“They just want their voices to be heard:” The conditions that pushed more workers to unionize at the Wexner Medical Center

Christy Han
Fri, 26 Jan 2024 01:22:35 +0000
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Patient Care Associates and Psychiatric Care Technicians at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center want their voices to be heard due to underpaid and staffing ratios. Courtesy of Wexner Medical Center.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated difficulties facing health care workers, but for many employees, not much was done in its aftermath to address complaints of a lack of sufficient staffing and adequate wages.?

For patient care associates and psychiatric care technicians, who provide direct and indirect patient care under the supervision of a registered nurse, the only option left was to unionize, Craig Snyder, a PCA at the Wexner Medical Center, said. Both PCAs and PCTs at the Wexner Medical Center held elections for unionization between Dec. 5 and 19, 2023, to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, due to concerns over staffing issues and unfair wages.

Although the staffing and pay issues cited by the PCAs and PCTs can be overcome with their own union contract, the Ohio State University Nurses Association was unable to unionize on its own and asked if IAM could help, Ali Rhodes, an IAM organizing department grand lodge representative, said. According to Rhodes, some PCAs have up to 14 patients to take care of during a single shift.?

Typically, this number is eight to nine patients in a well-staffed setting, Snyder said.?

“I started speaking with some of the PCAs and realized the nurses are underpaid, [and] in general, undervalued,” Rhodes said. “They believe the staffing ratios are a concern for patient safety.”?

A safe working environment has also become a concern for health care workers. Rhodes said there have been scenarios where PCAs have been attacked by patients, and the medical center’s response was not quick enough for security to come and assist the PCA.?

Rhodes said one PCA had her glasses broken after being attacked by a patient, but she was asked to work within 48 hours of the incident.

“With us being in health care, people’s health and their safety should be a huge priority,” Snyder said.?

?With increased expectations, PCAs are not only taking care of patients’ daily needs but are also performing tasks traditionally done by nurses, such as blood draws, Rhodes said.

?Both Snyder and Rhodes said the overworking of health care workers has caused many people to leave the field, placing more stress on the remaining hospital staff as they have to take on even more patients and hours.??

“When you hear about people leaving the hospitals to go to work at Amazon or Target to make more money, that’s pretty significant and kind of a slap in the face to us,” Snyder said.?

If the hospital increases the number of PCAs, it would greatly reduce the risk of danger for patients and it would help lower the high turnover rate, Synder said.

Snyder said that having the power of IAM on their side during the bargaining process may help them receive better working conditions.?

“We are appreciative of somebody willing to be able to stand up and kind of take this battle on with us,” Snyder said. “We are just hopeful that we get to the part where we get to negotiate with the hospital.”

However, only 19% of the medical center’s eligible PCAs and PCTs submitted ballots for the election, Marti Leitch, the director of media relations at the center, said in an email.

Snyder said 167 voted to unionize and 18 voted no.?

“This is a uniquely low level of labor election participation for our medical center,” Leitch said.?

?Snyder said the low participation rate was due to the way the election was conducted. The process was conducted by the State Employment Relations Board of Ohio, with ballots sent through mail. Employees had two weeks to send their ballots back.?

Snyder said ballots were sent out later than anticipated, and that impacted how many workers were able to participate in the union election due to the ballots being sent out around the holidays.?

?“When ballots were sent out for staff to vote, there was a huge number of us that did not receive our ballots in time,” Snyder said. “A lot of them weren’t even able to vote, so that’s why the number was not as big as what we probably were hoping for.”

??Rhodes said they are waiting for the actual vote to be certified.?

Due to the low level of turnout for the vote, the Wexner Medical Center submitted an objection to the State Employment Relations Board to ensure that all PCAs and PCTs have equal access to the voting process, Lietch said.

“We fully support our colleagues in exercising their voice and we want to ensure, in the spirit of our Buckeye value of inclusiveness, that all PCA/PCTs who were eligible and interested in voting were able to do so,” Leitch said.?

Rhodes said she thinks health care workers are taken advantage of across the country as a whole. She is hoping PCAs and PCTs come together to have their voices heard.

?“I don’t think they are asking for a lot,” Rhodes said. “They just want their voices to be heard in the workplace.”