Following a Dec. 8 “Code Blue” call for concern, nurses and nurse practitioners at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) have reached a three-year collective bargaining agreement.
Following a Dec. 8 “Code Blue” call for concern, nurses and nurse practitioners at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) have reached a three-year collective bargaining agreement.
The new registered nurse contract agreement replaces a three-year contract which was in effect from Jan. 15, 2021 through Jan. 15, 2024.
There are 1,000 registered nurses at Cabell Huntington Hospital, according to Joyce Gibson the treasurer and secretary of the 1199 chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that represents the nurses.
“This agreement will reward the hard work our registered nurse members do, and
it shows that negotiations conducted in good faith can lead to a contract that is
beneficial to workers, the hospital, and the community,” Gibson said. “By standing together, our members were able to secure wage increases and health insurance benefits in all three years of the contract and preserve quality care and services for our patients and visitors.”
According to a press release, members of CHH leadership and SEIU 1199 negotiating committees joined together in good-faith negotiations for three days this week to finalize a contract that is beneficial for all involved.
“The health care environment has undergone significant changes in recent years,” Tim Martin, Chief Operating Officer, CHH said. “To best build transparency and collaboration, we listened carefully to learn what truly mattered to the negotiating committee and our nurses, then focused on meeting those needs and enhancing our position as an employer of choice in the region. By doing that, we were able to find common ground and reach a mutually
beneficial agreement. I commend all members of the negotiation teams for their professionalism and commitment to the process.”
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.
Union members at Cabell Huntington Hospital are calling for “code blue” attention to be paid to its understaffing issues.
Nurse and Nurse Practitioners at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) are asking for the community’s support for dignity, respect and fairness for all employees at the facility.
Joyce Gibson is the union representative who represents 1,000 registered nurses at Cabell Huntington Hospital. She is the treasurer and secretary of the 1199 chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
SEIU announced Friday that they would hold a press conference calling for a “CODE BLUE” level of concern over unsafe staffing levels and the concern of retention. The chapter claims there are currently more than 200 Registered Nurse vacancies at CHH.
Gibson said the chapter has provided staffing ratio proposals to CHH that continually get rejected.
“They have out-of-state travel nurses working at the hospital versus rather than invest in the current nurses who work there,” Gibson said.
Aside from staffing shortages and mandatory overtime, the Registered Nurses at CHH might struggle to afford their own health insurance.
“The turnover rate is, you know, astronomical right now, and they are severely bleeding nurses on an astronomical rate,” Gibson said. “Part of that is mostly due to they have increased their health care premiums at the hospital for the nurses. Some of the nurses can’t even afford the health care premiums that they’re proposing right now.”
SEIU will continue negotiations with CHH on December 14 and 15.
“As of right now, we go back to negotiations next week on the 14th and 15th. We’re going to continue to bargain in good faith and hope that the employer recognizes the major issues that the nurses have,” Gibson said.
However, Gibson said she does not have hope for the success of these negotiations, citing the repeated rejections of previous proposals to the hospital.
“This contract will expire on January 15 and at some point, these nurses will be taking a strike vote in terms of whether or not to strike at this hospital over these issues,” Gibson said.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.
On this West Virginia Morning, more effectively treating trauma and moving a loved one into a nursing home
On this West Virginia Morning, Randy Yohe spoke with Christie Eastman, the Cabell Huntington Hospital Counseling Center manager, who is on a mission to train West Virginia mental health professionals in more effectively treating trauma.
Also, many families have to move a loved one into a nursing home because of dementia. The experience often comes with grief and loss and a sense of failure. For his series Getting Into Their Reality: Caring For Aging Parents News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Julia Smythe, the dementia program director and Natalie Petty, the director of Admissions and Marketing, for the Marmet Center nursing home with a memory care program for people with dementia.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Union maintenance and service workers at a West Virginia hospital ratified a contract Wednesday to end a month-old strike, the hospital announced.
Members of the Service Employees International Union District 119 ratified the three-year contract covering more than 900 workers at Cabell Huntington Hospital. The hospital said in a statement that employees could likely begin returning to work as soon as Friday.
The statement did not disclose details of the contract, which Dr. Kevin Yingling, the hospital’s president, called “fair and equitable.”
Under an earlier offer, the hospital had asked union members to begin paying health insurance premiums.
