St. Vincent technicians seek to align with union
St. Vincent Hospital is reviewing an application from a group of more than 200 technicians at the hospital to unionize.
The employees have applied to the Boston bureau of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to join Teamsters Local 170 in Worcester.
Teresa Prego, chief marketing executive at the Worcester hospital, said in an email Tuesday that the hospital has received the application and is reviewing it.
Michael P. Hogan, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of the Teamsters Local 170, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that about 225 hospital technicians are seeking to unionize. The main issues are unsafe staffing levels, and a lack of respect shown to workers at the hospital who are not unionized.
Health insurance is one of the main complaints and it relates to the lack of respect, Hogan said. The unionized nurses enjoy superior health coverage than their nonunionized counterparts, he said.
“In today’s world," Hogan said, "you don’t get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate."
According to a report Monday in the Telegram & Gazette, the group seeking to align with the local Teamsters includes X-ray, surgical, respiratory, ultrasound, labor and delivery, and pharmacy technicians.
Hogan said he accompanied hospital technicians Friday when they asked hospital president and CEO Steven MacLauchlan to recognize the employees as being part of the Teamsters union, and were turned down. The technicians then filed a petition with the NLRB to hold a representation election, in which the technicians would hold a vote on whether to join the Teamsters.
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