskine said part of the problem is caused by the hospital offering sign-on bonuses to anyone who works for a certain amount of time.
“The turnover for staffing is increasing throughout the years because nobody wants to come here and work for pay that is less than they can get somewhere else,” Erskine said. “People keep getting sign-on bonuses, and they fulfill the contract, and then they leave.”
“When you don't respect your staff, expect them to work short-handed and don't compensate them fairly, people will leave,” said nuclear medicine technologist Donnie Geibel, who has worked at the hospital for more than two decades. “Administration claims this is normal turnover. Trust me, this is not normal. People leaving for Grove City, Allegheny Valley and the VA used to be unheard of. Now it's quite normal.”
Previously, officials from Independence Health System — the parent of Butler Memorial Hospital — have told the Butler Eagle that turnover among technicians at Butler is within industry norms, and that all negotiations between the hospital and technicians have been conducted in good faith, without retaliation.
However, multiple technicians who spoke during Wednesday’s picket accused the hospital of not making a good-faith effort to negotiate with them.
“During our last few bargaining sessions, management has refused to engage us on our proposals to implement a wage scale with steps,” ultrasound technologist Lori Daniel said. “We see this as necessary to retain and recruit quality employees. This isn't an outrageous demand.”
Although it was the day after St. Patrick’s Day, there was still a slight Irish theme to the picket. PASNAP representatives distributed green T-shirts to picketing technicians, and some held signs with the slogan, “Luck Won’t Save Our Staff, A Fair Contract Will.”
Other slogans included, “Caution, Unsafe Staffing,” and “Techs Deserve More Than A Pizza Party.”
A few drivers passing by the picket on East Brady Street honked their horns to demonstrate their support.
PASNAP estimates that between 80 and 100 of the hospital’s technicians took part in Wednesday’s picket, finding whatever time they could to march after their shifts ended.
“There are people that are working in the hospital right now that can't come out, and there are people that may be away on vacation,” Geibel said. “So this is maybe half the people that could be here, and this many people coming out here on a freezing-cold day shows that a lot of people care.”
Offering his support to the technicians was Conor Lamb, a former congressman, who said he was there that day only as a citizen. During his speech, he noted that he went to Butler Memorial Hospital for the birth of his third child only six months earlier.
“Dealing with these health systems now … so much of it is about numbers on spreadsheets and all these different metrics to optimize the amount of money that’s going in and going out,” Lamb said. “You wonder if maybe they’re losing sight of the mission, which is to take care of people. The mission is to make people better.”
It wasn’t just technicians who marched. Members of the hospital’s nurses union also took to the street in solidarity with the techs. The nurses themselves came dangerously close to a strike in spring 2025 as they tried to negotiate a union contract which included new safety measures, before an agreement was finally ratified in May.
ICU nurse Shannon Herrington spoke about her experiences dealing with the hospital.
“Management fought us on implementing these measures, to the point that they agreed to install new metal detectors only if our union paid for them,” Harrington said. “It was only when the news got out that the hospital finally agreed to pay. This is what we were up against.
“Our unions together are stronger. Myself and over 500 RNs of Butler Hospital stand behind you. Together, we will make Butler Hospital better again and safer for our patients and community.”
Although he was unable to attend the picket as originally planned, Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy issued a statement of support for the technicians through a PASNAP news release.
“From the labs to the imaging rooms and everywhere in between, technicians provide the expertise doctors rely on and the care patients depend on,” Dandoy wrote. “Too often their work happens behind the scenes, but hospitals can’t function without them and our community depends on them for care. They deserve to have their voices heard, to be treated with fairness and respect, and to receive the recognition that matches the critical role they play in our health care system.”
Geibel said he hopes the picket convinces hospital management that the technicians’ resolve for a union contract is serious and cannot be ignored.
“I think it’s going to make them understand that it’s not just a few members,” Geibel said. “It’s the vast majority of the technical staff here that are pro-union and want us to get a fair contract.”
For its part, Independence Health System denies any allegations of foul play.
“Real progress happens at the bargaining table. Butler Memorial Hospital has negotiated, and will continue to negotiate, in good faith with the tech union to reach a fair contract,” said Independence Health chief marketing and communications officer Kelley Skoloda in a statement to the Butler Eagle. “Public stunts and inflammatory claims may generate headlines, but they do not change the facts. Butler Memorial Hospital is committed to a respectful process focused on the best outcomes for our staff and patients. To say otherwise is misleading to our community.”
