BURLINGTON - For the past several months, Technical Professionals at Fletcher Allen Health Care (FAHC) have been organizing for better staffing and quality patient care at Vermont's largest hospital.  Staff in a wide variety of positions, such as Emergency Department Techs, Pharmacy Techs and Respiratory Therapists, all of whom are critical to the hospital's ability to provide quality patient care, have been organizing to join the healthcare union, Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Care Professionals UPV/AFT Local 5221.   In the past, the Fletcher Allen administration spent millions of healthcare dollars on expensive anti-union consultants in efforts to prevent their staff from being able to engage in collective bargaining.  In 2002, with the support of thousands of community members, over 1,100 nurses formed a union in order to provide safe staffing and quality patient care. Since that time, the nurses have essentially eliminated what was a major nursing shortage by improving their ability to do their jobs and raising the standards in their profession. Now the Technical Professionals are organizing for the same thing: quality patient care at the hospital.  Once again, the Fletcher Allen administration is engaging in activities to try to prevent workers from organizing.  They have created an atmosphere of fear and and intimidation by holding mandatory anti-union meetings, threatening employees and terminating employees for talking to their co-workers about forming a union.

Shawn Williams, Central Sterile Reprocessing, Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington Resident

Debbie Montgomery, Pharmacy Tech, Fletcher Allen Health Care, Colchester Resident

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to you because I am concerned about the treatment of employees at Fletcher Allen Health Care and recent acts of retaliation against hospital employees for exercising their right to organize.

As co-sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act, a law that would allow employees to form unions when a majority of workers signs authorization cards, I know you understand the importance of workers' right to organize in an environment free of retaliation, intimidation and fear. Unfortunately Fletcher Allen is yet again using scarce healthcare dollars for union-busting activities. In addition to holding mandatory meetings where management gives misinformation about the union, Fletcher Allen has engaged in a campaign of fear and intimidation as evidenced by Debbie's and Shawn's experiences.

"I've worked at Fletcher Allen about 22 years now. I'm a 56-year-old native Vermonter. Once the hospital found out I was trying to organize our union, I was called into my manager's office. They told me that if I continued to engage in union activities, I would be written up on my job performance and possibly lose my job. As it is now, the hospital has all the power and the workers have none. When my co-workers found out this had happened to me they cut off any ties to me at work with union activity. If we were to hold an election at the hospital today, there would not be a fair opportunity for people to vote. People are scared of getting involved with the union because they are afraid they will receive the same treatment as me or that they could potentially lose their jobs. The hospital needs to back off. This is the way to make changes at the hospital that directly affect patient care, and that's the bottom line. That's why we're trying to do this; so that everyone will have the kind of hospital that you would want your family to go to if they were sick." -Debbie Montgomery, Pharmacy Tech, Fletcher Allen Health Care

"The Techs are trying to have a voice in what goes on in the workplace at Fletcher Allen. I was just trying to educate people about the rights we have as workers, and just as people really. Unfortunately, Fletcher Allen didn't really like that because it means you are taking away some of their control. Currently, I'm unemployed. I was a Case Cart Coordinator in the Central Sterile Reprocessing Department and I was recently terminated. I am sure I wouldn't have been terminated if I weren't talking with my co-workers about forming a union for techs at Fletcher Allen. Because of my union activity, they were trying to pick me out or make me resign. Workers at Fletcher Allen are afraid to speak up against any wrongdoing, whether it be disrespect or patient safety. People who are trying to join the Vermont Nurses Union actually just want changes and basic human rights. I hope people won't be afraid of what's happened to me. This can happen to anyone, any day; if you stand up and speak your mind you might be terminated." -Shawn Williams, Central Sterile Reprocessing, Fletcher Allen Healthcare

This is especially disconcerting because not only is it a workers' rights issue, it is also an issue of patient care. Shawn, Debbie and their co-workers are organizing to improve the quality of patient care at the hospital to benefit the entire community.

Fletcher Allen must live by the principles of the Employee Free Choice Act today. I am asking you to intervene, to call on Fletcher Allen Health Care to sign a FREE and FAIR agreement with the Union immediately. It is critical to the health of our community that we hold our hospital to a standard of respect for the rights of the people employed by Fletcher Allen.

I look forward to hearing a response from you about what action you have taken to address these cases of workers' rights violations at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 19, 2009

 
Debbie Montgomery, Pharmacy Tech, Fletcher Allen Health Care, Colchester Resident