“We value all of our employees as each plays an important role in delivering reliable, quality care to our patients,” said hospital Chief Operating Officer Tim Martin. “We are committed to being the best employer in the region with outstanding wages and benefits and this contract confirms that. We look forward to welcoming back our coworkers and resuming normal operations.”
Negotiations are set to resume for striking maintenance and service workers at a West Virginia hospital.
Representatives for Cabell Huntington Hospital and more than 900 members of the the Service Employees International Union District 1999 are scheduled to return to the bargaining table on Tuesday, the hospital said.
Union members went on strike in early November after their contract with the hospital expired.
Hospital human resources director Molly Frick said union members are being asked to begin paying health insurance premiums. Under the hospital’s latest offer, it would have contributed more than 90% of health care costs for employees and their dependents.
The offer also included 3% average annual wage increases, increased shift differentials, an enhanced uniform allowance and continued automatic annual contributions to eligible employees’ retirement accounts.
A temporary restraining order against striking workers will remain in place through Dec. 10. It prohibits certain activities outside the hospital.
Huntington’s City Council chambers were filled Monday night with employees participating in two separate strikes at the Cabell Huntington Hospital and Special Metals. Members of the council considered a resolution that called for both organizations to come to the negotiating table in good faith.
The motion was blocked by Huntington’s legal team on grounds of impartiality.
The resolution in support of the strikers was introduced by Councilman Bob Bailey. He noted the importance to “get behind these people in these picket lines. Christmas is coming. […] They need Christmas presents for their children. So I’m only going to pray that you’ll do the right thing. And back these union people. These are our people.”
A federal mediator has called on the Cabell Huntington Hospital and SEIU to return to the negotiating table on Nov. 30.
Molly Frick, director of human resources for Cabell Huntington Hospital, issued a statement Monday. “We eagerly await confirmation to return to the bargaining table,” Frick said. “We presented our last offer to the SEIU District 1199 on Nov. 9. As of today, not only have we not received a counteroffer, we have not received any response. We recognize a strike is a serious matter that deserves earnest action.
She added: “Work stoppages at hospitals differ from those at industrial facilities. The very health and well-being of human lives are the responsibility of the entire team. We have heard from many union members that they’re ready to return to caring for patients and supporting operations. We encourage the SEIU to either respond to our offer or return to the bargaining table, so that our team members can return to work.”
The organizing director of SEIU District 1199, Sherri McKinney, argued in a statement that the Cabell Huntington Hospital isn’t truly acting in good faith, “when they have made an offer far less than what we have already had for decades and bargained for on Nov. 3.”
“It is our hope that the hospital will do what is just and fair and stop this strike in good faith during this holiday season for the Huntington Community at-large, but after the many false statements to the media and divisive tactics, they need to find another way of conducting business,” McKinney said.
Two union hospital employees came to speak before the council in support of Bailey’s resolution to support the striking workers.
Union worker Trish Burns shared with the city council how her sudden loss of health care has affected her 25-year-old son. “He’s a full-time college student. He has worked full time to pay for his education. Last week he was admitted to the hospital with no insurance because Cabell ripped my insurance away.”
The City of Huntington
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Huntington City Council Broadcast
Trish Burns speaking at the 11-22-2021 City Council Meeting
Council member Tia Rambaugh called for her colleagues to take a position. “Ultimately, I think that governance and administration should not remain impartial in these situations, because this is our community,” Rambaugh said.
Despite her background in business, she argued that it was unethical to stay quiet on the sidelines. “You guys are our workers. We are your neighbors. And it’s important for us to make our opinions known so that administration in these businesses can potentially recognize that they’re not working in a silo, that we all have to work together, and that our opinions mean something.”
Councilman Patrick Jones was the last to speak on the resolution. With tears in his eyes, Jones argued it is not unreasonable to demand higher compensation to keep pace with inflation. “Their children, many of whom I see in the halls of our schools each day while I’m working, can enjoy this holiday season in the same manner with a feeling of security and peace that the families of officials in management at these institutions will surely enjoy,” Jones said.
City of Huntington
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Huntington City Council Broadcast
Huntington Councilman Patrick Jones
Council members officially didn’t side with either the workers or the companies. It is the 53rd day since the Special Metals strike began, and it is the 20th day of the Cabell Huntington Hospital strike.
Jones swore that if there is not a deal made in the next two weeks, he will introduce another resolution to the city council.
