SEIU Protests Hospital for Defending Employees’ Freedom

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It’s one of the most beautiful times of the year in the lovely Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, when the trees are gorgeous hues of crimson and gold, and the sweet smell of hot apple cider is in the brisk autumn air. As you walk in and out of little village colonials and saltbox houses donning fall mums and pumpkins on their porches, you’re hit with that waft of burning fireplace aroma – the sort of scene that gives you that comfy feeling of peace and contentment.

But turn the corner and that picturesque scene is disrupted by a tiny sea of purple t-shirts and angry faces. Yep, you got it – it’s the SEIU! And they’re not in the holiday spirit, apparently.

Pocono Medical Center, a mid-sized, not-for-profit community hospital nestled in the Pocono Mountains near East Stroudsburg University, has been in SEIU’s crosshairs for months. The union has been demanding a closed shop at the hospital, despite the desires of other workers, and has since made it the crux of its contract negotiations. They were out protesting last week, making their demands known. (Not many from Pocono Medical Center participated in the protest, so they resorted to recruiting some nearby friends to join them).

For those not familiar with what a “closed shop” is in union terms, this means that all of those employees would be required to be a member of the union and to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

But Pocono Medical Center isn’t caving in to the SEIU, which represents 560 non-professional service and maintenance workers, such as technicians, administrative workers, hospital cafeteria workers, janitors, and housekeepers at the facility. The hospital, which employs about 1,850 in total, has had a closed shop for its service workers for the last three years, the result of an initial vote that barely squeaked through, according to employee accounts. Three years later, a closed shop just isn’t working for their employees anymore. Some workers at Pocono Medical Center are unhappy with the SEIU and want the ability to opt out if they so choose.

From

WBRE

:

“We happen to have good managers, good supervisors and we don’t feel we need a union to represent us. That’s what national labor laws are for,” said Sally Schermerhorn, a phlebotomist at Pocono Medical Center.

From the

Pocono Record

:

“They negotiated the contract and told us they could get certain things, but we didn’t get them — raises and bonuses, better health care — none of that ever happened,” dietary worker Steven VonCrep said. “It’s a matter of free choice, our freedom to choose to belong to the union or not.”

Earlier this year, in June, hospital employees filed a petition on their own accord to de-authorize the union, removing SEIU’s provision that requires employees to pay dues or lose their jobs. This of course prompted intervention from union organizers and even a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board, a typical tactic of SEIU to stall a de-certification/de-authorization effort. Union organizers began speaking to workers while other employees were in the cafeteria on their lunch breaks. (Keep in mind, many of the union’s employees at this facility are themselves cafeteria workers). A December 13th hearing is scheduled with an administrative judge in Philadelphia to hear the case.

http://biggovernment.com/libertychick/2010/11/21/seiu-protests-hospital-for-defending-employees-freedom/