 |
A
team effort to produce a calming effect
Recognition of Yamhill County parks' 50th
anniversary begins with boat races
|
Hospital officials say protest resolved, won't hinder opening |
A group of union members picket Wednesday in front
of Providence Newberg Medical Centre; issue quickly resolved |
By Schellene
Clendenin, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail Schellene at
sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
were out in force Wednesday morning picketing in front of the nearly
completed Providence Newberg Medical Center.
Their complaint?
One of the vendors hired by Providence to install flooring in some
of the medical offices is not represented by a union.
“All we are doing is trying to inform the public that this
contractor is a non-union contractor,” said David Winkler, union
representative, adding that in other words, non-union workers are
not provided family insurance by their employers.
Union employees did not cross the picket lines, effectively
delaying work on the hospital for one day, said hospital spokesman
Mike Antrim.
The use of non-union workers, Winkler said, effects Newberg because
health share costs are increasing. Those increases he places
partially at the door of workers who visit the hospital for services
without insurance.
Another reason to picket, he said, is because companies who use
non-union workers can underbid other union companies and pay lower
than union wages.
Winkler said he does not know whether the non-union workers were
paid less money than the union employees on the Newberg job.
“Higher union wages help support the community with higher taxes
and more money is placed back into the community and more people
buying homes,” he said.
Antrim saw the issue in a different light. “Part of our mission is
to support diversity,” he said. “What we do is try to allocate a
portion of the work to minority- and women-owned businesses.” He
added that the non-union contractor was owned by a minority or
women; he wouldn’t identify which.
Antrim noted that the hospital is not required by law to hire union
contractors.
The good news, Antrim said late Wednesday afternoon, was that the
issue had been resolved. “Everyone will be back working (Thursday),”
he said. “We’re still on target to open on time. We don’t anticipate
this will delay our opening.”
The facility is set to open in June. |
|
From
April 1,
2006, Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
