OFNHP continues to be unresponsive
Now on day five of its strike, the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) has neither declined St. Charles Bend’s March 3 supposal nor provided a counter, or otherwise made any attempt to respond to that proposal since the strike began.
The parties are still scheduled to meet with a federal mediator for the next bargaining session on March 10. In the meantime, operations at St. Charles Bend continue uninterrupted with qualified replacement workers covering shifts throughout the hospital. Surgeries and other procedures are taking place as scheduled.
“We’ve not received a return to work notice from the union, which is the first step in the process of bringing our caregivers back to work,” said St. Charles Bend President Aaron Adams.
Two core issues still remain on the table: compensation and union security.
The teams have agreed upon wages for the first year of the contract. Under this agreement, the average hourly wage for techs in the bargaining unit will be $41.94 per hour. This equates to an annual base salary of $87,000 a year for a full-time equivalent position, not including overtime, premium pay, shift differentials and other benefits. However, wages for years two through five of the contract are still being negotiated.
The union has also requested a closed shop, meaning all St. Charles technical employees’ jobs would be conditional upon joining the union and paying 1.4% of their base wage in dues or paying agency fees and giving up voting rights. St. Charles has asked for an open shop in order to give its caregivers a choice on whether they are members of the union.
About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,600 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.
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