Kadlec workers in Kennewick, Richland strike, Kadlec releases workers before shift ends

RICHLAND, Wash. – Kadlec service and technician workers went on strike Tuesday a bit earlier than originally planned.

According to information received by Apple Valley News Now, workers told reporter Monique Ledesma they were not allowed to finish their overnight shifts Tuesday morning and were asked to vacate the building by 4 a.m. They were expected to begin the picket lines in front of the hospital in Richland at 6 a.m. Instead, they began gathering at 4 a.m. The hospital also called in security, as well as a tow company for striking workers whose cars were in Kadlec parking lots. Several workers began scrambling to move their cars before they could get towed. Workers Ledesma spoke to said it felt like they were disrespected and undervalued.

"Didn't understand why they were treating us this way," Blanca Hinojosa said. Hinojosa is a pharmacy technician with Kadlec.

"My coworkers expressed that they were willing to complete the patient care," said Ethel Phram. Phram is an emergency technician. "They felt like it was a disregard of their skills, of what they would like to provide the community to be kicked out without completing their task. They felt like they did not give the patient the proper care, because the management came over and they just kicked them out at 4:40 in the morning instead of 6:00, so the continuation of care is not there. We are surprised why Kadlec did it, and it was just so unsafe to do that."

The union told Ledesma it would be filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Hospital officials don't agree that workers were mistreated this morning. They told Ledesma SEIU-represented caregivers were given time to gather their things and would be paid until the start of the strike time at 6 a.m. They said caregivers also had the option to provide their intent to work and not strike and return to work to finish their shift.

The strike comes after workers and the hospital management were unable to come to an agreement on pay and other working conditions. The union gave notice of the strike on August 10. The two groups had been negotiating contract terms for the last eight months. According to Kadlec officials, while they hoped it would not end up in a strike, they will continue their standard of care.

"At Kadlec, we were prepared either way," said Katy O'Conner, who is the chief human resource officer with Kadlec. "We were very hopeful that we would not come to a strike, because we do feel we have a very market competitive offer on the table right now, and given that we've had so many sessions to date, we were hoping we could resolve this."

But Kadlec workers said the strike is more than just about pay. It's a call for respect.

"We feel like we work for the same employer," Hinojosa said. "There's multiple Providences all through Washington and Oregon and we feel like we should get their same pay. We should get the same respect."

"We know we are not getting a livable wage," Phram said. "There is close to 300 of our workers living on minimum wage and they will continue to be getting minimum wage for the next five to seven years." Pham also said one of the biggest obstacles is to train and retain the hospital's skilled workers. "We're losing them to neighboring hospitals. They offer higher wages on the skills that they have and we are asking the same employer we do the same work, they pay us the same."

O'Conner said hospital officials have negotiated a fair deal so far. "We have a compensation department that analyzes regularly to make sure we're competitive with eastern Washington and we know that we are," she said. "These rates of nearly 16% in year one and a 27% average for these particular roles over a three-year period - we do know that's very competitive in eastern Washington."

Phram and Hinojosa said if workers at hospitals at Providence should be paid the same for doing the same work. "There's another Providence-owned hospital that just settled their contract and they're asking the same thing that we're asking and we were told for eight months, 'No, you shouldn't ask for that. You should hit the highway and go to Seattle if you want to get paid. It was so disrespectful for us workers and it was disrespectful for the community and to the patient that we're caring for."

As for when the strike is over, Phram said it's up to Kadlec.

"We want them to come to the bargaining table, come with an acceptable offer, something that would show that they value and respect and appreciate our skills. That they value this community. They want to invest in this community," she said.

The union and the hospital return to the negotiating table after August 27.

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