MarinHealth medical techs protest for wages, benefits
Health care union members demonstrated Tuesday outside the MarinHealth Medical Center as part of a one-day strike to demand higher wages and benefits.
The protest focused on the new contract being negotiated for medical technicians such as radiology and pharmacy workers. Many demonstrators wore National Union of Healthcare Workers shirts as they gathered along Bon Air Road. A few carried signs that read, “Patients Before Profits” and “Pizza Parties Don't Pay the Bills.”
More than 40 members joined the noon rally where X-ray technologist and bargaining team member Cierra Thlang told them their union has been negotiating with hospital management since September.
“We are so close to the finish line, but we need to stand strong,” she said. “We need to keep fighting, the management is not giving in, they are not giving us fair compensation for the hard work that we do.”
MarinHealth's CEO, David Klein, issued a public statement Friday on the demonstration.
“To our surprise, NUHW has chosen to give a strike notice despite
the hospital's continued effort to bargain in good faith,” he said. “Nonetheless, we will continue active negotiations with the NUHW on the remaining few issues, primarily pertaining to compensation, to see if we can reach an agreement that is satisfactory to both parties.”
The union's 107 medical technicians represented by NUHW at MarinHealth have been without a contract since October. Union organizer Angel Olvera said there used to be 160 members there. He noted that the hospital recently expanded.
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