Union technicians at Butler Memorial Hospital issued a 10-day strike notice to hospital owner Independence Health on Friday, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals said.
According to the association, the 235 surgical techs, respiratory therapists, licensed practical nurses, radiology techs and other healthcare workers in the union will be on strike for five days — from 6 a.m. May 19 until 6 a.m. Sunday, May 24.
The association says 500 registered nurses at the hospital will picket in support.
In a statement, Independence Health said that 10 days “neither reflects the significance and complexity of the issues being negotiated nor offers a meaningful path toward resolution.
“BMH remains prepared to meet and bargain in good faith to reach an agreement and avoid a work stoppage,” the statement said. “Our priority is uninterrupted patient care and a safe workplace.
“Contingency staffing plans are being put in place to ensure continuity of care should a strike occur.”
In addition to Butler Memorial, Independence Health includes Westmoreland, Latrobe, Frick, and Clarion hospitals. It was formed in 2023 through the merger of Butler Health System and Excela Health.
West Virginia University Health System is in the process of taking it over.
The techs at Butler Memorial voted to authorize a strike on April 23, nine months into negotiations for their first contract.
Talks were scheduled for Monday, but the union said hospital management canceled them after the strike notice was issued.
According to the association, the vote “reflected the techs’ increasing frustration with hospital proposals they say would undermine patient care and worsen already abominable staff retention — the very issues that led them to unionize in the first place.”
The union identified wages, staffing, healthcare costs and respect as key issues.
According to the union, wages for Butler Memorial technical staff are below the market rate and that of nearby hospitals, with most not getting raises in two years. It also says the hospital does not have a wage scale for techs, so new hires are often brought in at a higher rate than the techs training them.
While the union says creating a wage scale has been a priority, it says that under the hospital’s wage scale proposal 140 employees, more than half of the bargaining unit, would see their wages frozen for the lifetime of the contract. They are seeking a two-year pact.
The union says the hospital refuses to negotiate temporary incentive or retention bonuses for experienced staff, which the union calls “part of a disturbing pattern of retaliation.”
“The hospital promised raises before our union election and, in fact, rolled out the raises to non-union staff weeks after we won our union election but denied us the raises they promised,” the association said.
Because of turnover the association calls “unsustainably high,” staffing has been a priority for the union. However, it says management has resisted “meaningful, safe staffing language in the contract,” which it says leaves them short-staffed, risking them and patients.
According to the association, hospital management insists they can increase healthcare costs at their discretion, creating further financial uncertainty for workers. The union wants a cap on healthcare costs in a contract.
All of the issues have “created an atmosphere of distrust,” the association says.