Health Care Workers To Picket Sutter Psychiatric Hospital. Heres Why, And What The Company Says

Dozens of health care workers will begin a one-day strike Wednesday at Sutter Psychiatric Center in Sacramento, though the company said it would not allow some of them to return to work Thursday and Friday.

About 150 mental health workers voted two years ago to form a local union affiliated with the National Federation of Health Care Workers, but they have yet to negotiate their first contract with Sutter Health.

Workers told the Sacramento Bee they are demanding higher wages and measures to improve patient care, saying the changes will improve Sutter's ability to recruit and retain workers. They will perform outside the 73-bed building on Folsom Street from 7am to 2pm on Wednesday.

The workers say the company is punishing them for exercising their right to organize. A local NUHW employee filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board regarding the withholding of raises and Sutter's negotiating tactics.

"We really care about our patients and want to make sure they get the help they need to get better," said Cesar Mardones, a licensed clinical social worker at the hospital. "Sutter seems to only care about money, even if it means losing good health care workers and disappointing his patients."

In a statement, Sutter Health said it values ​​the quality of care and support its team members provide to patients and that the company offers competitive wages, benefits and opportunities for growth and career development.

"We are disappointed that the union has decided to strike, especially since we continue to negotiate in good faith and have reached agreement on many issues," the statement said. "As a demonstration of our commitment to reaching an agreement, we offered to work with a neutral federal mediator, but unfortunately union representatives declined."

Workers represented at NUHW said they want the company to make changes that will attract and retain employees.

The union is demanding that the Feds raise wages

In a union survey, about four in five respondents reported being understaffed at least once a week, and 58 percent reported experiencing unsafe work situations due to understaffing.

In 2022 and 2023, Sutter denied NUHW members the merit-based pay raises and cost-of-living adjustments he had given other employees, said Elk Grove resident Wesley Moore Jr., a support care specialist. for patients.

The company began paying only after the union filed unfair labor practice complaints and the NLRB ruled in the union's favor, Moore said. However, according to union representatives, workers expect an increase in the cost of living.

Despite the NLRB ruling, Sutter said he disputes the union's claim that he engaged in an unfair labor practice.

Union officials said they filed another complaint with the NLRB after Sutter's bargaining team proposed maintaining the status quo on existing health benefits and later proposed raising co-payments for NUHW-represented workers.

Falling behind in such negotiations can make the other side feel like they're running out of time to reach a deal, said John August, a labor relations expert at Cornell University who advises labor-management negotiators with whom they're dealing. try to reach an agreement. .

"This lack of progress, or reverse progress, could be seen as a deliberate attempt to delay negotiations in the hope that union members will become disillusioned and perhaps stop supporting the union," Auguste said. "It is a bit difficult to prove because it can be subjective, but if it is proven that this was the employer's intention, then the accusation of unfair negotiations is certainly possible."

"war tactics"

While most striking NUHW members will be allowed to return to work Thursday, union officials say Sutter plans to lock out Moore and other patient care workers for two days after the strike. The NUHW also represents hospital GPs, social workers and dieticians.

In response to a question from The Bee about the patient care staff layoffs, Sutter said the action "is not about our feelings about the staff (patient care providers), our value to them or the importance we place on them to them... this role".

Angelina Sheets, spokeswoman for Sutter, said the company did not have internal staff to fill those positions like other employees and had to contract with an outside human resources service. This contractor has requested a guarantee of three working days. Therefore, members of the patient care team will not be able to return to work until Saturday at 07:00.

While this practice of locking workers out for extra days is not common, there are many organizations in the health care industry that get their workers back to work as soon as possible, August said.

"The relationship between labor and management is better and they don't want to damage that relationship too much," he said. "If you choose not to do this, it means that the relationship between labor and management is very bitter. This is part of the ongoing struggle. This is a tactical war.”

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