Why Would I Be Willing to Strike?
— guest post by Local 328 unit steward Jackie Lombard —
Why would I be willing to strike? Because I am willing to withhold my services and skills to fight for a contract that will ensure respect and safety in my workplace — necessities that OHSU has failed to provide.
OHSU preys upon my nature: that I work hard, seek to serve others, take pride in my work and, most importantly, care about people and patients. Our employer uses rhetoric, policy and messaging to get me to accept that it is OK for me to be paid less than my worth, less than the value of my skill and time — suggesting that if I am unwilling to do more with and for less, or if I take issue with being inconvenienced to correct OHSU’s mistakes, I am uncaring or not hard working. That I am not part of the team and am abandoning patients.
Taking advantage of my nature to improve the corporate financial situation and pay out incentives for executives is not respect — it is abuse. To be compensated fairly for my contributions, for overtime, for my experience, for loyalty, for resources to do the work, for my time and my skills is not a gesture of appreciation, bestowed upon me at the whim of executive leadership. It is a necessity, a requirement. It is respect.
Safety is another necessity. I need to be safe when I come to work. I need to know that there is a fair, transparent way that work is assigned, time off is granted, discipline is pursued and, yes, discrimination and harassment are addressed. Without contract language to spell out and and improve these issues, I am at the mercy of an employer that has not shown it is capable of identifying, tracking, policing or addressing mismanagement and abuse. I am left to hope that a manager will be honest and fair. I am left to hope for safety. That is no way to meet a need. That is no way to be safe.
This bargaining session and the contract it will produce are also about the safety and respect of patients. Safe and respected patients require well-paid, well-rested, healthy staff, in sufficient numbers and with sufficient equipment to provide consistent care and service. This is not achieved with:
Chronic understaffing
The use of mandatory overtime and assignments beyond FTE to avoid adding benefitted positions
The lack of respite in the form of vacation or adequate sick time to be well
The constant threat of discipline for taking leave or not meeting productivity
The constant threat of harassment
Missing or dilapidated equipment
A contract that takes away the incentives for OHSU to continue using these misguided practices is needed and required.
There are tools I can use to fight for respect and safety in my workplace. Because I am fortunate to belong to a union, one of those tools is the application of the contract. If OHSU fails to provide for the necessities of safety and respect during bargaining, then I am prepared to use another tool at my disposal to get the contract my patients and I require: I am prepared to strike.