The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
FAIR HEALTHCARE
Striking nurses hold silent march at Mercy
Members of SEIU 1199 rallied outside Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain.
In the midst of a labor dispute, striking nurses marched Nov. 20 in silence and called on Mercy leadership to return to the bargaining table and work to improve healthcare coverage for employees.
More than 100 people marched outside of Mercy with candles and asked Mercy to show more fairness to registered nurses and other employees who say healthcare insurance rates are unacceptably high.
“The effect of this march is our silence, because Mercy has effectively silenced us,” said SEIU 1199 organizer Geoff Davies.
After holding bargaining sessions with Mercy leadership last week opening the door to negotiate alternatives, Davies said, they were unwilling to continue in follow-up discussions.
“All we want here today is for Mercy to be fair with our healthcare.”
— Judy Maldonado a registered nurse in a Mercy behavioral health unit and vice-president of SEIU Local 1199
“When we went to meet with them again, they basically slammed the door in our face, even though we said were willing to negotiate to find an agreement that we could all live with,” Davies said. “But they weren’t willing to do that.”
Davies added nurses overwhelmingly voted to reject Mercy’s most recent offer on Nov. 19 which he characterized as “stealing healthcare from the community’s nurses.”
“This is not necessary. They don’t need it for money. They have plenty of money in the bank. This is not something they need to keep alive or to stay afloat or anything like that,” Davies stressed. “They want it because they want it for no other good reason. And they want it by passing it on to the backs of nurses who work for them.”
SEIU 1199 Political Director Anthony Caldwell told members and supporters that the march was about showing solidarity and strength not only for striking nurses, but for workers across Ohio, Kentucky and
West Virginia where they represent members.
Judy Maldonado a registered nurse in a Mercy behavioral health unit and vice-president of SEIU Local 1199, urged Mercy to work toward an equitable deal.
“All we want here today is for Mercy to be fair with our healthcare,” Maldonado said. “As one of the greatest and largest providers in the state of Ohio, Mercy RNs deserve to have good healthcare coverage. Let me say bigger than that, I believe all human beings deserve to have adequate healthcare
coverage. I am here to ask Mercy not just to maintain the healthcare Mercy RNs currently have but to raise the bar and let other employees, housekeepers, kitchen staff, aides, and everyone else have healthcare.
She added a $7,000 deductible is unacceptable, creating an increased burden on families of employees who work at the hospital and other employees making just over minimum wage who are not able to get adequate care as a result.
“People often think healthcare is the best to those who deliver the care at the hospital,” Maldonado said. “In truth, we pay very high percentages for our healthcare and many members of our team at the hospital pay extremely high deductibles.”
Jonathon Fauvie, integrated communications and public relations manager at Mercy Health Youngstown and Lorain Regions, said the union and Mercy negotiate with ground rules that require statements to be agreed upon by both parties, or neither will issue a statement.
“I’d like to continue to honor that relationship agreement,” Fauvie wrote in a text message to The Morning Journal. “But we will continue to care for our employees and our community as we have for more than 125 years.”
The union also collected new and used shoes for a local Christmas shoe drive.