BRATTLEBORO— By a vote of 123 to 57, support staff at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital said yes to forming a union.
According to information from AFT Vermont, ancillary staff, consisting of 250 folks in support, tech, the business office and the maintenance staff, will now negotiate a new three-year contract.
“Ancillary staff have spoken loud and clear— we want to be part of the decision making team at BMH," statedShann Sorrenti, phlebotomy tech and union organizing committee member, in a news release from AFT Vermont. "We want to strengthen our ability to provide high quality and compassionate care for our patients. We organized because we love our work and want BMH to thrive by us as directly impacted staff having a seat at the table — not least because most of us and our families are part of this community. We are often the first to see our patients, and spend the most time with them, and we have daily insight into the needs of our community members."
Sorrenti stated they plan to negotiate for a contract that allows them to prioritize their work at BMH instead of working two or three jobs to make ends meet.
"We want to improve retention and recruitment of local staff, and we look forward to working with the BMH administration to build a culture of consistency, transparency and trust," Sorrenti stated. "Our work conditions are our patients’ care conditions."
The vote was a result of seven months of organizing and once the tally is certified, ancillary staff will begin the process of bargaining their first contract with the BMH administration.
“We voted yes to having a seat at the table for equal decision making, advocating for our colleagues, ourselves, and most importantly, our patients," stated Deanne Thomas, environmental services aide and committee member, in the release. "We plan to bargain for things such as consistent policies, equitable treatment, livable wages and experience-based pay scales, work flexibility, safe staffing ratios, and more transparency and communication with our management. In our diverse job roles, we are the backbone of BMH, and we look forward to having a place at the bargaining table. We are passionate about our jobs, and we value being in service to our Windham County community. We are hoping to work collaboratively with BMH administration to come to mutually beneficial agreements that will impact our community positively.”
Thomas later told the Reformer "there are concerns in every department as to what's going on. Every area has different concerns."
In her department, better wages are the main issue, she said. Improved communication from management and retention of staff are other goals among ancillary staff.
"We are definitely looking for more opportunity to be a part of the decisions that are made in the hospital," she said. "With us doing this, I think we'll be able to retain better workers."
Patients will receive the same level of care and won't have to stress over having to talk to someone new each visit, Thomas said.
"I think that we just want to be a part of the whole," she said.
She anticipates officers of the committee will be elected Monday night.
"We've got to get a sense of what everybody's needs are then come up with a plan from there," she said. "I feel like this is what we've needed for a long time," she said. "It should help everybody feel like they're just as important as everybody else."
“I am thrilled that BMH ancillary staff now have a real voice in their workplace, and I’m thrilled to welcome them to AFT Vermont," statedNicole DiVita, an ophthalmic technician at UVM Medical Center and president for healthcare of AFT Vermont. "We are the fastest growing union in the state, representing over 11,000 healthcare and higher education professionals, including nurses and health professionals at five Vermont hospitals. When healthcare workers have a voice, we raise the standard of care for our whole community.”
Chris Dougherty, CEO, told the Reformer BMH now has five different bargaining units representing employees at the hospital, all of which have to be bargained with separately.
"It certainly adds an administrative burden," he said.
Nonetheless, said Dougherty, administrators respect the right of employees to unionize, especially when there is a lot of uncertainty on the national level, especially when it comes to continued funding for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
"We respect the outcome, but we also need to look at the future and our ability to continue to be a treasure for our community," he said.
