Health Sys. workers face vote on union

Nearly 2,000 employees will vote next month on whether to unionize. Following two months of heavy campaigning, about a third of the employees of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania are set to vote next month on the divisive issue of unionization. The 1,900 workers -- who comprise all of the hospital's "non-professional" staff, including lab technicians, secretaries and nurse's assistants -- will vote in a special election on March 11. The National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees District 1199C is encouraging the workers to vote yes so they can have a single unit to negotiate their wages and working conditions. But hospital administrators say things are fine the way they are and that unionization would negatively affect HUP's quality of care. "We prefer to deal directly with our employees rather than through a third party," Health System spokesperson Lori Doyle said. "We are fearful that [a union] will hamper our ability to provide the best patient care." But union President Henry Nicholas said HUP's employees should vote to join the union because it will improve working conditions and provide more "rights, respect and dignity." HUP administrators, Nicholas asserted, are "trying to deny the workers the right to organize," by sending out memos that "gave them lies and manipulated the facts." Tom Beeman, the Health System's senior vice president for hospital operations and executive director of HUP, said that he is lobbying the employees to reject the union proposal but denied using any deceitful tactics. "I hope I have communicated effectively with our staff and [that] they give me the opportunity to work with them and deal with their issues," he said. Beeman added that he holds regular all-employee meetings where any staff member can talk with him directly -- not through a third party. "Staff issues are best handled by me and my staff," he said. The employees seem to be fairly evenly split between the pro- and anti-unionization camps. Some hospital employees said they are voting for the union because of their frustration over their inability to improve their working conditions. "We need a voice to speak up for us," environmental services worker Marc Hopkins said. He added that the employees bring their grievances to the employee meetings, "but [officials] don't respond, and that's a problem." Others said they don't think unionization is necessary. "We have no complications that can't be handled in-house," said medical technician Laureen Farlong, who added that "everyone" in her department is against the union. And many employees still do not know how they will vote on the unionization proposal. Medical technician Thomas Coughlin said that money is a big issue and he thinks the hospital has not been fair in terms of pay raises. Many of the workers have not seen a wage increase in three years, he said. "But the union can't guarantee a raise," he added, also noting that unionization would mean employees must sacrifice their Health System benefit package in favor of one provided by the union. Nicholas said the election is about workers having a say in their working conditions. He also noted that Jefferson, Temple, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and other area hospital employees have belonged to the union since 1972. But Beeman said HUP workers never joined because they are happy with their situation. "Our staff realized that they get good benefits," he said. Beeman was effusive in his praise for the affected employees. "They show loyalty, professionalism and dedication to the organization," Beeman said. "That's why we are one of the best medical centers in the country."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.