PORT ANGELES — Unionized Olympic Medical Center employees say they will go on a single-day strike Aug. 11 if the union representing 369 nurses and service workers cannot come to terms with OMC over benefits and staffing levels.
The hospital district’s CEO said it will cost $600,000 extra to bring in 150 replacement nurses and other workers that would be needed to fill in during the 18-hour strike.
Service Employees International Union 1199NW on Friday gave notice of the potential strike.
“Our goal is to settle a fair contract, not to go on strike,” said union spokeswoman Linnae Riesen.
Negotiations between the hospital and union bargaining team will resume this Thursday.
Meanwhile, a Kitsap County judge on Wednesday morning will hear arguments on an OMC motion for a temporary restraining order to the strike.
Citing state law, officials of the public hospital district said it is illegal for public employees to strike.
“We felt we had an obligation on behalf of the community to seek this temporary restraining order, and we are hopeful that the court will step forward and address the issue,” said Laura Joshel, OMC employee relations coordinator.
“Our legal counsel believes very firmly that the law is clear, that it is illegal for employees of public employers to strike, but we recognize that the court ultimately makes that determination,”
OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis said OMC must “be ready” for a potential strike and cannot wait for a court decision.
“We can’t be here with no employees on [Aug. 11],” he said.
“That would be unsafe for our community and our patients.”
The Thursday, Aug. 11, job action would start at 6 a.m. and end at 11:59 p.m.
Lewis said in an interview Monday that the strike would cost the hospital $600,000.
“We’ll have to hire 150 replacement workers for that day,” Lewis said.
“It will be very expensive, but we can’t not be here.
“If somebody comes to our emergency room with a heart attack, or somebody comes to our hospital with pneumonia, or if somebody needs an urgent surgery, we have to be here and we will be here.
“But it’s going to be quite expensive and time-consuming over the next nine or 10 days to get ready for that.”
OMC will begin to hire the replacement nurses and other workers today.
The hospital paid a $90,000 fee to a temporary staffing agency on Monday.
The temporary workers would arrive in Port Angeles next Monday and Tuesday.
OMC would cover the travel and lodging.
“We have to orientate them and make sure they’re competent and trained,” Lewis said.
“We’re really disheartened that they would, in the middle of mediation, give a strike notice.”
OMC has between 30 to 70 patient admissions per day, and plans for the higher end of that range Aug. 11.
Linda Bryant, a member of the union bargaining team who works in the operating room, said “a lot of people’s kids will lose their insurance” under the hospital’s proposal.
“I do not want to strike — none of us wants to strike — but we also want to get this contract resolved,” Bryant said.
“We want to maintain our benefits, and we also want safe staffing ratios in the contract also.
“We’re focusing on high-quality patent care and benefits.”
Lewis said OMC compares favorably with other hospitals for staffing ratios.
“We do the best to staff adequately, and we invest heavily in doing that,” he said.
OMC now provides 100 percent health care coverage for its full- and half-time employees and their children.
“We’re basically proposing that rather than employees pay zero for their children, if they work four days a week or more, that they would pay 25 percent for their children,” Lewis said.
This year, employee medical benefits rose by 14 percent at additional cost of $1.5 million.
“Our wages and benefits are at 60 percent of our revenue, which is really the high end,” Lewis said.
“Most Seattle hospitals are between 48 and 52 [percent].
“One of the reasons we’re so high is we have one of the best benefit packages any hospital employees enjoy at any hospital in Washington state.”
Lewis said OMC simply can’t afford the benefits that its union workers are asking for.
“We’re going to continue to bargain in good faith with SEIU,” Lewis said.
“We value our employees and we want to reach an agreement. But we do need to maintain financial viability. We need to be sustainable and we need to figure out an agreement that works for everybody.”
One of the challenges during the 10-month negotiations has been the uncertainty over what Medicare is going to pay the hospital.
“We’ve already experienced cuts, but we know more are coming,” Lewis said.
“They [union workers] want another settlement like they got back in ‘08. There’s no way we can do that.”
Throughout the recession, OMC has not resorted to layoffs. It does not plan to subcontract workers, Lewis said.
“We are negotiating in good faith and we want to reach an agreement with our employees because they are very valuable,” Lewis said.
“They work very hard and they have great skills.
“That being said, we need to negotiate a settlement that keeps Olympic Medical Center viable and is affordable for our patients.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com
