PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center’s chief executive told Port Angeles business leaders Tuesday that the hospital has offered its union employees a fair and competitive benefits package.
Service Employees International Union 1199NW has accused OMC of bad-faith bargaining, steep cuts to health care benefits and a refusal to guarantee safe levels of nurse staffing for patients.
The labor dispute between Clallam County’s largest employer and SEIU 1199NW reaches a pivotal point today.
A Kitsap County Superior Court judge will consider arguments and possibly rule on an OMC motion for a temporary restraining order to an Aug. 11 workers’ strike at the Port Angeles hospital.
Clallam County judges recused themselves because of their connections to OMC.
“We think it [the strike] is illegal, and it will cause huge financial costs to keep the hospital operating,” OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis said at the Port Angeles Business Association breakfast meeting at Joshua’s Restaurant.
“Obviously, we can’t shut it down.”
OMC started hiring 150 replacement workers — mainly registered nurses, environmental service and dietary workers — from a temporary agency Tuesday.
$600,000 cost
It will cost the hospital about $600,000 to bring the workers to the Peninsula, train them and cover shifts between 6 a.m. and midnight Thursday, Aug. 11.
OMC paid a $90,000 placement fee Monday.
“We will continue to negotiate in good faith, and we hope we can reach a settlement before [Aug. 11] or as soon as possible,” Lewis told the PABA membership.
“But our differences are not small. I think we have different views of the future and how big the challenges are.”
Lewis said there are five major sticking points between the hospital and the union: wages, benefits, a ban on outsourcing, an education fund and guaranteed staffing in the three-year contract.
OMC has no plans to outsource but doesn’t feel it can approve an outright ban, Lewis said.
The hospital will spend $9.6 million this year on medical benefits for its employees.
“It went up $1.4 million this year, 14 percent,” Lewis said.
“It’s very costly, and we’re just trying to get closer to market and what other hospitals pay.”
Employee benefits
Employee benefits account for 60 percent of OMC’s net revenue, whereas most hospitals pay around 50 percent.
OMC covers 100 percent of its employees’ medical benefits, all of their children’s benefits and 53 percent of spouse benefits.
Although OMC employees would still pay zero under the latest proposal, they would be asked to pay about $95 per month for any number of children up to age 26 and $17 per month more for a spouse.
“No question it’s tough, but I will tell you that management will have the same thing,” Lewis said.
“I will have the same thing.
“It’s just something we’re trying to do in order to remain financially viable, which we think it’s good for our patients, good for our community and ultimately really good for our employees, too.”
Lewis said there is a connection to what the hospital pays in employee benefits and what it charges patients.
“We’re trying to balance that,” he said.
Regardless of the court ruling, the sides will gather for a fourth round of mediation Thursday.
“We’d much rather settle a fair contract than go on strike,” said Jeanna Hutton, a registered nurse in OMC’s critical-care unit, in a union news release.
“But we need a contract that lets us keep our families healthy and guarantees that we have enough staff in place to care for our patients.”
SEIU 1199NW officials said the proposed spike to health care costs would be the same as a 10 percent pay cut.
Extend to others
“Olympic’s commitment to providing quality health care in our community should extend to its nurses and other employees,” said Delta Shore, an OMC dietary worker.
“Their proposed increases mean my kids will lose their health insurance.”
Lewis countered that a market survey found that OMC’s employee benefits are “substantially above what other hospitals do.”
OMC lawyers believe public employees can’t strike according to state law RCW 41.56.120, which reads: “Nothing contained in this chapter shall permit or grant any public employee the right to strike or refuse to perform his official duties.”
SEIU Healthcare 1199NW represents more than 350 OMC employees and 22,000 health care workers statewide.
Another topic at the PABA meeting was OMC’s proposed affiliation with Swedish Medical Center.
The respective boards of OMC, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital will consider approving a 20-year contractual relationship with the Seattle-based medical center in late summer or early fall.
The affiliation is not a merger or an asset deal; the Peninsula hospitals would remain locally owned and independent, Lewis said.
“There’s lots of reasons we wanted to affiliate with Swedish,” he said.
“I will say that more local services, Epic [electronic medical records] and then support services that they can provide were the key reasons.”
Support services would include physician recruitment and a buying group.
Forum today
Lewis and Swedish Medical Center Chief Administrative Officer Marcel Loh will discuss the proposal, take questions and hear public comment at a community forum at 6 p.m. today in the lower conference area of the Port Angeles hospital, 939 E. Caroline St.
Forums with Lewis and Loh were held in both Port Angeles and Sequim.
“It’s a great opportunity for Olympic Medical Center and our community, and I think it will be a real positive for our patients,” Lewis said.
For more information on OMC, visit www.olympicmedical.org.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com
