Seattle Press on Line - Northwest Hospital Employees to Unionize

Northwest Hospital Employees to Unionize

A delegation of Northwest Hospital workers gathered at the hospital entrance before a meeting with management where they announced that a majority of the employees support unionization.

Nov 30, 2000 -- A majority of Northwest Hospital's 800 professional and non-professional employees have signed union authorization petitions, and have asked hospital management to agree to a fair and speedy verification of their signatures, along with prompt recognition of their union upon proof of majority status.

On November 21 about 50 workers met with John Kim, the hospital's Vice President for Corporate Affairs, and told him they want to be represented by District 1199NW of the Service Employees International Union, which represents several thousand health-care service workers throughout Washington state.

Judy Billick, a unit secretary in the gero-psychiatric department, told Kim the workers want to avoid a protracted struggle over the issue of union representation, and hoped the hospital would not resort to an anti-union campaign or attempt to undermine the workers' intentions to form a union.

Kim responded, "It hasn't been our position to be hostile to union recognition. We'll deal with whatever you've chosen." He promised to call a meeting of senior management within the next few days to study the workers' proposals.

"We believe very much in the right of our employees to choose whether they want to be in a union or not," said Kim. "We have not taken a hostile approach to the idea. We're practical. We're not going to spend time and money fighting you on this."

"We're proud of the hospital and we like working here," Marguerite Maronich said at the meeting.

Kay Skafton, a registered nurse at the hospital and a member of the Washington State Nurses Association, which represents 200 nurses at Northwest, said the nurses solidly back the efforts of workers at the hospital to unionize. "We've had a union for decades," she said.

John Cole said, "A union will be an important communication link between workers and management, and will help us keep up with the standards of other hospitals."

Despite the conciliatory words, many workers are nervous about the intentions of the hospital administrators. They fear management could turn to professional union-busting consultants, who are often hired in situations like this to help management fight workers' desire to organize.

Susan Poulton

Consider the case of Susan Poulton, a visible and vocal union advocate. When she was fired in late November, many workers wondered if management was trying to send a message to their workforce. Poulton, who describes herself as the "mother hen" of the dietary department at Northwest Hospital, was "devastated" when she was fired over a flippant remark that management called "slanderous."

"We've had a lot of turnover in dietary, especially among dishwashers, and I was often the one to train and orient the temporary workers," Poulton explained. "A lot of them wouldn't show up the next day. So last week they brought in a new dishwasher, and I said something like, 'Well, I hope you like it here. Sometimes we have a tendency to have a direct line to the Millionair Club [a private temporary employment service].' Somebody from management overheard the conversation, and a couple days later I was fired." Poulton said she is puzzled that she was fired so abruptly, with no verbal warnings or other steps outlined in the employees' handbook.

Poulton, the mother of five children, said she always stuck up for people when they had trouble on the job, and tried to smooth out conflicts between people. She even got a complimentary letter from management after a registered nurse she worked with praised Poulton's willingness "to go above and beyond" in carrying out her duties. When others got a 3 percent raise, Poulton said she got a 5 percent raise in recognition of the quality of her work.

Because she was well known for her union advocacy, Poulton thinks her firing could intimidate other workers and convince them that they, too, could be fired if they talk about or help to organize a union. Poulton herself signed up 35 workers to the union, and talked up the union to other workers on breaks and after work.

Poulton and District 1199NW are filing unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations board.

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