"We're not making as much as people do in other hospitals," said Curtis Jeter, 52, a surgical aide who transports patients from the operating table to their hospital rooms. He is also the president of the Meadowlands Employee Union (MEU). "I've been here 11 years, and I know we get paid sub-standard wages."
A group of over 100 disgruntled Meadowlands Hospital workers picketed in front the hospital on April 20 and expressed their dismay about what they claimed was systematic mistreatment by management, especially regarding salaries. Workers and labor organizers present at the rally stated that LibertyHealth, the health care corporation that owns Meadowlands Hospital as well as nearby Jersey City Medical Center and Greenville Hospital in Jersey City, knowingly pays workers at Meadowlands less than they do at their affiliated hospitals for the same type of jobs.
The hospital's management counters that instead of protesting the unions should sit down with management to negotiate. Bill Dauster, senior vice president of development and public affairs for Liberty Health, said that LibertyHealth is willing to come to an equitable agreement.
Less for same?
Jeter made the case for his fellow workers by pointing out certain alleged salary discrepancies within the LibertyHealth hospital group.
"A dietary aide or a kitchen person starts at $12 an hour or more," he said. "Here they start you at eight dollars an hour and change. It's not keeping up with the cost of living. This hospital makes a lot of money. It's busy, and they're constantly doing renovations. But as far as the workers, we get nothing. We consider ourselves the working poor."
Other hospital workers also put Meadowlands management on the critical list. Adele Breitkreitz is a transporter in the radiology department. She has worked at the hospital for 24 of the 30 years that the hospital has been in existence. While she notes that labor relations at the hospital were fairly good in the past, the present is a different story.
"We haven't had a contract in two years," she said. "There are only offering us a one and a half percent pay raise. Based on cost of living, they should offer us at least three percent."
Management misconstrued?
Dauster offered a far different version of events as explained by the Meadowlands employees and union representatives. Asked about differing wages at LibertyHealth hospitals, Dauster asked his own question.
"If they feel so strong about this issue, why don't they want to negotiate and come to the table?," he said. According to Dauster, the MEU and management have been in negotiations since February 2005. During these negotiations, Dauster admitted that LibertyHealth offered a one and a half percent raise, but noted that nationally settlements between hospital management and labor have usually been in the three percent range. Dauster stated that at the beginning of negotiations, the union asked for a 22 percent raise, gradually decreasing their demand to 15 percent by early April 2006.
Look for the union label
The hospital workers have looked for additional help in order to realize their goals. Stacy Harris is a union representative for the Health Professional and Allied Employees union (HPAE), the parent labor organization for the hospital workers union. She is the chief negotiator for the MEU with the management. Her opening position is clear.
"We're here because the workers have been without a contract for two years and have been at the bargaining table for more than a year," she said. "Management, specifically LibertyHealth, has put a one and a half percent raise on the table. On average, these are all the lowest paid workers in the hospital, earning less than ten dollars an hour. Employees at Jersey City Medical Center and Greenville are making approximately ten percent more." Asked why she believed this was so, Harris pointed to a previous lack of labor action. "I think that this happened because up until today, the employees at Meadowlands Hospital haven't stood up. In order to compete for the qualified caregivers who will provide quality care for Secaucus and the surrounding area, management has to put patient care dollars on the table. If not, a strike could come in the next six to eight weeks."
Ann Twomey, state president of the HPAE, stood by the words of her union colleague. "There is a lot of money in the health care industry. It just doesn't get to the people that it needs to get to make sure that we have stable staffing and safe working conditions in hospitals," she said. "This situation is unequal and illogical. We want to show the hospital that we are serious. The contracts for the nurses and hospital technicians expire on May 31. If we don't have agreements on these contracts, there very well could be a strike involving all of these employees."
Dauster questioned whether the union actually does want to negotiate. "They really don't care about salaries and wages,' he said. "The HPAE wants to tie negotiations to the future deal with the nurses and technicians that will be coming up at the end of May to strengthen their position. This is a stall to weaken the hospital later. We want to get to the table and settle. I find this all a bit disingenuous."
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